V 4 Jo IcL 0 1 4C THE PHILIPPINES AND ROUND ABOUT VITH SOME ACCOUNT OF BRITISH INTERESTS IN THESE WATERS BY MAJOR G. JtOUNGHUSBAND QUEEN'S OWN CORPS OF GUIDES FELLOW OF THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY AUTHOR OF "'EIGHTEEN HUNDRED MILES ON A BURMESE TAT" "aON SHORT LEAVE TO JAPAN," "THE RELIEF OP CHITRAL" "INDIAN FRONTIER WARFARE," ETC., ETC. WITH ILL USTRA TIONS AND MAP V * I onbon MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITEDNEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1899 Allt ris; reserev ' F t:- 21 cbs I B49zA q to -OK-7 -jIq qo-P91i -. ~ ~ r was [Frontispiece. Admiral Dewey, Commander of the American Fleet at the Naval Battle of Cavit4, May i, 1898. 6h I I I I 1 1 ( 1 .0 ---- a t -9 *,6 iS.y 7 THE PHILIPPINES -- e-fl.1,., I. - 0 F. 11 i a rk Z. % ql\ Iy I I.- 0. I..1 I RICHARD CLAY AND SONS, LIMITED, LONDON AND BUNGAY:.,~,.S ~ r vi CONTENTS PAGS insurgent leaders bought over for $8oo,ooo-The GovernorGeneral's share of the plunder-Heavy ransoms-Rivera departs smiling, and the insurrection again breaks out-A profitable investment-Augustin resorts to a reign of terror -Wholesale executions-Declaration of war by America -Arrival of Admiral Dewey and battle of Cavitd-Aguinaldo appears again on the scene-$25,ooo for his capture, dead or alive-Nativetroops waver —Aguinaldo the Dictator-Manila surrounded and Spaniards driven back-A battle in a typhoon-Admiral Dewey's wise diplomacy-An Englishman's house used as an outpost-Governor-General proposes surrender-Resigns his position and is superseded-The independence of the Philippines proclaimed by AguinaldoThe disaster to General Monet's column-Spanish honourContinued desertions-Arrival of American troops and capture of Manila-Aguinaldo retires to Malolos and sets up a Republican Government........... 9 CHAPTER I I SINGAPORE TO ILOILO We sail in a Spanish ship-The domain of the six sefioras-Suspected of carrying contraband of war-A police search-On the moral eminence of Ccesar's wife-The spirit of the dream changes-We are no longer Americanos but Inglis-Spanish fare on board-Our daily life-Some savoury dishes-Coasting along Borneo and Paraguay-Across the Sulu Sea-A question of typhoons-The healthy unreserve of Omar Khayyam-On the sad subject of tips-To buy a church and praise the British nation............... 29 CHAPTER IV ILOILO Arrival at Pana Island-Defenceless condition of Iloilo-An ancient fort-The hardly aggressive sandbag-Garrison of Iloilo-Threatened rising-Rumoured defeat of the Spaniards -An excellent anchorage-The wharves-Description of Iloilo-Bad state of roads-European stores-Public vehicles -Mr. Duncan, the British Vice-Consul-A matter of passports-We tranship to the Bultin-" Plenty bad women" -A miserable experience-Disappointing scenery.. 39 I % I CONTENTS vii CHAPTER V MANILA OF TO-DAY PAGE Sanitary and Customs inspection-" Only durned Dons "-A priest in difficulties-Five minutes with a landing porterAn undisciplined nationality-Intramuros-The suburbsThe streets and footpaths-The shops-The government of the Americans-The Postal, Customs, and Police Departments -Sanitary reforms-Sinks of sanitary iniquity-The Don's bath-He rarely needs it-Poor Peter-The water-works not in American hands-Consequent state of the waterAbolition of cock-fighting and lotteries-A $5oo,ooo prize' -Tramcars-Public vehicles-Fares-Police protection required-No curios-The hotels not good-Poor food, insanitary and unclean-The kitchen-The servants with no class distinction except stupidity-Restaurants -Saloons and bars-" Do you expectorate cotton?"-Filipino bands-The soldiers' pay day-The English Club-The local American Press-" Holy Gee!"-Religion and costumes of the people -A Chinese custom-The morals of the ladies-The vacant throne........................ 47 CHAPTER VI THE "CFIRST PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC" The, American and insurgent outposts stand face to faceAguinaldo proclaims himself First President of the Philippine Republic, and assembles a National Congress-Permission accorded to visit the great man-An early start-The advantage of early dawn parades-Mr. Smith-Alliston-The President's palace at Malolos-A country road-Aguinaldo's bodyguard-The audience hall-The importunate widowA long wait-Personal appearance of the President-A man of action-Prompt execution of a rival-Aguinaldo declares for complete independence-Breakers ahead-The colours of the 5th Spanish Light Infantry-The colours of the new Republic-Did the Americans or the English win the battle of Omdurman?-The sinews of war-The Treasury balanceSpanish prisoners-Rebellion or legitimate revolution.... 68 viii CONTENTS CHAPTER VII THE NAVAL BATTLE OF CAVITt, MAY IST, 1898 PAGZ War declared-Admiral Dewey takes the initiative-Inaction of the Spanish fleet-The Americans close down on Manila Bay-The conformation of the bay-Its defensive valueAdmiral Dewey enters at midnight-Is fired on by the Corregidor batteries-Arrival of American fleet off Manila town at daylight-Search for the enemy's fleet-Discovered at Cavit — Action commences at about 8 A.M.-Spanish fleet being still at anchor suffers severely-Second attack of AmericansDemoralisation of Spanish fleet-Americans haul off for breakfast-At I A.M. Spanish fleet finally disposed of, losing eleven ships and about i,ooo men-American losses nilIncapacity of Spanish superior officers-Excellence of American plan of action................. 79 CHAPTER VIII THE CAPTURE OF MANILA, AUGUST I3TH, 1898 Unreadiness of America for war-The army in the hands of politicians —Such tardy mobilisation a serious handicap if opposed to a ready enemy-Troops ready and sanction for attack given August 7th-Ultimatum sent to Spaniards allowing forty-eight hours for removal of non-combatants-Extension of twenty-four hours given-Advance of August ioth frustrated by the destruction of a bridge-Agreement between Americans and Spaniards regarding the attack of August 13th-Owing to unavoidable circumstances some loss incurred on both sides-A regrettable incident-The Americans hoist the Stars and Stripes and take over the Spanish outposts....... 90 i I I X, I I l I i CHAPTER IX ADMIRAL DEWEY AND THE MILITARY GOVERNOR Admiral Dewey illustrates the writings of Captain Mahan-The Admiral on the Olympia-His appearance and mannerHis modest narrative of the naval battle-Straightforward tactics-Unreadiness of the Spaniards-High eulogy of Sir Edward Chichester-A European war in the bay-" No sea " "I 1 I i i I CONTENTS IX PAGER manners "-Raising the sunken ships-The rewards of a Republican Admiral-" A clean sweep"-A sharp rebuff for the Germans-The Admiral considers annexation wiseCordial feeling for England-The Military Governor-Difficulty in arranging mercantile problems-The drawback of a volunteer force-The courtesy of the Adjutant-General-Percentage of sick-A valuable picture.......... 98 CHAPTER X THE AMERICAN SOLDIER My first acquaintance-A Valhalla-In a superb and king-like manner-What wash?-An ignominy discharge-Crosb's hospitality-My brother pearl-My friend of the hospital corps-" Trained to nursin'! snakes, no! "-The fluffy majorSouvenir gals-Margueritas-" Britishers counts as officers" -A public school and 'Varsity man-Late of Jameson's raid -A lady's shopping excursion-Idaho Joe-The two Nebraska boys-Pennsylvania beats North Dakota-Popularity of Queen Victoria-Pay of the soldier-Clothing allowance-Untidy but well behaved-Like Tommy Atkins he is devoted to beer-Sun helmets recommended-A regiment voting for members of Congress-The colonel at the tail of the poll-Orderly room on election day-American liberty and political bondage-A pleasing and cordial farewell.................... Io CHAPTER XI A ROMANCE OF THE WAR Birth and early youth of Josd Rizal-He goes to Madrid and graduates as an M.D.-Proceeds to-Paris, Germany, and -Austria-In Belgium writes his first novel, "Noli me tangere "-In 1887 returns to the Philippines-Coldly received by the Spaniards-Persecution by the priests-Goes into voluntary exile and proceeds via Japan to EnglandReturns to Manila in 1892 and is banished to Dapitan-In 1896 Rizal is seized and tried for treason-Sentenced to death-Two hours before execution he marries an Irish girlHe is shot on the Luneta-Madame Rizal vowing vengeance joins the rebels-Is engaged in several actions-An unerring shot-Proceeds to Japan and America to procure armsJose Rizal's sister-Madame Rizal settles in Hong Kong.. 27 X CONTENTS CHAPTER XII MANILA CIGARS PAGE The old Manila cigar —Its decline in the market-Gradual recovery-Present excellence-In great demand-Introduction of tobacco into the Philippines-Government monopoly -Unpopularity of the measure-The monopoly abolished and. private enterprise called in-La Insular-Cigarette making in a wonderful machine- Low price of cigarettes-Pay of the r employees-Cigar making by hand-Filling boxes-Prices of cigars-By order of the President....... 136 CHAPTER XIII THE FUTURE OF THE PHILIPPINES A new factor in the Far Eastern question-The four great rival Powers-French, German, Russian and English views-The Dutch, Japanese, and Chinese factors-The late belligerentsStrong feeling in America against annexation-Annexation by force of circumstances became imperative-Internal problem as regards the government of the Philippines-. Aguinaldo to be counted with-The Dutch system-In a few years America can review her position and if advisable part with the islands.................... 146 CHAPTER XIV SAIGON By way of Hong Kong-The Chinese pony again-The Caledonian-We arrive off Cape St. James at midnight-River banks flat and jungly-Saigon-Commercial inertia-A slun- bering town-Awakening after nightfall-A Governmentsupported opera-The garrison-A drive round-Lost sheep r of the Paris boulevards-The opera-French soldiers-The Cape St. James position................. 164,. CONTENTS xi CHAPTER XV A TRIP TO JAVA PAGE International meal congress-Beer and Bologna sausage at 7 A.M.-Voyage to Batavia-Rates of passage-Baths on board-Arrival at Batavia-Hotels-Meals again-The rice table-Sanitary matters-Currency-The Dutch pronuncia. tion-A trip to Garoet-Passports-Dutch railways-Beautiful scenery-Busy husbandry —Van Horck's hotel-Java coffee-Rival collections-Goentoer volcano-Sport in South Preanger-Dutch ladies and the sarong-The Tjipannas baths-Our merry team-Bagendit-Snipe-A drive across country to Buitenzorg- Scndendlaja-Suicidal fowlsBuitenzorg-Pony market-Botanical gardens-Dutch troops -Batavia again-The Belgian Waterloo-St. Nicholas Day — Sarongs-The Dutch system of colonisation-Colonies to be worth keeping must pay-Slavery, despotism, or benevolent despotism-Government monopolies-Forced labourPossible abuses-Increase of the population-The Dutch system as applied to Burma-Colonisation by a wealthy nation-Dutch military incapacity-Acheen-The monument of Victory-Pirating of the PgI-u-Murder of Captain RossBritish mercantile dissatisfaction............. I76 CHAPTER XVI A CHAPTER OF ALL SORTS How to reach the Philippines-Cost of journey-Routes-Regarding agents-Journeyings in the Malay Archipelago-Washermen and washing at Calcutta, Rangoon, Penang, Singapore, Manila, Hong Kong, Japan and Java-Ship's tea and coffeeSea dinners-Screws-Climate........... 217 II ( v I ILLUSTRATIONS ADMIRAL DEWEY, COMMANDER OF THE AMERICAN FLEET AT THE NAVAL BATTLE OF CAVITr, MAY I, 1898............. Frontisiece. THE POLVERINA, SHOWING THE EFFECTS OF THE BRITISH PROJECTILES IN 1762, AND OF THE AMERICAN SHELLS IN 1898...... Toface page 5 COLUMN COMMEMORATING THE EXPULSION OF THE BRITISH FROM MANILA IN 1762..., 7 AGUINALDO IN HIDING FROM THE SPANISH TROOPS, 1896............., I5 EXECUTION OF INSURGENT LEADERS BY THE SPANIARDS ON THE LUNETA, THE PUBLIC PROMENADE 6........., 16 INSURGENT TROOPS GOING INTO ACTION...,, 19 SPANISH SOLDIERS LEADING A PRISONER TO EXECUTION............ 20 SPANISH TROOPS AT CLOSE QUARTERS WITH THE INSURGENTS; A FALLING ENEMY MAY BE SEEN THROUGH THE SMOKE....... 21 SPANISH TROOPS DEFENDING A HOUSE..., 23 INSURGENT TROOPS IN THE TRENCHES.... 25 SPANISH INFANTRY SKIRMISHING......,.. 26 AMERICAN PICQUET BIVOUACKING IN THE ESCOLTA, THE BOND STREET OF MANILA. - 51 xiv ILLUSTRATIONS AGUINALDO AS PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC. BORN 9TH MAY, 869........... Tofacepage 68 NAVAL BATTLE BETWEEN THE AMERICANS AND SPANISH, MAY I, 1898, OFF CAVITt, IN THE BAY OF MANILA............. 86 AMERICAN TROOPS ADVANCING ALONG THE SEASHORE TO ATTACK MANILA, AUG. 13, 1898, SUPPORTED BY THE FLEET WHICH MAY BE SEEN IN THE DISTANCE........., 95 GROUP OF AMERICAN SOLDIERS, ILLUSTRATING THE VARIETY OF COSTUMES WORN..... III EXECUTION OF DR. JOSt RIZAL ON THE LUNETA, THE FASHIONABLE PROMENADE OF MANILA,, 132 A STREET IN SAIGON...........,,. 1 68 MAP CHART SHOWING THE RELATIVE POSITIONS OF EUROPEAN POWERS IN THE FAR EAST.. Toface agre 147 k THE PHILIPPINES _-~~~~~~~~~ ~. -..,, -~ r.~.. i. A;'; A....-.;e.. 'it ('i.., Is,, A i J*'S _r THE PHILIPPINES!, AND ROUND ABOUT CHAPTER I THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS Division of the world between Spain and Portugal-Fierce conflict as. to whether the Philippines belonged to the Eastern or Western Hemisphere-Discovery of the Straits. of Magellan-The Philippines discovered in A.D. 152 1-Return of explorers to Spain -Second and third attempts of Charles I. to found an Eastern Empire-In i565 a fourth attempt made by his son Philip is, successful-Two centuries of gradual consolidation-{Capture of Manila by the British in 1762 and cession by Spain to that Power of the Philippines-The Polverina-By the peace of 1763 the islands are returned to Spain-The Spanish monument on the; Pasco de Lucia-The humour of the Dons. IN the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the commercial supremacy and sea-going enterprise of the world were divided between the Spaniards and the Portuguese; and so great was the rivalry and so fierce the strife regarding what are now known as. spheres of influence, that the Pope, Alexander IV., by a papal bull promulgated in I493 or I494 decreed that the world should be divided into two hemispheres, the Western half to pertain to Spain and B 1 |o ' 2 THE PHILIPPINES CHAP... the Eastern half to Portugal. The line of demarcation was to be the meridian of Cape Verd Island, which, with its corresponding meridian on the other side of the world, formed the necessary division. Thus handsomely provided for, each of the two Powers by the terms of the bull was entitled henceforth to discover and annex all heathen lands within their respective hemispheres. The decree was-well meant and would no doubt have worked admirably * had the far side of the world been as well known as it is at this day, but being then a little visited region, a fierce' controversy, interspersed with spasmodic fighting, arose between Spain and Portugal as to the exact position of the Moluccas and the group now known as the Philippine Islands, with reference to the line of demarcation. The Spaniards, quite wrongly, as a glance at the chart of. the world will show, maintained that these rich islands lay within the Western Hemisphere, and the endeavour to prove this fact led directly to the important discovery of what are now known as the Magellan Straits and the western route to the eastern seas. The discoverer of this new highway of the ocean was Hernando de Maghallanes, a Portuguese by birth, but who in later life became a naturalised Spaniard serving under the sovereignty of Charles I. The squadron of discovery, which was fitted out by the king and entrusted to the command of Maghallanes, consisted of five ships, varying in tonnage from 6o to 130 tons, and carrying crews'of a total strength of 234 men. Losing two I THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 3 of his ships, one by shipwreck. and the other by mutiny and desertion, the celebrated explorer battled his way round the promontory now known as Cape Horn with the remaining three vessels, and on the 26th of November, I520, sailed triumphantly into the Pacific Ocean. Four months later he reached the Ladrones Islands, and in the month of April, I52I, effected a landing on several of the islands of the group now known as the Philippines. Maghallanes was himself, however, unfortunately killed in a skirmish with the natives of Magtan Island on the 25th of April, 1521, and the remnants of his expedition after many losses and adventures struggled back to Spain by way of the Cape of Good Hope, reaching home in September, 1522. The weather-worn explorers were received with great honour by Charles I., who, regardless of Portuguese protests, commenced preparing a new fleet to make good the discoveries of Maghallanes. This second fleet consisted of six ships, and its objective was the Moluccas, but on arrival it found these islands strongly held by the Portuguese, and no results were gained from a long series of engagements which ensued. The, third and last effort of Charles I. to found an Eastern Empire was made in November, 1542, two Spanish ships and a galleon sailing from the Pacific coast of Mexico towards the islands which now first appear in history under the name of the Philippine Islands, so called after Philip, Prince of the Asturias and son and successor of Charles I., but the expedition B 2 4 THE PHILIPPINES CHAP. again ended in failure. It was reserved for Philip to consummate the ambition of his father, and in 1565 we find that a fourth expedition has at last been successful in establishing a somewhat precarious hold on the islands. In I57o the Spanish power in these regions became more consolidated, and Manila was established as the capital of the archipelago. During the next two centuries Spain gradually strengthened her hold on the islands, disturbed only from time to time by minor conflicts with the Portuguese and Dutch, and by such internal troubles as are inseparable from the establishment of a foreign sovereignty. It was reserved for the British, in 1 762, under the leadership of Draper and Cornish, to make the first formidable descent on the islands. England was at this time at war with both France and Spain, and it was at the initiative of Colonel Draper that a blow was aimed at the Spanish Indies. This officer, whilst travelling for the sake of his health before the war broke out, had visited Manila, and afterwards proceeding to England pointed out to the Ministry the wealth and value of the Philippine Islands, putting forward proposals for their capture, in the event of war, by a combined naval and military force based on India. Colonel Draper's proposals, after some hesitation, were accepted, and it was arranged that the expedition should be timed to reach Manila before news of the declaration of war then pending could reach so distant a port. The expedition accordingly sailed from Madras I; It * i \.t ' _ V:t '. ~. *-:,. - I. : '';:'":" " ";"" '; '"' I~:~,~'..,.' i -'-,. ~. ' -.: te <;-;:~~.9"~h*'.S'~"";2t - ~:,"':-. -,,~.'' ':.: 'h- lolveria, showing the Effe cts of the Brtish 'rojcctilcs in.762, a of the Aerican Shells in 1898. x THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 5 on August Ist, 1762, convoyed by a squadron consisting of 8 ships of the line and 3 frigates under Vice-Admiral Cornish. The military force consisted of 450 men of the 79th (Draper's Regiment); 60 men of the Royal Artillery, and 30 men of the I Madras Artillery; 200 deserters of all nations, but chiefly French; a company of Coffrees, and i of Topasses, each 80 strong; 60 European pioneers; i -, 650 Madras sepoys; and lastly, some 60 Europeans in the service of the Nawab of the Carnatic. A total of 1,670 of all ranks under the command of Colonel Draper, with the rank of Brigadier-General. The expedition reached Manila Bay on September 23rd, much to the surprise of the Spaniards, who were not aware that war had been declared between England and Spain, and a landing was effected on:. the shores of the bay, about two miles south of the town, and near the spot where the American troops landed I36 years later. The bay of Manila is so large that a strong wind from the west or southwest can raise. a sea heavy enough to seriously retard landing operations. Draper consequently lost an officer and a few men from drowning, but fortunately no armed resistance was offered. Close to the point of landing stood, and stands to this day, a small, square masonry fort called the Polverina or Powder Magazine, and this useful point dappfi Draper proceeded to seize. On the walls of the Polverina may still be seen the marks of the British cannon balls and British bullets making indentations up to six inches in depth, 6 THE PHILIPPINES CHAP. but apparently not impairing the defensive strength of the fort. In juxtaposition to these old marks may now be seen the effects of modern fire, where the shells from Admiral Dewey's fleet pierced these same ancient walls. In addition to the Polverina, Draper seized the Hermita, a large and commodious church half a mile from the walls of the fortified town, which building has now apparently disappeared. After a short siege of seven days the British troops took the fortified town and citadel by assault, though in strength the Spaniards outnumbered them by four to one, losing, however, 149 officers and men killed and wounded. The total Spanish loss may be estimated at 900 killed and wounded. The capitulation was signed on October 6th, 762, and by its terms the whole of the Philippine Islands, as well as the capital, were ceded to the British Crown. In addition, Draper demanded a war indemnity of $4,000oo,o000oo, as a set off against giving up the town to pillage. Only I,ooo,ooo of the sum was paid, and the remaining $3,000,000 is still an outstanding claim against the Spanish Government. In July, I763, news reached the British Commander of the Peace of Paris, signed on February ioth, I763, whereby not only the Philippines but also Cuba were ceded back to Spain, so little did the Government of George III. appreciate the commercial value of these rich possessions. The Spaniards, however, on a point of etiquette, refused to accept I I ;; 1. I, I lI, i I f r i t-l F. -' ' ' ' ~.S'.. —.1?..-,...... —..~,' -., _-,;.;,,_ - J~~~~~r~~ ~e t 't $4.s:r l -4, 9~- -Y — r -;1 I~~ ~~~3, ~fr.i~~LG ~C1;~ ~ q [l'o/ice aKt 7. Column commemorating the Expulsion of the British from Manila in 1762. I THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS ' 7 the information regarding the peace furnished by the British until confirmed by direct advices from Spain; this attitude but- thinly giving countenance to a formidable Spanish rising against the British occupation, which, under Simon Anda, was making some head, and the object of which was to recover possession of the islands. Desultory fighting, therefore, went on, and it was not till the spring of 1764 that the Spanish leaders received a copy of the Peace of Paris from Madrid, and agreed to the peaceful cession of the islands. At the northern end of the Pasco de Lucia, one of the fashionable promenades of Manila, and in full view of every ship which passes up the river, there still stands a stately obelisk, which commemorates in pompous periods the expulsion of the British by the gallant Spaniards under Simon Anda! The American soldiers, whilst thoroughly appreciating the exquisite humour of the Dons, were much inclined to topple this record of an historical fiction into the river, but perhaps the monument might best be left standing with an additional inscription describing the capture of the islands by the British in I762, and the final expulsion of the Spaniards in I898. From 1764 onwards the history of the Philippines offers no points of particular interest to outside nations until the year I896 is reached, a year which marked the beginning of the end of Spanish rule, and which brought to the front a leader of men 38 THE PHILIPPINES CH. I capable of great undertakings. That leader was Aguinaldo the Philippine, and with his name is so intimately entwined the history of the revolutionary movement, that in describing the career of this remarkable man we shall bring the narrative of events up to the present day. i I I II11 I I 11 11 II'lI II I I i I I 7 : - CHAPTER II AGUINALDO The insurgent leader-His birth and early years-The tool of Destiny -Open rebellion-The grievances of the people-Systematic extortion by Spanish officials both high and low-The GovernorGeneral's lady makes a separate fortune-Unequal taxation-The rights of conquest-Interference of the priests-Their low morality and disgraceful doings-Martial law proclaimed-The Black Hole of Manila-Fifty-four found dead in the morning-Executions on the Luneta, with bands playing and ladies promenading. -Fierce reprisals made by the insurgents-Torture of the priests -Faulty organisation of Spanish troops-Bad leading-A suicidal encounter-Spanish troops augmented to I i,ooo-Spanish, newspaper victories-Polavicja recalled and replaced by Primo de Rivera-An apostle of the silver peace-The insurgent leaders bought over for $8oo,oo000-The Governor-General's share of the plunder-Heavy ransoms-Rivera departs smiling, and the insurrection again breaks out-A profitable investment-Augustin resorts to a reign of terror-Wholesale executions-Declaration of war by America-Arrival of Admiral Dewey and battle of Cavitd-Aguinaldo appears again on the scene —25,ooo for his capture, dead or alive-Native troops waver-Aguinaldo the a Dictator-Manila surrounded and Spaniards driven back-A battle in a typhoon-Admiral Dewey's wise diplomacy-An Englishman's house used as an outpost-Governor-General proposes surrender-Resigns his position and is superseded-The independence of the Philippines proclaimed by Aguinaldo-The disaster to General Monet's column-Spanish honour-Continued desertions-Arrival of American troops and capture of Manila-Aguinaldo retires to Malolos and sets up a Republican Government. PERHAPS one of the most striking personalities which has appeared upon the stage of the Philippine drama Io THE PHILIPPINES CHAP. during the recent troubles is that of,Aguinaldo, hitherto generally known as the insurgent leader, and now self-proclaimed first President of the Philippine Republic. Born nine-and-twenty years ago, a pure Philippine native on both sides, he appears to have received the ordinary upbringing and education of a nation which is much below the Japanese or even the Chinese in natural ability and intelligence, and which may more nearly find its prototype in the Malay tribes of the Peninsula and of Borneo, or with the. subjects of the King of Siam. It is, however, not altogether unnatural to find lack of progress amongst a people who for three and a half centuries have groaned under the yoke of a foreign power, especially when that power is the effete and decayed remnant of what in bygone centuries was a great and progressive nation. Amidst such surroundings, and brought up under the unwholesome shadow of such unpromising national traditions, it would not be reasonable to expect the same high attributes to adorn the character of a national deliverer as illumine the historic figures of a Cromwell, of a Washington, or of a Napoleon. Nevertheless, without birth, position, or wealth, without even the advantages of quick intelligence, in complete ignorance of the lessons to be learnt from the history of the outside world, the tool of Destiny was equal to the task set before him. Within three years from the time when the boy-deliverer first appeared on the horizon of Philippine politics, the hated yoke of the Spaniards II AGUINALDO II had for ever been cast off, and a new and enlightened era gave promise of dawning on the eight millions of people who- inhabit the thousand islands of the Philippine Archipelago. Of Aguinaldo's childhood and early youth little is known, and that little appears to have been of no historic importance, but in the year I896, when only twenty-seven years of age, he came prominently to < the front in connection with the latest and most formidable rebellion which the natives of the Philippines have raised against the Spanish sovereignty. This rebellion was only the crowning effort, the outcome of a score of insurrectionary movements which have been stirring beneath the surface, and occasionally giving signs of life during the whole of the past century. The grievances of the natives were however now clearly tabulated and placed before the Spanish authorities. They were:(i) The habitual extortion practised by the Spanish officials, and especially so in outlying districts. (2) Excessive and unequal taxation and an unjust mode of levying it.(3) Extortion and interference in the affairs of the State by the priests. It requires but a passing knowledge of the history of Spanish supremacy in these islands to arrive, however reluctantly, at the conclusion that there were substantial grounds for the grievances thus publicly preferred. The barefaced extortion resorted to by Spanish officials, not only in the outlying 1-2 THE PHILIPPINES CHAP. districts, but in the very heart of the Spanish capital and the Spanish palace, are, if we can believe impartial witnesses, almost sublime in their medieval iniquity. Bribery, corruption, and the exercise of undue influence whose end was extortion were the shameful gems which enriched the diadem, not of one Captain-General, but with few exceptions of each successive Vice-Regent. With corruption at the head it would be strange indeed to find anything but corruption in the heart and in the body. Thus when the head of the State habitually accumulated as large a fortune as possible during his term of office, whilst his wife, if an enterprising lady, made a separate and perhaps smaller fortune of her own initiative, it would be opposed to human nature if each official in every grade down to the lowest did not follow the august example and make what profit he could each in his degree. And this unholy traffic, be it observed, was carried on not only at the expense of the Philippine islanders, but also at that of the Chinese traders, at that of merchants of all weak nations, and 'even with cheerful inconsequence at that of their own soldiers and sailors. That the taxation was excessive and unequal may be taken as an ex parte statement made by a subject nation against its masters. Right of conquest may. with some justice be held to give privileges and exemptions to the conqueror which need not necessarily be extended to the vanquished. It is not every nation which in a spirit of ultra equality taxes II AGUINALDO 13 its own people as high, if not higher, than the subject race, as does the- British Government in India. Here the burden of taxation falls on the British officer and the British official, who are not only taxed heavily on the income which her Majesty gives with one hand; and which her Majesty's Government takes with the other, but are mulcted to the extent of five per cent. on every article of clothing, of general utility, or of food which are of necessity imported from the mother country. Allowing, therefore, that all nations are not equally celestially minded in the matter of equal taxation,, and allowing also that right of conquest confers certain privileges, we may perhaps set aside the insurgents' grievance anent unequal taxation. At the same time, the name of the Spaniard in these parts having become synonymous with epithets suggestive of rapacity and unfair dealing, it would be asking too much of the intelligent observer to believe that in the matter of the collection of taxes alone he had a clean heart and a clean conscience. On the contrary, we may with some certainty conclude that his hand, heart, and conscience were quite as unclean in fiscal matters as in any other. The interference of the priests in the affairs of the State and the extortion practised by them on the people are, it is estimated by those well qualified to judge, the main causes for the revolts which have followed one another with growing insistence during the past few generations. There are noble exceptions, and amongst these a unanimous and 14 THE PHILIPPINES CHAP. genuine sentiment in favour of the Jesuits exists'; but taken as a whole it would be impossible to speak with too.great severity of the disrepute into which the action of these dissolute men has.brought the Roman Catholic religion in these islands. A man of God on whom rests the most solemn vows of holiness, chastity, and poverty, living amongst a simple and impressionable race a monster of iniquity, an extensive landowner, nursing his ill-gotten wealth, a monument of lechery and debauch. Let us hasten to add that the Philippiine,~lmself is far from being morally immaculate. The priest may take his daughter or his sister and welcome, for the offspring will be a person of such added importance as European blood never fails to give in Eastern countries. But the islander draws the line firmly at his wife and equally firmly at his prospective bride, and it is from wanton straying into these forbidden pastures that the good shepherd has been mainly instrumental in bringing his country into trouble. So aggressive indeed had the priests become that cases were actually known where the priest had refused.at the altar to marry a couple, having himself there, in that holy place, cast lecherous eyes on the would-be bride and determined to reserve her for his own base desires. Stories about the priests are so numerous and so well authenticated that it is impossible for any impartial person not to acknowledge that the islanders had just and substantial grounds for including a sweeping indictment of the whole class amongst the main \ -N I I.-i'a r.-.,v'.-.t e:'.g",. ~.. To f/acage.g. 15 Agulinaldo in Hiding from the Spanish Troops, 1896. ~ E~b~~ - ~~a~s~-.I~~-~~BL-YI- _ ~_ ~ F~~CC~LYS~ I I -~ --- -.T 4 -mr;law ~.1 I ^ -'* 8.. -. - I -;. AGUINALDO 15 grievances which they had against the Spanish. suzerainty. 'The Filipinos, as they are called, having failed to secure any amelioration of their lot by negotiation, took to arms, with Aguinaldo as their acknowledged leader, and the Spaniards responded by proclaiming martial law on August 3oth, I896. The proclamation was promptly followed by the first act in the drama, the Spaniards seizing I69 insurgents, who were suspected of disaffection, and casting them into a small dungeon which lies below water level in the bastion of San Sebastian, the dungeon having only one air hole, which the sentry outside firmly closed to keep out the rain! Into this confined space, in the month of August, on one of the hottest nights of the year, these i69 poor. victims were thrust at the bayonet's point. Ventilation or communication with the open air there is none, and it is perhaps a matter of wonder that only fifty-four of the prisoners were found dead in the morning. The remainder were led out and shot on the Luneta, the fashionable promenade on the shores of Manila Bay. On September i2th of the same year thirteen more prominent suspects were publicly shot on the Luneta, in the presence of Spanish ladies, whilst the band played lively airs and whilst the photographer was busy with his camera. I have secured one of these photographs, which sufficiently demonstrates the accuracy of the above statement. Amongst the prisoners were two gaol officials, a chemist, two or three rich landed pro . ''',. 4'; -. '-1l 16. THE PHILIPPINES CHAP. prietors, a tailor, a schoolmaster, a doctor and a ', - merchant. The prisoners stood in a row on the curbstone facing the sea, with their arms and legs v i bound, and were shot down by squads of soldiers from behind... It was only natural that a war begun with such. barbarity by the one side led to reprisals of equal ferocity on the part of the other, that small detachments of Spaniards when caught were ruthlessly murdered without hope of quarter, and that the more iniquitous of the priests were put to nameless tortures before being delivered by death. (J In the month of October, i896, the Spanish troops numbered 3,000, exclusive of native auxiliary P troops, but they were badly equipped and entirely lacking in departmental organisation. The soldiers, mostly of poor physique, had each a rifle it is true and a cartridge pouch, but this latter was generally empty. An eye-witness who watched the departure of the Spanish troops destined to attack and drive the insurgents out of Cavit6 mentions that the Medical Department consisted of one doctor with a small medicine chest, whilst the Commissariat Depart — ment was also represented by one officer only, arrayed however in a resplendent uniform, and by two natives with a couple of old iron pots! Not.. only were the men badly equipped and badly cared for, but in many cases badly led. Thus during this same month some Spanish troops who were marching *; towards Imus, a village occupied by the insurgents,; came unexpectedly across a body of hostile troops.. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.!. p r ' v. i? ~.~. '....... I,. ]Ls' *.,,:;- 'A t yt'j ',I - A X'k D ' a 'Ef.E ' t'.- ': I ' [ <'. ': I t' '* ~ci n IIelf. *n ire l: **. [ I h I' ^ n the: th ll' i -. I. -' ' '.l'J' [ ' ' J I J i [^^ ^ ' '' J * - Executio., ',~ -"':,";- -:' *- ",':,'" -* - '"." '~ - ~''-:T.;''~, ''i''-' '*,.,..,,:.....-.'.... ~ ~.. 1~~ ~;;I' *;. 'i.t N; *, I~ **^ *^,.~! I ' — ''-"< ' ''? '' ~I: -.*,,,.,, -.... i: '.." -. '. ' — '~'.. '-' IJ: "i. ', 1' '. '\ ':: ~.'\ ~' ':-*~ ',.L:''. ' -..:-.; K!; "': " ' -" '... 'r.: '' ' '-.'. '. '. -,. " '.:., ' i;'-~ ~..."l.,^ ^:.^: ^-'... ' ^, ^...- -~-^~t. '.~L-~.'f~....:..^ IL **.;.^.. ~ <-^.. '.~^.^ r ^ ^ ^. ^ -f.'', ^:.. [To farfi~/age 21. Spanish Troops at close quarters with the Insurgents; a falling cuemy may he seen through the smoke. (Front a Phofograph taken on the s>of, by an English Te~rak Clerk... - ",C '........... ' ~ ' '~~~~~~~~ -I- ~Jj,.k~ ~ ~~1 ~.,~~~~~o,: ~,,.C~~~~ I~'~, ~ ~ r~~:~,,~.~ ii ',.~,a '.. ' ~. '/~~ '~l 7~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~. (Fro ~ ~ ooa nc nIIe~~ ) ~lnlz~T!'r~C3) -— i~~~~~~~~~~~~~-~~~~~~ — -' --- —- -7 —.1~ -Q - - - N - - - -S — -0 ---- IIx. AGUINALDO 21 The Spaniards responded by putting a price on Aguinaldo's head, and offered a reward of $25,ooo00 to any one who brought him in dead or alive. The native troops in Spanish pay who formed a portion of their colonial army had hitherto remained staunch in the face of great temptation, but they now began to waver in their allegiance, and not only did individual cases of desertion occur, but on May 3oth a whole regiment went over to the insurgents after first massacring their Spanish officers and completely wiping out a company of Spanish infantry sent to intercept them. At this date Aguinaldo's troops practically surrounded Manila by land, whilst Admiral Dewey held the sea, and the insurgent leader took the opportunity to issue a proclamation to his fellow-countrymen advocating the establishment of a native administration under American protection. He suggested that he himself, with an advisatory council, should be nominated Dictator until the work of driving out the Spaniards had been completed, after which it was proposed to establish a Republican Assembly. As demonstrating the extremely crude notions and entire lack of knowledge of the outside world which existed, it is interesting to note that Aguinaldo had apparently no idea' what the word "protection" signified, his impression being that the protecting party would retire to their own country, and there keep up a special naval and military force to fight the battles of the Philippine Islanders should they 22 THE PHILIPPINES CHAP. get into trouble with other nations, whilst the protected party would start an administration of its own, and work the islands for its own exclusive benefit. It would indeed be an early instalment of the millennium if protection on these terms could be secured by those who require it. Further, in conversation Aguinaldo professed his complete ignorance of the terms on which the English exercise jurisdiction over the protected states of the Malay Peninsula, and of how a dependency like India is governed, and capped his ignorance of the outside world by asking whether Australia was an island, and whether it belonged to America. The insurgent leaders were indeed mere boys without knowledge and with only local experience, which very disabilities make their final success all the more remarkable. Following his proclamation with concerted action, Aguinaldo on May 3ist drove in the Spanish posts all along the line of defence round Manila. The battle lasted seventy hours, despite a furious typhoon which was raging, and I,ooo Spanish troops were reported to have been killed. It appears that the I continuous and heavy rain injured the rifles and i ammunition of both sides, whereupon the insurgents.. took to their bohie knives, and in hand to hand conflict drove back the Spaniards. There is little doubt that the insurgents could have followed up. I this success by bursting into Manila and capturing the place out of hand. But here Admiral Dewey, on the score of. humanity, firmly intervened and Io I OF'. - I I. c [TO face iage 23. Spanish Troops defending a HIouse. (Front a Photograph taken during Action, by an English Telegraph Clerk.) II AGUINALDO 23 persuaded Aguinaldo to stay his hand until the American troops arrived. By his action the Admiral not only saved the lives of several thousand people, for a ruthless and indiscriminate slaughter of all Spaniards would most certainly have been the sequel, but he solved in advance an exceedingly delicate problem which might have arisen if the American troops on arrival had found the city already in the hands of the insurgents and the reins of government assumed by them. Under such circumstances the American troops might well have appeared to the inflated heads of young and successful men as intruders rather than as allies, and strained relations, if not open conflict, might have introduced an additional and serious problem in connection with the future administration of the islands. On June 5th the insurgents were reported to have penetrated into the suburbs of Manila, but if so they were only detached parties, and the compact with Dewey was conscientiously kept, Aguinaldo's troops completely surrounding the city and facing the chain of Spanish outposts at close range. Desultory fighting, mostly by night and unaccompanied by serious loss on either side, was kept up between the opposing outposts for the best part of three months, and Mr. Alliston, an Englishman whose private residence was held by a Spanish picquet, has many interesting and stirring recollections of that period. Having sent his wife and family out of the 24 THE PHILIPPINES CHAP. country, Mr. Alliston determined to remain and protect by his presence his home and household gods from the pillage' and destruction generally inseparable from war. First and last some forty bullets entered the house and, may be seen pitted about it; one hit the leg of the Englishman's bed whilst he 'was asleep, and another catching the thick base of an overturned tumbler converted it into a bomb which scattered throughout the room with a terrific clatter, but happily without doing serious damage. On specially bad nights Mr. Alliston came to the conclusion that the game was not worth the candle, and that he would clear out and leave his house to its fate; then would come a night or two of respite, and his former determination to see the adventure out would return, and so finally he remained at his post from the first day of the siege to the last, his only protection a couple of bags of flour placed at his bed head towards the insurgent lines. The firing of both Spaniards and insurgents appears to have been very bad, for after hours of firing and an immense expenditure of ammunition, it was rare to find that more than one or two while sometimes no one on either side had been hit, and this frequently at ranges of 400 yards and under. When the rumour got abroad, on June 5th, that the insurgents had forced their way into the suburbs, those inhabitants who had anything to fear from them flocked into the old walled city which stands with its back to the bay, and though of antiquated I OF w ii [To face nage 25. Insurgent Troops in the Trenches. (/romn a i'fotograiph taken during an Action, by an English Telegraph Clerk.) --fC.,; ~1~7; ~ I ':; AGUINALDO 25 design and construction, would form a formidable obstacle to a force unequipped with heavy guns. These heavy guns the American fleet could bring into action from the sea to cover a direct infantry assault by land. Augustin, the Spanish Governor, considering therefore his position untenable, assembled a Council of War and proposed capitulation. After a stormy meeting the proposal was furiously negatived, whereupon Augustin tendered his resignation and was succeeded by his deputy. On June 8th Aguinaldo telegraphed to Singapore as follows: We have taken all the Cavit6 Province and several towns in Batangas Province; captured io guns, 600 rifles, 1,200 Spanish Spaniards and 800 ooPhilippine Spaniards, and killed 300. We are besieging Cavit6 Viejo Church. There are 300 Spaniards inside who must surrender soon. We hear that the Governor-General proposes to capitulate." And on June i2th Aguinaldo issued another proclamation announcing the independence of the Philippine Islands, and declaring that autonomy would be obtained under American protection on the model of a British protectorate. Meanwhile the beleaguered Spaniards in Manila had been hoping against hope that succour would arrive from the north of Manila, where General Monet still had 3,ooo mixed troops under his ' command. But this last hope was dashed to the ground by the imbecility of the General in command, who apparently walked blindly into an 4. i.. C ' - - ' ' * '*-';< ".: *...?..."" ' CHAP. 26 THE PHILIPPINES'. I(I. t,-`.1 I I I OI I 11 1.1 I t. I'I. C a i. t, ambuscade, whereupon his native troops went over bodily to the enemy, whilst the 500 surviving Spaniards were taken prisoners. This affair has much the appearance of a preconcerted arrangement whereby that extraordinary and utterly contemptible article called "Spanish honour" might be saved. Anyway, General Monet, who was announced as having been killed in the affair, was reported afterwards to have been seen in Manila, having effected his escape disguised as a woman. The story, whether true or not, gave the humorists a handle whereon to hang many useful remarks about Spanish honour. Desultory fighting still went on in the provinces, where detachments of mixed troops here and there yet held their own. But the native troops were becoming more and more shaky in their allegiance, and at Zapite, and again at Marabon, whole, regiments went over to the insurgents during the course of an action, after murdering their officers. The Spanish soldiers fought with the energy of despair, but they were hopelessly incompetent and shamefully underfed. Many had never had any target practice in their lives; whole companies might be found who had had nothing to eat for forty-eight hours, and some of the soldiers might be seen literally weeping from feebleness. It was indeed a pitiable sight. Meanwhile scores of plump well-fed Spanish officers were daily to be found loafing about in the beershops, cafes and boulevards engaged in I '~~i l.:ia c a l -di-. A~~ j V V -a~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ J V ' fT tv -et ~~~~~~ ----~~~~ -~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ v -9.A-t ft6 _____________~ ~~~T, facetPast 26. IJ-,Ot w~jto-., af iat,ak durng Action, ly an I tlng Tdcegra; Cp1: rka ) aCy K> Ks) I I *%. 1' 11 AGUINALDO 27 the apparently genial task of caring for the inner man and abusing the English nation. Though why the English nation it is somewhat difficult to understand, unless perhaps the Spaniards had been disappointed in the fond hope that England would again stand in the threatened gate and again free Spain from the effects of her own folly and culpable weakness, as she had already once done in the Peninsular War. Thus the campaign dragged on until the American troops arrived, and successfully effected their landing on the shore of Manila Bay. This operation was concluded by the end of the month of July, and after the necessary preparations had been made Manila was summoned to surrender by the combined American naval and military forces and the Philippine troops; and at the conclusion of the operations of August I3th, which are elsewhere described, the Spanish flag was lowered, and the dream of Aguinaldo was by an extraordinary concomity of circumstances within measurable distance of being fulfilled. The difficulty was to prevent the insurgents from at once reaping the reward of their labours in bloodshed and rapine, but the danger was with considerable skill and diplomacy warded off by Admiral Dewey and General Merritt, the American commanders, who arranged that the Filipino troops should remain outside the defences. Aguinaldo, therefore, retired to Malolos, about twenty-five miles to the northward, 'leaving his troops entrenched 28 THE PHILIPPINES CH. I round Manila, and there with considerable pomp and ceremony on September 29th, I898, he was declared First President of the Philippine Republic, and the National Congress was opened with Pedro Paterno as President of that assembly. Thus much for the past history of Aguinaldo; later, it may not be void of interest to give a brief account of a visit which I was privileged to make at this period to the new President. A CHAPTER III SINGAPORE TO ILOILO We sail in a Spanish ship-The domain of the six senoras-Suspected of carrying contraband of war-A police search-On the moral eminence of Casar's wife-The spirit of the dream changes-We are no longer Americanos but Inglis-Spanish fare on boardOur daily life-Some savoury dishes-Coasting along Borneo and Paraguay-Across the Sulu Sea-A question of typhoonsThe healthy unreserve of Omar Khayyamn-On the sad subject of tips-To buy a church and praise the British nation. OUR friends in Singapore were much opposed to.our entrusting ourselves to the tender mercies of the Spaniards, and advised us not to take passage by a Spanish steamer to the Philippines. The Spaniards, they said, were in an ugly mood after the severe handling they had and were experiencing at the hands of the Americans, and Britishers being taken for Americans might suffer from the studied impoliteness of one of the politest nations. But partly because our time was limited and a Spanish ship was the first to sail, and partly because we wanted to get into touch with Philippine thoughts and politics as soon as possible, we decided to brave the disagreeable, and took passage by the 30 THE PHILIPPINES CHAP. I. small Spanish ship, the Uranus, for Iloilo and Manila. We made an expedition down to the dry dock at Singapore, where the Uranus lay undergoing repairs, and inspected our future quarters. The ship was small, of 873 registered tonnage only, but very fairly well fitted up, and reputed to be fast. A rough-and-ready-looking knot of Europeans were at the gangway, from one of whom we inquired for the first officer. The gentleman addressed at once pointed out one of the party as the object of our search, and we afterwards discovered that the rest were the captain and other officers of the ship. An inspection of the saloon and state rooms demonstrated the fact that whereas most of the cabins were of about the size and general structural pattern of the ordinary dog-box of railway traffic, there was one capacious cabin calculated to hold six senoras of the largest dimensions. We, therefore, struck a bargain with el capitan that we would take passage only on the understanding that we should endeavour to fill, however unworthily, the space allotted to the six senoras. After a vast amount of gesticulation and shrugging of shoulders, not unaccompanied by the metaphorical clinking of dollars, an agreement was entered upon, and we left on the understanding that the date of sailing was to be communicated to us later. Calling at Messrs. Boustead's office next morning, Mr. Waddell, the head of the firm, whose courtesy q I.1 V.I. 1 _ - - II *ll'SINGAPORE TO ILOILO.. 31 - ' and kindness has left us under the greatest obligations, informed us that a Spanish armed cruiser had suddenly appeared in port, bound, it was stated, for the Philippines, and that no doubt we could arrange passage by her if so disposed. The cruiser was a fine new ship recently bought from the British India Steam Navigation Company, and rechristened the Buenos Ayres. Acting on Mr. Waddell's advice, we drove down to the dock to reconnoitre this engine of war, and found her a fine passenger ship of some 6,ooo tons burden, and armed with four fairly formidable-looking guns. Without being unduly inquisitive, it was difficult to exactly estimate their calibre, but though the matter is not now of the least importance, I should say they were 4-inch quick-firing guns. Passages were offered us on her as far as Iloilo at the rate of $85 a ticket, or about 't - o40 per cent. over peace rates. We had very nearly /( " decided to go by her when we noticed in the local evening paper that 'this ship was suspected of carrying arms to the Philippines against the terms of the convention, and would, therefore, be detained by the British authorities and searched. As this i; probably meant detention at this end for one thing, and possibly unwelcome attentions from American war ships at the other, we gave up the Buenos Ayres and returned to our first love, the Uranus. This admirable discretion on our part did not, however, meet with its reward, for the Buenos Ayres slipped off at dawn, and the whole weight of official \;* i 111, t 32 THE PHILIPPINES. CHAP.. suspicion fell on our craft instead. Consequently the ship was unloaded from stem to stern, and closely searched by the police authorities for concealed arms, the search occupying nearly the whole day, a tedious and trying job for all concerned. Whiling away half an hour with Colonel Pennyfather, late of the Inniskilling Dragoons, and now InspectorGeneral of Police at Singapore, he told me that our old friend, the Acheen War, which is just about to celebrate its silver wedding, so to speak, has during its 25 years' course produced an exceeding astute type of smuggler in arms and munitions of war. Per contra, I imagine the Singapore police have become equally astute at detecting the same, and, therefore, when Colonel Pennyfather's men failed to find anything contraband on the Uranus, I think we may safely conclude that she left port, on this occasion at least, on the same moral eminence as Caesar's wife. Directly we got to sea quite an astonishing change came over the bearing of the ship's officers towards us, and I fully retract any unfavourable impressions which previously existed. Doubtless we had up to now been mistaken for Americans, and the most noble-hearted cannot view with fervent affection even peaceful travellers of a hostile nation. As soon, however, as it was clear that we were not Americano spies, but pure-born Inglis people, the spirit of the dream entirely changed, and we were treated with the utmost civility, and every endeavour i I I 11i II, C I F, I f till SINGAPORE TO ILOILO 33 used to make us as comfortable as possible. Sanitary science on most foreign ships is in an elementary stage, and therefore we only fought our way down to the usurped domain of the six senoras to hastily dress or undress as the case might be, and for the rest lived and moved and had our being on deck. Mr. Waddell had warned us not to be too sanguine about the food on a Spanish ship, and especially on a small Spanish ship, but in this respect we were very agreeably surprised. Indeed some dishes were so excellent that with the gracious consent of the major domo we secured the recipes, and if any kind reader of this book who has lurking doubts on the subject will kindly step in to lunch at the Guides' Mess when I return, his doubts shall be set at rest. Some people are fond of trivial gossip and some are not, but as this chapter is chiefly trivial, and as there is plenty of solid matter for the beefeaters elsewhere in this enticing tale, I may perhaps be allowed to describe the way we live on a Spanish ship. At dawn, of course, the inevitable swabbing of the decks commences, but whereas on a British ship this sacred rite occupies at the outside an hour or so, on the Uranus it occupied varied periods extending from half an hour on the least inspired day to six hours on what must have been the very holy of holies. However, as our beds were safely perched on the skylight out of harm's way, we D 34 THE PHILIPPINES CHAP. soon learnt to snooze comfortably through the whole operation, with the soothing feeling that the crew was being kept out of mischief, and on the fair way towards earning a day's pay. At 10 A.M., with a bottle of eucalyptus in one hand, a scent bottle in the other, and surrounded by a soft rainfall of Little's Soluble Phenyle, we dashed into the senoras' bower -our bower-washed and dressed as only those who are habitually late for parade know how to, and then burst again on deck much as a boy who has been searching for eggs for sixty seconds at the bottom of a swimming bath shoots to the surface, Dejeuner a la fourchette is served on deck at 10.30 A.M., and is a very substantial meal, and rightly so, for it has to sustain us till dinner-time. The courses come in a somewhat different order to those at a French dejeuner or English lunch. Thus we begin with omelettes or other egg-made dishes, next come two courses of meat generally in the form of hashes and pillaus, then fish, and as a coup de grdce an exceedingly solid beefsteak, winding up with slight kickshaws in the shape of cheese and fruit. The wine, which is served gratis, is a red wine of good quality, but remarkably strong. My first morning, being somewhat thirsty, I drank a good deal of it, and as a result slept peacefully till dinner-time, when I woke with a mouth like an ashpit and a head like a volcano, and in a frame of mind quite incompatible with singing Watts's hymns. Dinner is served at 5.30-infamous hour!-and is an exact replica of Ill SINGAPORE TO ILOILO 35 breakfast with a basin of soup thrown in. My old enemy, the rich red wine, was there also, but I watched him carefully this time, and noticing that the Spaniards only sipped the wine, and then immediately chased it down with half a tumbler of water, I did likewise, and am therefore alive to tell the tale. The cooking was not at all oily or greasy; on the contrary very clean and savoury, but I imagine the chef had not a very varied assortment of dishes in his repertoire. Picquet, at which I lost a large fortune, and reading books about the Philippines filled up the rest of our days. The voyage from Singapore to Iloilo, a trading centre on the coast of Pana Island, of the Philippine group, occupies about five days, the course usually taken heading straight for the Balabac Straits, which divide Paraguay from Borneo. The Borneo coast is distantly visible, and on clear days the majestic Kinabalu mountain, 13,700 feet high, can be plainly seen so far at sea as I30 miles. Passing through the Balabac Straits the voyager to the Philippines enters the Sulu Sea, and after hugging the Paraguay shore for 150 miles or so to avoid reefs and other maritime pleasantries, heads northeast across the sea for Iloilo. From Singapore to the Balabac Straits occupies about three and a half days, and the transit of the Sulu Sea about one and a half days. In these latitudes the question of weather at sea is naturally an all-important one, for the Philippines D 2 36 THE PHILIPPINES CHAP. are the nursery of the much-dreaded and extremely formidable typhoon of the China Seas. Having already borne the brunt of two of these storms, and the afterwash of a third, not the remotest ambition remains to see another. Typhoons and cyclones were made for sailors, I imagine, not for soldiers, or possibly they are among those things which no fellow can understand the use of, and might serve for a verse or two from old Omar Khayyam, who would, no doubt, address his Creator with a healthy unre- I serve regarding a matter of such doubtful advantage to any one concerned. Before crossing to the Philippines it is as well therefore to make sure that no typhoon is expected, and if one should be it is undoubtedly wiser to incur an extra week's bill at Raffles's Hotel, and wait till it has blown over. The track of a typhoon at once becomes known at all b ports within telegraphic communication with each other, and its exact direction can be almost mathematically calculated, so that given sufficient warning 7 there is no necessity whatever to run one's head into the noose. The season of the year in which typhoons are reputed to be most prevalent extends from April to December, but no part of the year appears to be entirely free from all chance of them. From past statistics, however, it appears that rarely more than; one really formidable typhoon per annum need be expected. In the year of our visit, I898, this annual occurrence took place on May 3 1st, whilst we came ( ** im SINGAPORE TO ILOILO. 37 in for a second and milder one just before leaving Manila at the end of November. Is there any being so fortunate as never to have been assailed with qualms on the subject of tips to servants? Personally I have suffered more anguish on this subject than on any other, except my teeth. The last day at a country house, every day's fishing and shooting, even the drive to the station and the journey itself is ruined by this dreadful shadow of impending evil. Not that I or any one else grudges for a moment the useful menial whatever he may think his due; but where the hitch comes in is that no one ever seems to know how much one ought to give, and to whom. I think it is the Duke of Westminster who has a notice up in his bedrooms requesting none of his guests to tip the servants; if, however, they feel that their consciences will not allow of this, their attention is directed to a box into which their offerings may be dropped, such offerings forming a fund which is divided amongst all the servants at Christmas time. Such a step is certainly \j one in the right direction. These sad reflections were occasioned by our impending departure from the Uranus. Here there was a major domo, a Spaniard, who did nothing for us in particular, beyond taking a lordly but distant interest in our welfare, and Tho-mass, a nominal descendant, I imagine, of the late-lamented Didymus, who did everything for us, as valet, lady's maid, housemaid, waiter, and general fag. Now the great *. '1 II II 38 THE PHILIPPINES CH. Ill question was, should we insult the Spanish nation in general, and the major domo in particular, by rewarding both him and Thomas the Philippine according to their merits, or on the other hand should we distribute our tips on the basis of to him that hath shall be more abundantly supplied? After a sleepless night spent in wrestling with this problem we solved it by deciding to subsidise both so heavily that they could each buy a church for themselves and praise the British nation ever afterwards. 10 A*,, I I, CHAPTER IV ILOILO Arrival at Pana Island-Defenceless condition of Iloilo —An ancient fort-The hardly aggressive sandbag-Garrison of IloiloThreatened rising-Rumoured defeat of the Spaniards-An excellent anchorage-The wharves-Description of Iloilo-Bad state of roads-European stores-Public vehicles-Mr. Duncan, the British Vice-Consul-A matter of passports-We tranship to the Butuan-"Plenty bad women"-A miserable experienceDisappointing scenery. EARLY on the morning of October 24th, 1898, we sighted Pana Island, and about 2 P.M. dropped anchor before Iloilo, the temporary capital of the Spanish Philippines and the seat of government. The sea approaches to Iloilo, more especially from the westward, are very confined, and the crudest military or naval genius could find little difficulty in making the passage of a hostile fleet excessively unpleasant, but it is perhaps unnecessary to add that the Spaniards have done nothing either before the war began or during its continuance to put the place into a state of defence. The only exception to this seemingly sweeping assertion that can be taken by those responsible is in favour of a few sandbags which have been ,- 1r, 4o THE PHILIPPINES ' CHAP. piled up on the bastions of a venerable masonry work which stands, and has probably stood for a couple of centuries, on the spit of land to the south of the town. This small fort is square, measuring about 8o yards each way, and its sea walls are so undermined by the action of the waves that one wellplaced modern shell would tumble the whole structure into the sea. Beyond the useful but hardly aggressive sandbag there are no engines of warfare in the fort, no guns in position of even the smallest calibre or most ancient pattern. Either there never have been any, or perchance some needy former Governor turned them into cash. The garrison of Iloilo at this period consisted of about i,ooo infantry and two or three field guns. Of.the infantry about half were natives, and could not be relied on. No opportunity occurred of seeing these troops, for they had just been despatched inland to check a rising which, instigated by the landing of lioo insurgents from the island of Luzon, was reported to be making formidable headway. The insurgents had brought several field guns with them, and arms and ammunition for their compatriots. On the morning after our arrival grave rumours were afloat that the Spanish troops had been defeated, and wholesale desertion to the enemy on the part of the native troops wvas taking place. In the narrow strait which lies between the islands of Pana and Guimaras excellent anchorage and shelter exist for ships of any size and in any numbers. The town of Iloilo, though practically Iv ILOILO 41 on the sea and completely visible from it, has no wharfage on either of its sea faces. Ships of over I,ooo tons register have to load and unload at the anchorage, but small steamers and gunboats can proceed up the river to the town itself. The river is only about 8oo feet wide, and the wharves are about three-quarters of a mile from the mouth. At the mouth is a bar crossable only at high water even for sailing brigs. There is room for about ten steamers to unload at one time at the wharf. The town of Iloilo is of irregular shape, about one mile long by three-quarters broad. The houses are well built and the streets for the most part wide, but very badly kept. Another instance probably of the money which should have been expended in repairs going instead to feather the nests of officials. Side roads are mere quagmires, to bridge the worst portions of which a public-spirited citizen here and there gives the use of a teak log. These logs are occasionally the saving of a pedestrian, but we noticed that the ponies and bullocks drawing vehicles viewed them in an entirely different light, when, in addition to deep going, such formidable obstacles had to be negotiated. A few good stores kept by Europeans appeared to contain all the usual necessaries of life, whilst the less pretentious shops were kept by Chinamen. The public vehicles are two-wheeled and covered in, exact counterparts, in fact, on a smaller scale, of the inside car of " ould Ireland." The ponies are good, hardy little beasts, standing about 13 hands on 42 THE PHILIPPINES CHAP. an average, and cost from 75 to ioo dollars apiece. Rates of hire, like everything else, were high in consequence of the war, fares all round being double the usual peace rates. On the morning after our arrival we went ashore and called on Mr. Duncan, the British Vice-Consul, who proved to be the brother of a friend of ours, Surgeon-Major Duncan, of the 5th Gurkhas. The Spanish Government, great in small things however small in great things, made here the astonishing discovery that I had no passport. I had asked the American Consul at Singapore if one was necessary, and was informed that it certainly was not, we being through passengers to Manila and only touching at Iloilo incidentally en route. However, the Spaniards would have it, and I was ordered to present myself with my papers before the Secretary to Government. As my "papers" consisted of nothing more official than my visiting card, supported by a regimental crest on the back of a cigarette case, we appeared to be in some danger of missing our ship, which sailed in an hour's time, but here Mr. Duncan most kindly came to the rescue and accompanied me to the Spanish Government Offices. The result of the negotiations was the highly interesting document given on the opposite page, which no one has ever been able to decipher, and which no one of course ever afterwards asked for. At Iloilo we transhipped into another Spanish ship flying, however, the American flag. We had fondly imagined that we had fallen as low as it IV ILOILO 43 was possible to fall in ocean shippping in a steamer of 873 tons, but our next venture, the Butuan, undeceived us in that respect, for she was only a little over 400 tons, and a nice little bounce she gave us during our thirty-six hours' voyage in a-Wr P y^ ^ "4 / her. She was very crowded too, the first and only saloon being so full that there was not room for all to be fed at one time. Our kind friend, the captain of the Uranus, had personally conducted us on board and handed us over with many and most careful 44 THE PHILIPPINES CHAP. injunctions as to our welfare to our new captain. The result was that the new captain drew me apart and unfolded a dark and dreadful conspiracy,whereby we were to feign indisposition till the other good people were safely settled at dinner, and then he would have a nice table spread on deck for himself and us and one other privileged senor. The conspiracy came off all right, but the captain got dreadfully careworn over it. His English was very rudimentary, and we chuckled a good deal when, in explaining his plan of campaign relative to meals, he described his fair compatriots of the first saloon as "plenty bad women," with fearful shrugs and contortions, "not good like Missis," smiling blandly at the back of my wife's head in the distance. A voyage in the Butuan is like a voyage on the most depressing form of switchback railway, with the additional horror of some one giving the bottom of the ship great bumps up at all the most inconvenient moments. A more miserable crowd than thronged the decks even the annals of the Calais-Dover boat could with difficulty produce. As to the scenery during the trip through the network of islands which lie between Iloilo and Manila, one feels compelled in honesty to record an opinion that it is certainly not worth the trouble of going so far to see. During a previous visit to Japan it had been impressed upon us that the scenery in the renowned inland sea of Japan could not compare with that to be found in the Philippine Islands; this may or may not be the case, i I IV ILOILO 45 but of a surety we did not come across those parts. One of the charms of the inland sea is, that in ships of the largest tonnage you can run close along shore as in a deep river, and the mainland and islands are full of-life and the sea of boats. In the Philippines, on the contrary, the ship, as a rule, keeps well away from land, and such land as is passed close consists merely of thickly-wooded, deserted-looking hills, dipping steeply into the sea. No life is visible on shore, no variety in the stereotyped class of scenery, and a boat is as rare as an octopus. Go, therefore, by all means to the Philippines, but not to see anything more beautiful than the scenery in Japan, or for that matter in England. But even the most uncomfortable voyage is not without its humours, and here a standing amusement was furnished by a little German, very fat and very ill, whose bed, bedding, and blankets another gentleman, equally ill, had appropriated, spread on deck, and permanently occupied. Every few hours the little German would dash at the usurper and shake and abuse him, and demand his bed; but the usurper was a big man and very ill, and absolutely refused to stir, whereupon the little German Would dash away and be violently unwell, and sleep about here and there and glare at the big man. At last, after firmly resisting all attacks for twenty-four hours, the big man gave in so far as to. allow the little fat man to have half his own bed, and there for the rest of the voyage these two lay as lovingly as the babes l X 46 THE PHILIPPINES CH. IV in the wood, and were comfortably ill together. The chief engineer was a Scotchman, and had been on the Butuan for twenty years, during which period his consumption of whisky appears to have reflected great credit on the swallowing capacities of his native land; as the captain put it, Him very good; what you call drunkengineer." ci 'I * *0~~~~~~~~~[ { k CHAPTER V MANILA OF TO-DAY Sanitary and Customs inspection-" Only durned Dons "-A priest in difficulties-Five minutes with a landing porter-An undisciplined nationality-" Intramuros"-The suburbs-The streets and footpaths-The shops-The government of the Americans-The Postal, Customs, and Police Departments-Sanitary reformsSinks of sanitary iniquity-The Don's bath-He rarely needs itPoor Peter-The water-works not in American hands-Consequent state of the water-Abolition of cock-fighting and lotteries-A 500,00ooo prize —Tramcars-Public vehicles-Fares-Police protection required-No curios-The hotels not good-Poor food, insanitary and unclean-The kitchen-The servants with no class distinction except stupidity-Restaurants-Saloons and bars"Do you expectorate cotton? "-Filipino bands-The soldiers' Pay day-The English Club-The local American Press-" Holy Gee! "-Religion and costumes of the people-A Chinese custom -The morals of the ladies-The vacant throne. WE anchored off the mouth of the Pasig River, on which the town of Manila stands, at dawn on October 27th, 1898, and there awaited the American sanitary inspector's visit. This inspection satisfactorily completed, the ship was placed in charge of three soldiers, who represented the Customs Department, and we steamed about a mile up the Pasig River, and wharfed up alongside of Manila town. Naturally a great department like that of the Customs, taken 48 THE PHILIPPINES CHAP. over by an army of occupation and worked by soldiers with possibly little or no experience, and certainly short-handed, cannot expect to fall at once into first-class working order. We had therefore to wait several hours before our small personal baggage had. worked successfully through the ordeal, and. finally our kind friend the soldier let us through for 25 cents. In paying my small bill and pressing a soothingdrink on him, I mentioned that I had noticed * that the other passengers had had to pay a good deal more than we had. "Oh, yes," says young Uncle Sam; "but them's only durned Dons, and you're a Britisher," which from a British point of view was an excellent argument. At the same time we saw the same young fellow very good naturedly befriend a Spanish priest who had got into some trouble with the landing porters. We could not quite follow what the trouble was, but the malcontents would not allow the priest's carriage to depart. As a last resource the priest appealed to our friend, who, though he' probably did not understand the point under argument any more than we did, cut the gordian knot with great promptitude by mounting on the coach box himself and ordering the driver to proceed at once, under pain of having the butt-end of a rifle heavily planted on his toes. These same landing porters we in our turn found most insolent and ill-conditioned hounds, of a rapacity which I have seldom seen equalled. For landing our luggage, allowing for war prices, we gave the man about four times what he would have i' ii V MANILA OF TO-DAY 49 got in any other Eastern port, a sum equivalent to the pay of five able-bodied soldiers for one day. Not satisfied with claiming more, he was undoubtedly insolent as well. I did not, however, stay to have insolence translated, but being a man of war, gave that porter five minutes of the most astonishing experiences which the Philippine mind could possibly conceive. The moment was one of sweet gratification, for I had for some months been steadily ploughing along with Sandow's system of developing the muscles, and gave that porter the benefit of it. There is every reason to hope that when the gentleman comes to the violent end he is spoiling for, the name: of Sandow amongst other things will be found engraved upon his heart. On further acquaintance with the natives of these islands, nothing struck us more forcibly than the great difference in demeanour between them and the natives of each and all of our own or of the Dutch dependencies. With the current and wellauthenticated history of two centuries of Spanish oppression, Spanish cruelty, and Spanish atrocity before one, it would be natural to find in the Philippines a downtrodden and ultra subservient race. But this is not at all the case, and may be taken as one more proof of the entire unsuitability of the Latin races for the work of colonisation, the spread of civilisation, or call it what you may. To take a small instance, if one goes into a restaurant or lives in an hotel in England or any of her dependencies, one is, as a rule, treated with ordinary civility and E 50 THE PHILIPPINES CHAP. attention by the waiters and servants, men who are paid to perform those functions. Our experience of the Philippine servant was quite' the contrary, for a more lazy, insolent, ignorant, and feckless individual it would be difficult to find. Every day and every hour of the day is borne forcibly in upon one the impression, even allowing for the present disturbed state of public feeling, that there is an entire z sence of such national discipline as should be the outcome of centuries of well-regulated European control. The town of Manila consists of an old walled city, known as " Intramuros" and of various suburbs which have sprung up around it. It came into the possession of the Spaniards partly by conquest and partly by treaty in the month of May, 1570, upwards of three centuries ago. The walled city appears to have been built as a protection against the sea pirates about the year 1590, during the governorship of Gomez Perez Dasmarinas, and according to tradition Chinese labour was employed in the construction of the defences. The main bastions are built of huge blocks of faced stone, and even after three centuries of wear and tear would still form a protection against any but the heaviest guns. Of the suburbs, Binondo is the chief trading centre, and has indeed become a small town of itself, separated only from the walled town by the Pasig River. On the other hand, and connected with the walled town by the Luneta or public promenade, lie the combined suburbs of Ermita and Malate, where the English I I II '7 I Z I II i ~~_ ~ _II ~~ - i -.1 .. -.',:.. K '"'" ~ ' i. ".- ' ~ ' - 4 —! \| 1 - r =i ~~ ~ i~ ~,. "-:. -. ":......": ~ ' ' — - -' '.- ". ~.~.~' ~-~';E., --....| '...'.~ '...... ~ (To.' pag 51. ob/ face page 5t. American Picquet Bivouacking in the Escolta, the Bond Street of Manila. -- - - -,.. wm c~ 7r *FI~'CT' a Stz ' v MANILA OF TO-DAY St Club is situated, and where several handsome private residences are to be found. Both in the walled city and in Binondo the houses and streets are much the same as are to be found in any small town in Spain or France, architectural merit, such as it is, being reserved for the churches and cathedrals. The streets are narrow and paved with rough cobble stones, which must bring fond recollections of New York to the American heart, and the footpaths, except in the Escolta, the Bond Street of Manila, are rarely broad enough for two people to walk comfortably abreast. Mud, deep abiding mud, is prevalent everywhere for three-fourths of the year, and is replaced by dust during the remaining period. It is. difficult to say whether the paved streets or the unpaved are the worst; both are execrable, and have no doubt made the fortunes of several public functionaries who have had the handling of the money destined for their repair. The shops, especially in the Escolta, are surprisingly good for such an outof-the-way place, and compare favourably with those of Hong Kong, Calcutta, or Singapore. Prices, in spite of the war, are certainly lower than those which obtain at British ports in the East. After the capitulation of the Spaniards the whole civil government of Manila and its suburbs was taken over by the Americans, the general officer commanding becoming Military Governor. To undertake such a task is indeed a formidable one, especially for an army situated far from its base and unable therefore to draw at once on home resources E 2 52 THE PHILIPPINES CHAP. for trained officials. But perhaps no military force is better situated for meeting such a demand than is an army composed of the material which fills the ranks of-the American Expeditionary Force. There are here the best part of i8,ooo volunteers, men drawn from every rank of society, lawyers, merchants, postal clerks, tradesmen, office hands of all descriptions, university men; and, indeed, it would be difficult to say what trade or calling is not represented. From amongst these men it was possible to draw fairly proficient officials to man the Customs, Postal, and Police Departments, whilst the ProvostMarshal-General became Chief Magistrate of the borough and exercised functions accordingly. The Postal Department ran smoothly enough, but with the Customs some initial difficulties arose, for it was manifestly unfair on the merchants to suddenly introduce without due notice a new table of tariffs, whilst merchandise imported under older and higher tariffs still remained unsold. On the other hand, also, new imports which under the new rdgime were destined to bear higher customs rates, would be crowded out of the market so long as the same article saleable at cheaper rates under the old tariff remained in stock. The American Governor therefore very wisely consented to introduce tariff reforms1 gradually only, and after due notice given. The working of the city police came as a new and startling innovation to Spaniards and Filipinos alike; the infraction of the laws of sanitation and public decency became a finable offence. Old residents, '~.M.ANILA OF TO-DAY 53 male and female, who from time immemorial had been accustomed 'to perform the offices of nature in any convenient spot in the public streets, now found that the continuance of such habits was a luxury which, pecuniarily speaking, they could no longer afford, for even the most opulent would hardly care to pay a couple of dollars on each occasion. The custom of emptying slops out of window was also severely discountenanced, and one Spanish officer who happened to hit an American. sentry in this way, spent the night in the guard-room, and, in addition, had to pay a handsome fine in the morning. But Rome was not built in a day, and though the Americans worked sanitary marvels even in a few weeks, yet large and comprehensive measures will be required before Manila can rank as a sanitary town. To give an instance of the absolute filth of Spanish ways of living, it is only necessary to- allude to their household arrangements. Here the only "place of resort" is a small room at the top of the house, with a hole in the floor. To this common and awful retreat ladies and gentlemen of the highest birth and most distinguished bearing resort, and it is a solemn truth that this pit of iniquity is never cleared out, that the excreta of fifty or one hundred years lie there, and that a solid column of this decayed filth, standing sometimes as high as. the second storey, forms part and parcel of the houses of even the richest and most distinguished Spaniards. If any corroboration of this statement is necessary I may add the testimony of an American officer, who with I 54 THE PHILIPPINES CHAP. a fatigue party detailed for the purpose, took three weeks clearing out these appalling monuments of uncleanliness in.a block of buildings occupied by'hisr men. In face of this damning evidence we may / perhaps place the Spaniard below all other nations in the sanitary hierarchy, and might with justice decide that he should be severely, cut by every cleanminded person in Europe till he becomes more civilised. It is not surprising with this introduction to find that the Spaniards, even in a tropical climate, habitually shun the daily or even weekly bath. On the rare occasions when necessity demands this dire expedient, every window and door is carefully shut as if ice blasts from the Pole were hurtling in, and * then in solemn procession a very small bath, containing a little very warm water, is placed in the middle 'of the bedroom. The bath consists of what is vulgarly known as a " lick and a promise," after which the valuable Don most carefully dries himself, puts his clothes on, and opens the shutters inch by inch, for fear he should catch cold by a too sudden exposure to an atmosphere of go9 in the shade. We were thinking of taking passage back to Singapore in a large Spanish ship, carrying officers and men back to Barcelona, but were strongly advised not to do so by an Englishman who had tried the experiment. His experience has been that the solitary bathroom in the ship was permanently filled with heavy baggage, and that not a single soul on board, officers, ladies, or children- took a single bath ~ MANILA OF TO-DAY 55 between Manila and Barcelona, a period of thirtytwo days. Perhaps we English are over-sensitive on the matter of personal cleanliness, and bore other nations by insisting on it, but before closing the subject may I add another incident? A Don in Manila, one of the highest in the land, gravely informed an English friend that he looked upon a bath as a purely medicinal function-one would think almost surgical-and that he only took baths when he was ill in some way. "But you are never ill; you are always a particularly healthy man," remarked the Englishman. "Yes, thanks be to Heaven, I am," said the senior devoutly and simply. Poor old Peter up aloft must have a heavy job with the Dons before they are fit for admission through the golden gates. The water-works are situated outside the town to the northward, and have, by a curious oversight, been left by the Americans in the hands of the insurgent troops. Apart from military considerations the arrangement has decided disadvantages. Some days the water arrives through the pipes fairly clear and good, on other days only moderately so, and on three days in the week impossible for man or beast. By this simple thermometer it is possible to gauge with some accuracy the exact occupation of the insurgents on the previous day. After three centuries a habit or pastime becomes a second nature, and therefore the stern suppression of cock-fighting, lotteries, and gambling houses smote the good people of Manila with something THE PHILIPPINES CHAP. approaching consternation. The loss in revenue, too, is considerable, and will have to be made good by. taxation in other and perhaps less popular directions. The licenses for cock-fighting alone brought into the Treasury $150,000 to $I6o,ooo a year, whilst the percentage which fell to the State from the monthly Government lotteries touched $600,000 a year. These lotteries were very popular not only with the Spaniards but with the English at Hong Kong, Singapore, and even as far afield as Calcutta. A whole ticket costs $io, but was divided into ten coupons, each of which could be bought separately for a dollar apiece; the first prize amounted to as much as $500,000, and to take tickets in this monthly lottery was as much part of a merchant or trader's business as to ensure his business premises. Of course the grand prize took a good deal of catching, but most investors found that their gains in small prizes generally kept their accounts fairly evenly.balanced, whilst the lucky few made fortunes, and nobody lost severely. Tramcars, with the bridge over the Pasig River into Binondo as a central meeting-point, run weakly wailing out to all the suburbs and also to the walled city, the driver blowing continuously an instrument suggestive of lost souls. They are built on much the same lines as are tramcars in other countries, and for four cents you can go as far as you please. The ponies are very small, barely thirteen hands in height, and though plucky and willing one pony of this size can hardly be considered sufficient horsing v MANILA OF TO-DAY 57 for a car holding twenty to twenty-five people. This matter of protecting from overwork ponies employed both in tramcars and public vehicles is one which will probably have to be looked to by the American city fathers. The Spaniard has no bowels of compassion, and the Filipino knows no better; it is therefore not uncommon to see ponies badly galled still at work in-the streets, or driven to a standstill, whilst the vehicles are habitually overloaded, four or five soldiers crowding into a carriage intended to hold two or three. The public vehicles are divided into three classes, and the authorised charges are moderate in each class. The first-class carriages are double-ponied open victorias, such as the Dutch in Java call "milords"; the second-class are called "quilez," very close relations to the inside car of Dublin, and drawn by one pony; and the third-class consists of small one-ponied hooded traps with seating for two behind the driver, and facing the pony. The authorised charges promulgated by the ProvostMarshal-General are for a first-class carriage: 25 cents for one half-hour; 50 cents for the first hour, and 30 cents for each succeeding hour; for six consecutive hours, $2; for a twelve-hour day with an interval of two hours to rest and feed the horses, $3.80 cents. For a second-class vehicle the charges are 20 cents for one half-hour; 40 cents for the first hour, and 25 cents for each succeeding hour; for six consecutive hours, $i.6o cents; for twelve hours with an interval of two hours for resting and feeding the horses, $3. In the third-class for the same periods 58 THE PHILIPPINES CHAP. the charges are i 5 cents, 25 cents and 20 cents, $I. i 5 cents, and $2.40 cents. After midnight double fares may be charged in each class. The drivers are all Filipinos and seem to be a fairly intelligent and obliging lot, but somewhat too prone to the whip. So habituated have some of the ponies become to the ding-dong of the whip every moment about their hides that they will stop automatically if it ceases. The majority of cases which appear before the courts of the Provost- Marshal are charges of gambling, committing nuisances in the streets, selling drinks at unauthorised hours, and occasionally a case of fighting or stabbing, but a case of cruelty to animals or over-driving rarely appears to catch the eyes of the police. We saw in durance vile one Spanish officer who was found dancing like a maniac on the dead body of a Filipino officer, on the Luneta, the latter having five stiletto wounds which had apparently been the cause of death, and which were presumably inflicted by the Spanish officer. Such cases were however rare, and the gentlemen who went about hunting trouble with a knife generally inflicted only minor wounds. There is nothing of any local interest to be bought in the shops except cigars, which are of course excellent, cigarettes which are moderately good and exceedingly cheap, and "pina" cloth, a curious and very fine species of silk muslin, made either from pineapple fibre or from hemp fibre. This "pina" cloth is worn by women of all classes, and varies in V. MANILA OF TO-DAY 59 price from 50 cents to $io a yard, according to texture. Many of the shades and patterns are, I am credibly informed, exquisite. On the hotels it is not possible to make laudatory remarks, and those who wish for even moderate comfort are advised to postpone their visit until the Americans have had time to start one or two good hotels. Wild horses would not drag from me the name of the hotel at which we took refuge, but as it has since changed hands its reputation will not be injured by any remarks here made regarding it in the bad old days. To start with, the food was such as to induce one to take a gloomy view of life for the remainder of the day. Two meals, each the counterpart of the other, were served, the one at 12 noon, \A *and the other at 7 o'clock P.M. The perennial menu 4 consisted of soup, very thin and very greasy, and * presumably made from boiled dish-cloths. As piece de resistance came a portion of a venerable cow, the father or mother of all cows, such original nutriment as it possessed having first been boiled out of it, and j possibly sold as soup elsewhere. Next would come a nameless horror, which a confiding public was invited to believe to be an enirge; this article from a purely archeological and geological point of view had some interest, and it might be of value to the South Kensington Museum to have one preserved in spirits and sent home for exhibition. Some people maintain that it was a kromesky made of fragments of Egyptian mummy; others that we were merely using up the broken remains of Montojo's fleet. For my-.A 1. 6o THE PHILIPPINES CHAP. self I prefer to keep an open mind and leave conjecture to the scientists. Occasionally a venerable fish was added to the feast, and the banquet closed with a weird dish called "carey," which consisted of small chunks of some defunct bird, by courtesy understood to be a fowl, floating about in liquid train-oil slightly spiced. In this curious disguise we were much gratified to find after careful inquiry our old friend the curry of the gorgeous East. Such a thing as chota-nazri, the cup that soothes in the cold grey of the morning, or afternoon tea, were apparently unknown, and every morning and evening regularly had I to sally forth to the kitchen and arrange for the supply, on each occasion being met with the utmost astonishment by all concerned. Tea, that celestial beverage, was itself made in such a way as to be unapproachable, and the coffee was little better, an incidental matter perhaps accounted for by our frequently finding old tea leaves at the bottom of the coffee-pot. That same coffee-pot, by the way, was used as a vehicle for bringing hot water for our baths, which was doubtless good for the coffee-pot, but bad for the bath. No butter appears to be obtainable, if one excepts a yellow horror reputed to be manufactured from old cocoanut chips, and the sight of which would certainly give any right-minded cow delirium tremens. The sanitary arrangements consisted of one pit of iniquity, such as has been before described, and in close and pleasing contact with it are the kitchen and a solitary and much be-cobwebbed bathroom. It is not v MANILA OF TO-DAY 6!' possible to declare on oath that there were cobwebs across the bath when we arrived, but from the general surroundings we had every reason to believe that there were. Returning from this painful pil-. grimage, the intelligent passer-by may chance to cast a glance into a dark and noisome hole, it might be a coal hole, or it might be a dustbin, but indeed it is neither, it is the kitchen, whence issue our luxurious daily repasts. The bedrooms are grubbylooking, ill-ventilated, and unclean, and water for'. washing purposes has to be wrung drop by drop from the attendant boy. These "boys," Filipinos all, are miserable servants, without method or intelligence. A boy, for instance, would never dream of filling up the water jugs of his own initiative, but has on each occasion to be hunted up jug in hand. In the same way he would never think of emptying the utensils without being told to do so, and pouring slops out of window into the street is now discouraged by the American police. At dinner one may have been drinking draught beer regularly every night for a fortnight, nevertheless each evening it is necessary to carefully explain to the same boy exactly what draught beer is, and how much is wanted, and he, after consulting several other boys, and slopping about a bit, will discover what you want with all the genuine pleasure of one who has at last solved a great and important problem. The boys have no caste prejudices, which is a blessing, and no class distinction except stupidity. Perhaps I ought to have written of Manila hotels after the mellowing 62 THE PHILIPPINES CHAP. hand of time and distance had blunted the point of the pen, but what is written is written, and if the strictures made appear too severe it may be allowed in amelioration that they were written in a Manila hotel. The prices charged are from $5 to $4 (Mex.) per head per diem, and at some hotels table wine is included in this charge. There are several fairly good restaurants in the town at which the charges are very moderate. The best of these we found to be the Paris Restaurant in the Escolta, with the dining-room abutting on the It river, and the Nuevo Restaurant, opposite the English Tiffin Club. The charge at both of these restaurants is $ i per meal, including red Spanish wine. One dollar equals at the present day one shilling and elevenpence, or one rupee eight annas. By the way, as we were entering the Paris Restaurant we came across a Spanish soldier, a prototype of my own U beloved corps, the Guidas Rurales, which, being interpreted, means, I imagine, guides to the enemy's country. Of saloons and bars there is a sufficient quantity. From one bedroom window it is possible for a fairly dexterous man to flick the stump of a cigar into four, whilst a fifth is only about twenty yards out of range, and a sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth could be reached by the most infirm person in a few seconds from our bedroom door. Each saloon is filled with small tables, and at each table are seated permanently four American soldiers, and in front of each warrior is a pile of monkey nuts and a glass I V MANILA OF TO.DAY 63 ~ of beer. As the bar keeper rakes in 40 cents, or about tenpence, on each of those glasses of beer, it is obvious that the bar keeper's eldest daughter is a lady worth marrying. The majority of these saloons are now in the hands of Americans, but a few Spaniards are still holding on, aided by American assistants-heaven preserve us from calling them waiters. The beer drunk is almost entirely American, and is delicately brought to the attention of consumers by humorous advertisements. Thus one brewer asks: "How is your pulse? Is your tongue dry? Do you expectorate cotton? IF SO, LOOK OUT, MY SON!! or you are a gone goose. 's beer will cure you and make your tent a happy home. ----— 's beer is what you want; insist on having it, and kick if you don't get it." A rival gentleman retorts: "How about icebergs? Next to icebergs there's nothing so cooling as a glass of ---- 's beer. When it is cool it is so chilly that you must keep it away from YOUR MOTHER-IN-LAW, or the old girlie will make it hot for you." And a third merchant prince informs the public that his beer "kills the sun's heat. Try it, boys," and to do them justice they do. In many of the saloons are string bands manned by Filipinos, who play exceedingly well and entirely by ear. The American soldier is paid only once a month, which is a bad arrangement for all parties, for naturally after a month of penury the dollars fly on pay day, and a few of the weaker vessels get pleasingly exhilarated, whilst one and all blow the 64 THE PHILIPPINES CHAP. pile in a couple of days, and have to spend the next twenty-eight days in sorrowful longing for the paymaster's next visit. From personal experience I must record a passing encomium on the excellence of the beer as served at these saloons; it is very light, clear as crystal, well up, and ice cold. On Sundays all bars and saloons are, under American jurisdiction, closed, but possibly there is a back entrance to most of them, for a couple of soldiers were found asleep and dreaming of Schletz's beer on Sunday night in the hotel stables. There is at present only one club, known as the English Club, with a fine club-house out in the Malate quarter on the sea shore, and an annex in the shape of a Tiffin Club in the Binondo quarter in the centre of all the business houses. The members most hospitably throw their doors open to British and American officers, making them temporary or honorary members. It was from the roof of the club-house that several Englishmen gained a fine view of the naval battle of Cavite, whilst in the final capture of the city they were right on the scene of action, and at one time between the belligerents, probably a unique experience. With a ready eye to business, and' appreciating the power of the Press, the Americans have already started four newspapers in Manila. Of these The American, The American Soldier, and The Manila Times, are daily papers, whilst Freedom is issued bi-weekly only. Considering their youth and natur v MANILA OF TO-DAY 65 ally somewhat restricted circulation they have a very good service of foreign telegrams, and contain many useful and instructive articles on local and American topics. The paragraphs and advertisements are often very amusing. "Holy Gee," exclaims one organ, 200 new subscribers in one hour! Walk in, boys, beer ain't in it with newspapers. Dump down your dollars and secure an intellectual feast for one month, anyhow." But the beer man is not to be defeated, for on the back of the same paper he holds out most inviting suggestions of celestial bliss to those who drink his beer, thus: "Beware of microbes. The little demons that down a strong man. There's NO MICROBES in S — 's beer, and don't you forget it. If by accident a microbe should fall into S ---'s beer, he would reform and become an ANGEL. Who would not be an Angel?" The universal religion amongst the natives appears to be Roman Catholic, and the Spaniards have so far impressed not only their religion but their attire on the people, that the women wear a semi-European costume, with long skirts, and wide, projecting sleeves, and when going to church a mantilla on the head; the men, as a rule, wearing a white shirt with the tails hanging out, white trousers and a European hat. The Spanish system, even in these minor matters, is diametrically opposed to the Dutch system as seen in Java, for whilst the Spaniards press their religion, language, and costumes on the people, the Dutch, acting on an exactly opposite F 66 THE PHILIPPINES CHAP. principle, make it illegal for a Javanese to appear in public without the national pug-gri on his head, and the nati nal sarong about his loins; whilst his religion, that of Mohammed, being an excellent one, is left to him. It was noticeable that a certain number of the Philippine women were to be seen with their hair down and hanging loose instead of coiled tup at the back of the head in the usual manner. On inquiry it appeared that the custom has been borrowed from the Chinese. The popular morals are of a somewhat easy-going type in the case of unmarried girls, who are apparently free to take their pleasures without fear of reproach. After marriage, however, the strictest morality is exacted by their husbands, and, as a rule, observed. Under these circumstances it is perhaps only natural to find that many of the brides have "no call to wear orange blossoms," as the sergeant of the guard in giving his evidence at the orderly room regarding the character of a young woman deftly described the situation. Spaniards and other Europeans who are unmarried, generally follow the ancient usages of India and Burmah, and by negotiation secure the services of a dusky senorita to fill the vacant throne in their households; some even marry them and settle down permanently in the country, but half-castes are not noticeable in large numbers, partly perhaps because the Spaniard is very little lighter in complexion than the Filipino, and the progeny might, and does to strangers, pass v MANILA OF TO-DAY 67 for either Spanish or Filipino, according to the costume worn. Some very pretty girls are occasionally seen with a strong cross of Chinese blood in their veins, but the ordinary Filipino woman is not beautiful, nor has she the taking manner and picturesque costume of the Japanese. F 2 CHAPTER VI THE "FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC The American and insurgent outposts stand face to face-Aguinaldo proclaims himself First President of the Philippine Republic and assembles a National Congress-Permission accorded to visit the great man-An early start-The advantage of early dawn parades-Mr Smith-Alliston-The President's palace at Malolos — A country road —Aguinaldo's bodyguard-The audience hallThe importunate widow-A long wait-Personal appearance of the President-A man of action-Prompt execution of a rival — Aguinaldo declares for complete independence-Breakers aheadThe colours of the 5th Spanish Light Infantry-The colours of the new Republic-Did the Americans or the English win the battle of Omdurman?-The sinews of war-The Treasury balance -Spanish prisoners-Rebellion or legitimate revolution. As before mentioned, hearing that their insurgent allies under Aguinaldo might be guilty of excesses if they were allowed to enter and hold Manila conjointly with the Americans, General Merritt so arranged the terms of capitulation that the American troops should hold the line of defence, with some modifications, recently held by the Spanish troops, whilst the insurgents remained in the outer encircling works which they had. held whilst besieging the Spaniards. The two allies were therefore placed in a very curious position, the one having the ap *.. *. ~, -; / l *.-4, ~. *- *.:. ~* f " * *. **.".,*. * *..:.-;,......,',,!.-,;:'. *,.; I'. '.;.:'-.. r1 ''::''. '' *:?'.'.: '...'.:..'. ": '':ffisi.t 2 ' '^i A c j' -K