The Restrictions Are Gradually Abolished.
Early in the nineteenth century foreigners made their way past the bars of restriction. A Mr. Butler first asked the privilege of residing in Manila, and opening up trade with Europe; but his humble petition was rejected as something monstrous,—an innovation that would put an end to the political security of the colony. Yet the needs of commerce forced Spain out of this illiberal attitude, and an American firm, Russell and Sturgis, was soon after admitted by favor of the Governor-General. Then Mr. Butler came back. Many others have since followed, and there are, to-day, about a dozen British and as many German and Swiss firms in the ports of Manila, Iloilo, and Cebú, together with firms of other nations.
The house of Russell & Sturgis was long prominent in Philippine trade. It opened up the sugar culture in the isle of Negros, invested a large amount of money in agriculture, and was long the mainspring of Philippine enterprise. But it was, in the end, victimized by the natives, to whom its capital had been largely advanced, and in 1875, to the amazement and consternation of the people, the great firm failed. For a time its failure paralyzed trade, but the minor firms it had overshadowed soon expanded, and business grew brisker than before.