The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 51, 1801-1840 / Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century

by Unknown

OF THE CAUSES WHICH OPERATE IN THE BACKWARD CONDITION OF THE ADMINISTRATION, BOTH CIVIL AND ECONOMIC, OF THE FILIPINAS ISLANDS; AND THEIR CORRECTIVE

[Of the failure of governors and intendants to make reports]

[Exact and circumstantial information is of course, necessary for the guidance of the home government in all measures relating to the resources, needs, development, and administration of the islands, and annual reports on all these matters are demanded from governors and intendants by the laws of the Indias. Essential as this requirement is, it has always been neglected.] What those officials sometimes write, when questioned about these matters, are but generalities; their reports and information are reduced to how much has been produced and how much spent, in the résumé of the royal exchequer accounts. Thus it is not known with what necessity and justice certain extraordinary expenses have been incurred, what number of employees the king has in that colony, what causes have occasioned the increase or decrease in the product of the revenues, and, finally, how the means and resources of the people who contribute to the royal income can be augmented so that the latter can likewise be increased, all which the government ought to know. [It is true that the governors are laden with multifarious routine duties, which often prevent them from attending to these important matters, and from examining conditions personally, for which they have to depend upon the reports of their subordinates; and these are apt to be actuated by self-interest and they do not like reforms, so their statements are not very reliable. The reports made by the municipalities, commercial consulate, and other bodies are of the same sort, as being always from the standpoint of their corporation; and neither authorities nor corporations have the same stimulus to thoroughness, accuracy, and energy as has the private person who undertakes an enterprise. It is through the latter class that great projects and advances are made, but such persons hesitate to present plans for these to the authorities there, because the authorities do not examine them personally, “but by means of a contentious, voluminous, and annoying expediente,” and likewise have no authority to adopt these plans until they are referred to Madrid—where, too, they are not encouraged to bring such projects before the royal government, and these, moreover, would have to be sent to Manila first (apparently to contend there with the aforesaid expediente). Bernaldez continues:] In order, then, to awaken this interest of enterprising private persons in the agriculture, manufactures, and commerce of Filipinas, it is necessary to have there a body expressly devoted to this object, and authorized to adopt provisionally any plan for improvement and progress which may be proposed to it and examined by it with the aid of its special knowledge of the country; and this body ought to be the superior council of the royal exchequer of the islands …. This council, as such, has very little occupation; its ministers, like all who are employed in Filipinas, attend to their official duties only in the forenoons, remaining free during all the afternoons and evenings for employment in a service of so great importance as this.

I am, then, of opinion that his Majesty should deign to establish the following: That the superior council of the royal exchequer in Filipinas constitute a similar council for the improvement and prosperity of the country, with the object of stimulating in every way the Indians to work, and capitalists to undertake enterprises. That its members hold weekly meetings for this purpose, at such hours as the president shall designate. That it also call in the proprietors of lands, agriculturists, manufacturers, and merchants of the country, listen to their views, and encourage them to propose reforms and plans for promoting the useful arts. That it be authorized to decide upon the execution of projects, provisionally, until the approbation of his Majesty is secured, in all matters which do not occasion loss to the country or injure the interests of the treasury. That it can draw upon the treasury of the community for a moderate amount of necessary expenses for the encouragement and reward of enterprises, for anything which can bring a positive and general benefit to the Indians and the government.

Of the royal court

[Our writer notes the requirement of the laws of the Indias that the governors and audiencias should consult and act together in matters of government, and the excellent results of this procedure.[6]] But unfortunately such has not been the case in the recent governments of Filipinas. The governor-presidents have entirely separated themselves from their audiencias, and have governed alone—sometimes in military fashion, not heeding the opinions and customs of the country, but depending on force of arms; and sometimes only by the advice of the lawyer who assists the governor, who has the title of government counselor [asesor], and who, although he ought to limit himself to giving opinion on points and cases regarding statutes, is counselor in all the arduous matters of administration. From this it has resulted that the fate of the colonies may be left in the hands of this class of counselors, and that their subordinates have had so much power and importance. [Moreover, this course leads to dissensions and hostilities between the governor and the Audiencia, which is a bad example to furnish to the people and lowers their respect for the authorities.] It must be borne in mind that the Indians of Filipinas are not so sunken in ignorance that they do not of themselves, and likewise through their attorneys and confessors, recognize that they have a sovereign who rules them, and who to this end has given them laws; consequently, all lack of concord among the authorities, and every change introduced in the method of governing the villages, must produce fatal consequences. [It is therefore recommended that the governor consult the Audiencia in all matters of the internal government of the islands, and any failure in this should be made a charge in his residencia.]

Of the administration of justice in general

The consideration and respect which the Audiencia of Manila merits among the Indians proceeds also from those times in which its members made official visits to the provinces, and in these visits did so much good to the villages. The visiting auditors were, in reality, friendly mediators in the disputes between the Indians; and they made agreements, placed limits to the villages, furnished a sort of municipal ordinance, and protected the natives against the oppressions of the alcaldes-mayor. Notwithstanding my high opinion of that tribunal, I regard as very proper the provisions of law xxxiv, título ii, book ii of the laws of the Indias in regard to the removal and promotion of its ministers, basing my opinion on the same arguments as did the law—that is, that it is very desirable not only to reward them, but to uproot them from the friendships which they contract in places where they remain a long time. These friendships, whose influence is always detrimental to the equitable administration of justice, are in Manila an almost necessary result of the small Spanish population, of the lack of all public amusement or diversion, and of the fact that with the enervating effect of the climate the rectitude and vigor of European morals is lost after some years of residence in the country. [The Audiencia has been unable to attend to the administration of justice in the islands as it has desired, for it has always been hindered by the many obstacles which arise from the storms, the lack of roads and mail service, the attraction of all the lawyers in the islands to the capital, the ignorance of the gobernadorcillo and the alcalde of each other’s language and of judicial procedures, the dilatory mode of carrying on these between the provinces and Manila, etc. “Thus it is very common that these lawsuits, besides being always full of defects, last three, four, or six years; and that in that long period either the delinquents take to flight, or the documents are lost.” Even in the Audiencia itself there are many obstacles to its action. Its subordinate officials are Indian or mestizo lawyers, who often are neither competent nor qualified for their positions;] and that which most contributes to retard the despatch of business, and to maintain the offices of the court without any organization, is the unfitness of those who occupy the class or purchasable and renunciable offices. The court clerk, the special commissioners, and the attorneys know nothing else than how to obtain the greatest possible advantage from the purchase of their offices. Without any instruction in the obligations of those positions, because they cannot acquire it in that country, and incapable of carrying out even what the ministers themselves have the patience to teach them, those men are, notwithstanding, the only ones whom the ministers can choose for those offices, because they are likewise the only ones who can outbid others in the sale of them. These positions are also of little advantage, because in the immense extension of the military jurisdiction, among the wealthy persons of Filipinas, the tribunal of the War Department has drawn to itself all the civil causes of importance in the islands; and the Audiencia has been reduced to criminal causes, and the minor controversies over land among the Indians, for which reason it is impossible to have educated Europeans who will purchase those posts and serve in them. The consequence of this is that the offices of the Audiencia are in the utmost disorder; that they do not contain even the books of entry which the laws provide for, or registers, citations, or reports of cases; that in order to record a decree or an official report it is necessary for a minister to take upon himself the task of doing that; and, finally, that the administration of justice must necessarily be slow. [Bernaldez therefore recommends that the ministers of the Audiencia be promoted at least every ten years to other appointments; that the minor offices be no longer purchasable or renunciable, but filled directly by royal appointment, and given to suitable persons, with good salaries (which are specified); and that the government of the islands provide some expedient for raising money to pay the salary of an attorney-general in each province.]

Of the alcaldes-mayor and military governors of the provinces

[The office of alcalde-mayor and provincial governor involves the civil government and defense of the province, the administration of justice, and the collection of the taxes; but those who are appointed to it are usually only traders, in reality, and care more for the profits yielded by the trade that is permitted to them than for the obligations of their office. They are paid twenty-five hard dollars a month for salary, “and they pay to the treasury the same sum for the indulto [i.e., privilege], as it is called there, of trading,” to which pursuit they devote all their time and energies during the term of their office.] A system of alcaldeships so anomalous and irregular nevertheless produced at the outset some benefits to the islands, because, by reason of the great lack of capitalists there, many products of the agriculture and industries of the provinces would have received no encouragement if the alcalde had not speculated in them for the sake of his own trade. It is also necessary to note that there are provinces with which, on account of their remoteness and the little advantage which they have for the coasting trade, there was hardly any other means of communication than the barks of the alcalde. But now, when the coasting trade has become so general, it is a necessity to abolish, in most of the provinces of the islands, that absurd system of trading alcaldes; and to appoint in their places corregidors, lawyers educated in España, with only a salary, and the charge of making collections for the royal revenue, with the right to the offices in the Audiencia there. This increase in expenditure should be covered by the duties which ought to be imposed on the coasting trade, which by this means remains free from all impediment. [Bernaldez urges that the provincial magistrates be carefully selected, for their knowledge, experience, discretion, and executive ability; and that they be men who will devote themselves to the proper administration of justice, the study of those regions hitherto unknown, plans of reform, and the encouragement of industry and commerce among the people—not forgetting to preserve friendly relations with the parish priests. He recommends that seventeen of the provinces in the islands of Luzon, Panay, and Cebú be divided into corregidorships, eight into those of the first class, and nine into those of the second, with specified salaries to each; that appointments to these posts be made for six years; and that corregidors of the first class be proposed by the Audiencia.]

Of the taxes

[At present, the tribute paid by the Indians should not be increased because so many of them would be distressed by any heavier tax; but this might be done later, when the class of large proprietors may have increased in numbers. The payment of this tax in kind is a source of loss, not only in the quantity and quality of the products paid in, but in the damage caused by transportation and storage; and in selling the products thus received by the government there is loss, because its agents are poor managers of such business, not having the shrewdness or the knowledge of the markets which enable private merchants to make their profits. The commutation of the payment from money to kind was only partly due to the influence of the alcaldes, who preferred it for the benefit of their own trading;] the cause which has rendered that commutation almost necessary and which operates directly to the prejudice of the Indian, is the lack of a colonial money peculiar to the Filipinas Islands, like that which the other possessions in Asia have (of the necessity of which I will speak in another chapter), in order to revive internal commerce and promote and facilitate the payment of taxes.

The indirect taxes by means of government monopolies in Filipinas are, in my opinion, those most suitable to the native disposition of inhabitants who, furnished most abundantly by the soil with all the income necessary for their support, convert the superfluous enjoyments of life into objects of prime necessity. It should be a firm principle of good government to protect and rectify the administration of these indirect taxes, especially those on tobacco and wine—not only because these will be sufficient to cover abundantly all the expenses of army and navy, but because in case of a war and the absolute cessation of trade the government will have this firm support for its existence; and therefore no hearing should be given to the suggestions and proposals of those persons who are craftily working to free the islands from those monopolies. But so long as these taxes are not made general through all the provinces of the archipelago, so that the fire of the contraband trade (which always finds lodgment in the exempt provinces) may be extinguished, and until certain reforms are adopted in their administration and protection, the produce [of these taxes] in favor of the royal exchequer must be very disproportionate to the amounts consumed by that large population.

Of the revenue from tobacco

The revenue which supports the Filipinas Islands, which cannot be replaced by any other, and which if it were properly established and administered would yield incalculable advantages, is that from tobacco. Three millions of inhabitants, all without exception of sex or age consumers of that article—and for each one of them, on the average, and at a very low estimate, can be set down a consumption of four pesos [worth] a year—would produce an addition to the revenue of twelve million pesos, which they would obtain from the land and from their industries, in order to give at the same time a great impulse to commerce. This is not a paradox, for the use of tobacco is of so prime necessity for the Indians that the same calculation can be made for that object that would be made for the use of bread in España. [Bernaldez considers the injurious effects of enforcing this monopoly in only a part of the islands—“although more than half the population is today subject to the monopoly, its income is only one-tenth of what, at a reasonable estimate, it ought to be”—and those of its careless and negligent administration. He makes the following suggestions:] That the collection of the tributes from the Indians of Filipinas be made compulsory in money, as soon as the colonial money can be placed in circulation in their provinces. That the monopoly of tobacco in Filipinas be extended to all the [now] exempt provinces, without exception; and the government there will succeed much better in establishing it therein by sagacity than by authority or force. That the examination and appraisal of the leaf tobacco which the monopoly purchases from the growers be made before a board which the government there shall appoint annually, composed of officials from the capital who are most trustworthy and intelligent in that branch of administration, such tobacco as proves to be unfit for use being burned in their presence. That all the tobacco which can be collected in Filipinas be conveyed to España, by means of contracts with private persons for the freighting of ships; and with it the amount which can be remitted from the [different] branches of the royal exchequer, and the annual surplus of their funds.

Of the revenue from wine

The product of the revenue from wine cannot in Filipinas be considered so important as that from tobacco, because the Indians are very moderate in their drinking. The wines made from the cocoanut and nipa (the only ones subject to the monopoly) are wholesome for the Indians; and as the monopoly has regulated the supply for each village, greatly improving the process of making the liquor and diminishing its strength, the Indians prefer the monopoly to the free privilege of this article. The failure of this revenue to increase depends on two causes: first, that the monopoly is not extended, as it ought to be, to all the provinces of the islands, not only thus to place all the natives on the same footing, and so suppress the contraband trade, but to prevent by this method the manufacture by the Indians of other beverages which are more injurious to their health, and which, without giving them pleasure, intoxicate them as has been the case with the brandy and rum from sugar-cane juice or molasses; second, the great amount of the two last-named liquors which is clandestinely furnished to the public, as a result of the permission, very negligently guarded, which was given to manufacture them freely to export abroad, or to sell them under a certain tax in order that they should not injure the consumption of the article placed under monopoly control. [Bernaldez admits that the manufacture of the above-mentioned brandy and rum ought to be allowed, “because otherwise the country would lose the enormous quantity of molasses which results from the sugar-making, which has a considerable value, but cannot be employed for other uses;” but the government ought to maintain the value of the monopolized beverages, and at the same time facilitate the exportation of rum and brandy.[7] He recommends, besides the extension of the wine monopoly:] That, as a consequence, every other kind of beverage made in the country be prohibited in the islands for the common use of the Indians. That the manufacture of brandy and rum from sugar-cane be allowed only for the export trade. That each manufacturer be likewise allowed to have a retail warehouse, under the imposts which they now pay. That the manufacturers be compelled to establish their factories in the immediate vicinity of Manila, where they can and must be watched, at their own expense, by the revenue clerks. That all the brandy and rum which is made from sugar be immediately deposited in warehouses, the keys of which the custom-house shall take charge of, the government levying on it moderate duties for deposit as well as for export.[8]

Of the head-money, or personal tax, from the Chinese

[The Chinese were at first allowed in Filipinas only to cultivate the soil and work in handicrafts; but they have drawn into their possession the control of trade and commerce, “winning the good-will of the government and the tolerance of the inhabitants of Manila with a thousand intrigues unknown in the country. They have done in Filipinas what the Europeans ought to have done, that is, to acquire wealth and send it, or themselves go with it, to their own country to establish commercial houses;” and thus they have added a marvelous amount to the wealth of China. Their method of doing business is explained—practically the same as is done in the United States at the present time; united capital and effort, division of the gains accordingly, quick sales and small profits, etc. They have obtained the exclusive retail trade in Manila, and a great part of the wholesale trade, “and thereby have aroused the hostility of corporations and private persons, notwithstanding that they are a class of peaceable and industrious people in the country.” Bernaldez thinks that their tax of six pesos a year is much too small, considering the advantages which they enjoy and the large fortunes which they acquire in the islands; in Batavia the Chinese pay the government as much as thirty pesos a month for merely the permission to trade. The tax on them at Manila is farmed out to a Chinaman, and does not yield as much as it should. The following recommendations are made:] That measures be immediately taken to correct and render accurate the registration of the Chinese settled in Filipinas. That the individuals of that nation be divided into three classes: first, wholesale merchants, understanding by that term all those who embark for China and receive thence goods on commission or for their own account; second, retail merchants, or shopkeepers; third, artisans of every class. That these be distributed by groups under head-men [por cabecerias], which shall not exceed sixty individuals to each one. That every Chinaman, as soon as he is registered, shall be joined to one of these groups, the head-man becoming responsible for him. That these Chinese heads of barangay must give security for the tribute from those under them, and collect the tax and deliver it to the alcalde-mayor of their respective province, being responsible in every case for the residence and occupation of their tribute-payers; and for this commission collecting the three per cent. That in future the tax on the Chinese already settled and those who shall settle in Filipinas shall be as follows: the wholesale merchant, ten pesos fuertes a month; the retail merchant, four pesos ditto; the artisan of every class, two pesos ditto. That every Chinaman settled there shall be free to return to his own country, provided he is not married, the limit of six months being allowed for this. That the Chinaman, of whatever class, who shall not pay his respective tax within one year shall be sent and delivered up to one of the ranch-owners for compulsory labor [por repartimiento], in order that there he may work at the day-wages agreed upon, which must not fall below two reals a day and food-rations of rice; and that the ranchman shall with these wages pay the tax [due], at the rate of two pesos a month.

[Among the advantages derived from this arrangement will be that of sending out of the islands the many poor and useless Chinese who have been gradually multiplying there, and have been infecting the natives with their vices. It will even benefit the Chinese themselves, “who with two reals a day, which make 7½ dollars a month clear” (thus showing that Sunday labor was exacted), “can pay two pesos of tax and be exceedingly prosperous.”][9]

Of the custom-house duties

The royal decree of August 25, 1818, by which it was decided that the exaction of import and export duties should be made in the Manila custom-house from the owners of the vessels, without considering the ownership of their lading, and that if the vessel were Spanish it should pay three per cent, and if foreign six per cent, has been a special favor or privilege granted to half a dozen Spanish ship-owners (for those who conduct the commerce with China and Bengala cannot be more than that number), with serious loss to the exchequer. This is, of course, annually deprived of the considerable income of the three per cent rebate on all foreign goods imported into Manila, which is a direct benefit to the foreigners who own nearly all the commerce in those goods. The manufacturers of Filipinas, especially those of cotton fabrics—which are able to compete with, and even exceed in cheapness, those of China, since the cotton of which these are made is of their own raising—are being ruined, because that rebate of duties brings the prices of the Chinese goods so near to those of their infant industry that the former ought always to be preferred; and, finally, the above arrangement has also given opportunity for various frauds proceeding from the pretended sale of foreign vessels to Spaniards, solely for the purpose of availing themselves of the rebate of duties on their cargoes, and to the possession (under assumed names) by Chinese settled in Manila of Spanish vessels.

[Bernaldez states the considerations which should regulate these duties, and the following recommendations for the payment of duties on various classes of merchandise, this amount to cover in each case the entire exaction: On national goods in transit, carried to Manila—on a Spanish vessel, three per cent; on a foreign ship, six per cent. The same goods for consumption in the country shall pay nine and ten per cent respectively. On foreign goods from India and China, for domestic consumption, ten and fifteen per cent respectively; from this class should be excepted the wines, brandies, pig iron, small articles of cast iron, dry beans, and foreign paper, which should pay twenty and twenty-five per cent respectively. Goods, whether national or foreign, not declared as in transit at leaving Manila shall pay two and four per cent respectively; but those registered on a Spanish ship from India, China, and all Asia for España, ten per cent. Coined silver and gold, and silver bullion, shall pay no entrance duty at Manila, but on leaving that port shall pay three and six per cent respectively; and foreign gold in bullion shall pay eight per cent at entering Manila (whether on Spanish or foreign vessels). National products, and those of the industries of Filipinas, shall pay when exported eight per cent on a foreign vessel, but nothing on a Spanish ship. The duty of the merchant’s peso [peso marchante] which the municipality of Manila collects should be abolished as obstructive to commerce; for the legal origin of this imposition is unknown, and it is very unsuitable for a municipality which is rich through its rents, revenues, and imposts. Bernaldez believes that this tariff would promote agriculture, industry, and navigation, and benefit the royal treasury. More coin would be brought into the islands, the plan of exempting it from duties having been adopted for that purpose by all the other governments of Asia. The burden of these duties will fall mainly on the rich class, and not on the Indians. The “infant industries” [fabricas nacientes] will be protected, and the Spanish merchant marine will be given the advantage over the foreigners.]

Of the inter-island trade

The inter-island trade of the Filipinas Islands is at present quite active, as is shown by the latest reports received. Its importance is well worth consideration, since the commodities which are traded in this way constitute the greater part of the cargoes of the export commerce. Tortoise-shell, gold, birds’-nests, balate, wax, cacao, and other products form cargoes of great value which come from the provinces. The exclusive proprietors of this commerce are the alcaldes-mayor of the provinces, and the rich mestizos and Chinese, who in this traffic have made exorbitant profits, for it is these alone who exclusively avail themselves of the rise in prices which is produced in Manila by the arrival there of foreign vessels together. This causes those posts of alcalde there to be very eagerly sought, since in only three years of holding them they allow [the making of] a fortune; and also that the class of mestizos and Chinese is the only one that is sure of becoming rich in Filipinas …. The result is, that with the exception of the great fortunes which in other times were made in the privileged commerce of Nueva España, it is this [coasting trade] from which have proceeded the fortunes of Manila. [This branch of trade is exempt from all duties, a privilege which does not benefit either the agriculture or the other industries of the Indians, since they always sell at the same price, and have no share in the profits of the trade. Nor is this commerce promoted by the freedom from duties, for it will always continue and always yield great profits to those who carry it on—who can well afford to pay a moderate tax on their lucrative trade, especially as it is partly for their benefit that the government incurs so great expense for curbing the piracies of the Moros. It is recommended:] That all commodities, whether natural products or those of industry, which arrive at the port of Manila by sea from the provinces shall pay one per cent on the prices current in that city; and from this tax shall be exempted only rice (whether in the hull or cleaned), cocoanut oil, and fresh fruits, as being articles of prime necessity for the Indians. That no duty shall be collected for those same products when they are transported by land, or by the rivers and bayous of the island of Luzon. And that, from the time when this law shall go into effect, the power which the municipality of Manila has to tax the value of the provisions which come from the provinces shall be suppressed. The exemption from duties will tend, in regard to the provinces of Luzon, to encourage in that island preëminently, as is desirable, agriculture and industry, and at the same time will save to the custom-house the new expenses which it would [otherwise] have to incur for establishing posts and men to guard against smuggling.

Of money

The Spanish peso is the universal money in the commerce among all the nations of Asia; and, as therefore the exterior commerce is constantly drawing it into circulation, the governments of all the colonies in that part of the world have found themselves obliged to create a colonial money, which on account of its provisional value cannot be taken out of the country, and, being directed into the internal commerce of the province, feeds and multiplies exchanges. In Filipinas there was no need of adopting that measure while its commerce with Nueva España lasted, because then those islands were receiving annually a million of Mexican pesos, and the situado of two hundred and fifty thousand; and, besides this, the business that was carried on during that period in the natural and industrial products of the country was almost insignificant. And if in Filipinas at this present time enough money circulates to support the outside traffic, that results from the fact that the profits which the colony has gained from the commerce with all the nations of Europa (the balance of which is in favor of Filipinas) are greater than the losses of money which it experiences in its commerce with India and China. [This is of course a very precarious situation; for the contingencies of war, diversion of commerce from the islands, or poor crops may at any time compel Filipinas to send out all its money to India or China for the supply of its needed commodities; and this would ruin even the internal commerce, “on account of the serious difficulties which the establishment of a system of public credit there presents.”] Besides that, considering now the matter of giving a strong impulse to the agriculture and industry of those islands, there would be needed for the former project many millions of pesos in constant circulation in the provinces, and there must be a great reversion of the capital employed in commerce to the interior of the islands; and this cannot be practiced in a country in which hardly enough money circulates to support the government and the demands from without, and which had undertaken to promote its interests by commerce before placing its agriculture and industry on a sound basis. In almost all the provinces of the islands very little money circulates, and in some of them there is not even what is necessary in order that the natives can pay the government taxes; and from this has proceeded the necessity of commuting the tribute from money to kind. The Spanish pesos go from and return to the provinces rapidly; and it can be said that the produce of the taxes which has to be sent annually to the capital, and the importations of the alcaldes and the mestizos, are equal. Most of the Indians trade among themselves by means of simple barter, and the mestizos make them pay dearly with their products for the money that they need for clothing themselves and paying their taxes.

There is, then, nothing to hope for—either advance in agriculture and the useful arts, or the great extension and progress of which the consumption of monopolized articles is susceptible—without the creation of a colonial money which will remain within the colony to which it belongs, which will liberate it from the precarious dependence on foreign commerce, which will afford to the Indian the just profits from his labor, which by remaining with him in the provinces will encourage him to obtain possession of it as an easy means of providing him with the necessities of life at the time [when he needs them,] and which likewise may be an allurement to his children—which up to a certain point it is of great importance to encourage in the Indians, as a powerful incentive to make them labor. [Lastly, this colonial money would check the exportation of silver coin by the Chinese,[10] who would then prefer to export from Filipinas its nature products in return for their commodities. In China all the Spanish pesos are, in order to keep them within the empire, disfigured with so many marks that they cannot be used in foreign commerce.] We have no knowledge thus far of there being silver mines in Filipinas; but it is a positive fact that gold abounds there, of so low grade and so mingled with silver that it has little more value than that metal. This circumstance, aided by the introduction of some silver bars from America, carried thither by foreigners, the recoinage of the half-dollars, and of the silver two-real, one-real, and half-real pieces which circulate in the islands, and the use of the great amount of old silver in household articles—which is there sold at very low prices, on account of being alloyed and manufactured in China—would supply the government with easy means for the creation of a colonial currency without need for expense, or for forestalling [the income from] any fund, only by accepting from the persons interested their respective materials in gold or silver, under assay, and returning to them the value of the metal in the coined money which it would yield, after deducting the necessary expenses. Likewise the government could accept, in payment of all taxes, the gold which is obtained from the placers, at the same prices at which the Chinese carry it away, and after it was assayed at its mint—where the learned professors who for this purpose would be sent from Europe would dictate the necessary measures for carrying into effect an undertaking which is the basis for all progress in the islands. I am therefore of opinion that his Majesty should deign to issue the following orders: That a colonial currency be immediately created for internal circulation in the Filipinas Islands. That for this purpose a mint be established there. That the standard for this money be the same as those of the moneys of the same kind which have been adopted in the other colonies of Asia. That the subdivisions of its value be made according to the needs of internal trade. That all the gold and silver, in various forms, which private persons offer for coinage be accepted at the mint, returning it to them in the standard coin which it yields after the expenses are deducted. That the government there be authorized to accept in payment of taxes the gold from the mines of Filipinas, after it is assayed. That regulations be drawn up by competent persons, in which precautions are taken against any fraud in this matter.

Of the charitable funds established in Filipinas

[The obras pías merit full attention from the government,] on account of the advantages which the agriculture and industry of the islands may gain from them. If the limited and privileged dealings of Manila with Nueva España had not been reduced to a merely passive commerce of transfer or transportation, those foundations would, at the same time while they have become wealthy, have given real opulence to that commerce. Of the enormous profit of two hundred and three hundred per cent which the transactions of the galleon yielded at Acapulco, the greater part was for the foreign dealers of India and China, whose wares supplied almost all the lading of the galleons, and for the obras pías; a greatly reduced profit remained for the Manila merchants, which could be shown by a calculation which might be made of the many millions imported from Nueva España by the galleons, and of the comparatively small value, in money or assistance, which has remained [therefrom] in the islands. [The returns from these funds are now greatly diminished, since the cessation of the Acapulco trade, for on that depended the commerce with India and China, which also has practically ended, save for the commodities from those countries which are consumed in Filipinas. This could not have been foreseen by the founders of those funds, many of which, moreover, are impeded by various restrictions and conditions; and the government should interpose its authority not only to secure the fulfilment of the founders’ wishes, but to commute the investment of the funds in such a way that they may be used to promote the agriculture and industry of the country. These funds ought also to be preserved as a most useful resource in case of war or revolution, when the usual revenues of the government would cease. Bernaldez therefore recommends:] That the government of Manila furnish special protection to the charitable foundations of the islands, and keep close watch over their honest administration. That it stimulate the managers to obtain immediately from the competent authority the commutation of the allotments of these funds so as to benefit the agriculture and manufactures of the country, giving reports of what shall be effected in a matter so important for the welfare of the islands. That the funds in the communal treasuries of the Indians and the Chinese, those of the secular revenues,[11] and any others which are not subject to private foundations and regulations, and which hitherto have followed in their investments the rules of the obras pías, shall be by preference set aside for rewards bestowed for enterprises in agriculture, industry, and inter-island trade. Thus will be remedied the injury arising from the failure of those great funds to be in circulation; and the abuse of employing them in favor of foreigners and their commerce, under assumed names, will be corrected.

Of the arsenal of Cavite

[Bernaldez declares that the works of naval construction, etc., for the government can be accomplished for half the cost by means of private contracts awarded to the lowest bidder, which is proved by the history of all the enterprises which have been undertaken by the government in those islands, whether in agriculture, mining, or metal-working; “for, however great the disinterestedness and economy which can be ascribed to the officials who conduct the enterprise, in this direction nothing can take the place of the contractor’s activity and vigilance.” In the cutting and gathering of timber there is abundant cheating and graft, as that work is directed by Indian overseers, or by mestizos and Chinese; the latter have abandoned the system of day wages (“which the natural slothfulness of the Indian renders very costly”), and instead pay the natives so much for a certain amount of work (which they call paqueao). “In this way the Indians, who always are cheated in these calculations, have to redouble their efforts to gain the amount bargained for, thus allowing to the mestizo the benefit of at least one-third of the usual daily wages.” After the timber is cut, its transportation, storage, and seasoning cost more when done by the government than by the mestizo contractor, and occasion much loss and damage. Ships of war could be built at Manila to great advantage, so far as the abundance and cheapness and location of the timber is concerned; but the lack of iron and copper there is a serious hindrance to such plans. There are mines of both metals in the islands, but they are not worked for lack of enterprising persons and suitable machinery. Bernaldez recommends: That the crown offer large rewards for the successful operation of the iron and copper mines in the islands, the supply therefrom of metal sufficient for the construction of ships and cannon, and the introduction of machinery for mining and iron-working. That arrangements be made for building war-ships each year, by contracts for the supply of timber and the manual labor. That competent engineers and constructors be sent from España, at good salaries; that necessary supplies and materials be secured by contracts, bid for in public; and that funds from the royal exchequer be set aside for this purpose to the amount of one hundred thousand to one hundred and fifty thousand pesos annually. That all the construction and repairing of war-ships for Filipinas be done through contracts, at public bidding; and that the arsenal of Cavite be reduced to a simple depository for the articles required for arming the ships, with such officials as may be necessary for the custody of these.]

Of the agriculture of the Filipinas Islands, in general, and of their principal productions

The Filipinas Islands, on account of the fertility of their land, their abundant rains, and the great number of animals for labor, constitute an agricultural colony; and to the readiness with which the country supplies the principal articles for human support has been due the rapid increase of its population. And although the Indians, as a general thing, only devote themselves to the cultivation of what they actually need for subsistence, the annual production so far exceeds the necessities of the people that very seldom has the failure or scarcity of provisions been experienced. The abundance of its arable lands and the excellence of its products have also rendered this colony capable of a considerable commerce with the other nations, at a much greater advantage over the other colonies, inasmuch as the land is tilled by free labor, which costs only the value of its food and clothing; and not by slaves, who, besides those expenses, occasion that of the premium or interest on the money invested in their purchase, which causes a difference of at least a third more in the cost of the manual labor employed in agriculture.

The neglected condition in which agriculture is in Filipinas, considered under this last aspect, and the backwardness in knowledge of the manipulations required in the preparation of its raw products for their consumption in trade, proceed from the following causes: (1) The lack of a stable and regular system of commerce which can assure to the inhabitants of the islands the annual exportation of the produce of an extensive agriculture. The foreign vessels resort to the ports there, some years in excessive number and others very infrequently; and this irregularity always produces an effect opposed to the interests of the colony. The extraordinary rise in prices—which during the last three years has reached a value double that from which the ability to sell at all times would enable the colony to gain a profit—and the consequent lack of commodities for supplying all the vessels, prevent them from returning in the following years; while the decline of prices below what is fair, caused by the non-arrival of ships, discourages large production in agriculture. The Indians are absolutely without capital and storehouses which would enable them to hold back their produce for another market. They are induced to cultivate the soil solely by their present advantage; they always sell, but they suffer from the stern law of trade which, although it flatters them in years of scarcity, equally tyrannizes over them in years of abundance—for they are always deceived regarding the actual prices of the general market, of which they are ignorant; and one year only of unsuccessful sales, whether from lack of foreign ships, or through the loss of their crops, will be a warning to them for a long time. In short, the agriculture of Filipinas at this time depends on the irregular and transient stimulus which is furnished to it by the peripatetic capital of the mestizo, who buys only in the years when he calculates that he must in view of the condition of the crops and the market, make a profit; while the Indian farmer always sows his seed heedless of results, and without the guidance of that elementary principle in affairs of commerce that the estimate of what he acquires ought to be based on a calculation of the market for it. For the corrective of this evil, and assuming that, for reasons that are rightful and conformable to sound policy (as I have set forth), the residence of foreigners in the islands ought not to be permitted, I find no other means than this, that the government encourage, by judicious measures, the direct and unlimited commerce of España with that colony—of which I shall speak in another chapter, [presenting] the rough sketch of a plan which ought to produce the following effects: (a) The definite and reliable annual exportation from those islands, not only of the great quantity of sugar, indigo, coffee, and other native products which are needed in the ordinary consumption of España, but of that which Spanish commerce can dispose of in the other nations and free ports of Europa. (b) The establishment of Spanish trading posts [factorias] in the interior of the provinces of Filipinas, which the Spanish mercantile interests will carry on for the sake of acquiring the agricultural produce at first hand, freeing the Indians from the oppressive rule of the mestizo trader, and forming contracts with them, at prices agreed upon, for a certain number of years.

[The backward condition of agriculture proceeds] (2) from the lack of great agricultural establishments. One of the causes for this is the fact that the capital of the islands, which ought to be employed for that object, has been diverted by the commerce of India, China, and Nueva España, which offers greater and quicker profits. The religious orders administer their estates as in mortmain, or by ecclesiastical rules. The Indians cultivate, not from inclination but through necessity, the little plots of ground on which they have fixed their abodes. They lack the buildings and appliances necessary for the preparation of the little sugar and indigo that they collect; and from that results the wretched and unreliable quality of those articles which so discredits them in the trade. They lack also the capital to incur the expenses of a regular plantation, and these enterprises require costly outlays at the start. But this cause of backwardness would be remedied by the impulse which would be given to commerce by the exportation of native products, which would attract to agriculture the capital which it has hitherto lacked, and by the special protection which the government can grant to large capitalists who may devote themselves to agriculture.

(3) From the ignorance of the Indians, not only of the various methods of making plantations, but of the means of preparing the raw materials for their employment in the trade—a cause which is so universal and so mischievous that the agricultural products of Filipinas, which ought to be, on account of their excellent character and the extent of territory of the islands, commodities which should supply all the markets of Europe and hold the first rank in quality, are the most scarce in general commerce, and moreover lowest in price, as I am going to prove by some instances. The sugar of Filipinas is today the most important commodity for exportation which the commerce there includes. The cultivation of the sugar-cane cannot be improved; but the manufacture of the sugar is so defective that, in spite of the superior quality of the cane, the sugar which is produced from it is inferior to that which is called terciado [i.e., brown] at Habana. Although in the market of Cadiz the white sugar from Habana is worth thirty-two to twenty-five silver reals, and the brown sugar twenty-six to twenty-eight, the white sugar of Manila is worth twenty-four to twenty-five[12]—that is, nine silver reals less than the former, and two or three reals less than the latter on each arroba. Consequently, the temporary privilege granted by his Majesty in exempting the products of Filipinas from duties is the only support of the expeditions which have come [thence] to the Peninsula; and it is unquestionable that when that privilege ceases that commerce will likewise come to a complete stop. For if from the twenty-four silver reals, the highest price at which an arroba of the Manila sugar can be sold, be deducted for duties eight reals and twenty-seven maravedís, the trader will receive a price of only nineteen silver reals, five cuartos; subtracting from this the fourteen and one-half reals of the prime cost at Manila (according to the latest information received), and the only profit left to him would be four reals, three maravedís—with which it is absolutely impossible for him to pay either the heavy freight charges on that commodity, or the interest on money and the insurance premiums, on a voyage three times as long as that from Habana. The low price [of sugar] in the market has no other cause than the lack of skill at Manila for manufacturing the sugar; this art is there found entirely in its infancy, and without any other method than that which, since very ancient times, the Chinese have taught them. [The sugar-makers have not proper machinery or appliances, or the knowledge, for any of the stages of the process; and their product is inferior, when it might be as good as that of Habana—or even better, if the same skill and care were used in making it as are used there. The above profit of nine reals on the arroba, if equally divided among the grower, the manufacturer, and the government (for duties which in that case should be imposed on the sugar), would yield each of them $300,000 annually, on the estimated production of 1,000,000 arrobas which would be practicable for Filipinas—to say nothing of the increased benefits to the laboring class—with improved methods of manufacture. To secure this, the government must be energetic in promoting large establishments there, and introducing machinery and skilled laborers. “The funds in the communal treasury of the Indians, which at the present time must reach about $300,000, and whose object is the benefit of those same Indians,” might aid the government in meeting the expenses of such measures; the skilled artisans could instruct the Indian farmers in the new improved methods, and the industry would be almost perfected in two years’ time, at very little expense. Bernaldez describes in similar manner the deficiencies, possibilities, and needs of the indigo, coffee, and cacao industries, and urges the government to extend like care to these; what has been done thus far by the colonial government has been quite ineffective, because it has been in the form of proclamations and enactments which merely required small plantations to be made by all the inhabitants, but these failed because they disregarded the principles of political economy and made no provision for the individual interest of the cultivator.] There are, then, two means which ought to be adopted for the promotion of large plantations in Filipinas, incentive and instruction; and for this it is necessary to grant pecuniary rewards to the agriculturists, and furnish them with teachers from the near-by islands of Java or even Bourbon, where not only coffee but cacao is cultivated.

(4) And, finally, the cause which likewise exerts a powerful influence in [causing] the neglected and backward condition of agriculture is the slothfulness of the Indians and their absolute indifference to acquiring and keeping property. [This sloth is caused by the climate, the abundant supply of the necessities of life with little labor, and the hospitality which prevails among the natives;] and if it were not that in the capital and its adjacent provinces there has now been introduced a certain degree of decency and [even] luxury in some families of that class, it would be difficult to find any one to render service or to practice the useful arts that are necessary in villages. [With a people like this, it would be hazardous to attempt to compel them to work; but “even if they are naturally slothful, they have their likes and dislikes; and a wise government ought to avail itself of these two powerful resources to urge them to work.” The Indians dislike to pay direct taxes, and hate the collector of these; also they are passionately fond of cockfighting and spectacles of all sorts, and of office-holding; and if these characteristics are considered in the policy of the government much can be done to make them industrious. Bernaldez recommends: That a system of direct, unlimited, and regular commerce be established between España and Filipinas, for the purpose of maintaining a reliable and definite annual exportation of the latter’s products. That agricultural establishments be protected by the government, being allowed (although at their own expense) the assistance of a band of irregular soldiers. That machines, tools, and other aids to agricultural production be admitted free of duties. That skilled workmen be taken to the islands as instructors in the manufacture of sugar and indigo, and cultivators of coffee, etc., with their machinery and tools; their salaries for three years and their transportation to Manila being paid from the communal funds of the Indians. That large rewards be paid to the farmers who shall make large plantations of coffee and other useful trees or establish the silk industry. That the owners of these large plantations shall be allowed to keep on their lands each a cockpit for his laborers, free of expense. That groups of Indians, Chinese, and mestizos, limited to twenty families each, who shall maintain an indigo or sugar plantation of a certain extent in good condition, shall be relieved from paying the tribute so long as the plantation is kept up. That every Indian who works for wages during five consecutive years, to the satisfaction of his employer, shall be perpetually exempted from tribute, the employer paying the laborer’s tax for twenty years. That the Indians and mestizos who cultivate large plantations on their own account shall have the preference for the offices in their respective villages. That the government of Filipinas take measures to avoid frauds in connection with these proposed changes.]

Of the anfion, or opium

[Bernaldez describes the efforts made by the English East India Company to import opium into China, although against the will of the Chinese government, and states that a certain amount is smuggled into Manila to supply the Chinese settled in Filipinas; he supposes that the prohibition of this trade in the islands arose from the fear of the governors that the Indians would become habitual users of this drug and thus be injured; but in his experience of seventeen years in various judicial positions in Filipinas he has never seen a scandalous case of opium inebriacy among the Chinese of Luzon, nor any Indian brought into court for using the drug; and “the Indians without exception regard the use of opium with the utmost indifference and contempt.” He thinks that it should not be prohibited in Filipinas, since its use appears not to injure the Chinese there, or to be necessary for the Indians; while the islands] ought not to be deprived of a revenue that is exceedingly lucrative for agriculture, commerce, and the treasury; of an article which in the order of nature ought to be exclusively for the trade and benefit of the islands; and a means by which the Manila commerce would draw great wealth from China, turning in its favor, and with large sales, the balance of trade with that empire, which is now and always has been against Manila. A chest of opium, weighing one pico of Filipinas or 100 cates of China (each of 22 onzas), would probably cost the Manila grower for all expenses at most 100 pesos; and its value in China is usually 1,400 to 1,600 pesos. Add to this advantage that of the large and secure market which Filipinas has close at hand, since there would be annually consumed in China more than eight millions pesos’ worth of this article from the islands; this would permit all the extension which they choose to give to the cultivation of this article. And if 8,000 chests of opium produced in Filipinas would yield in China 12,000,000 dollars, the royal exchequer, which ought to secure its proportion of the great advantages to agriculture and commerce, could without any difficulty load that product with a duty so considerable that it would produce four to six millions of pesos a year. [Bernaldez therefore recommends: That the government, without abrogating the present prohibition of the importation and use of opium in the islands, give free permission to capitalists to cultivate the poppy and export opium from Filipinas; that the poppy-fields be close to the capital and enclosed; that the harvest be superintended by trustworthy persons from the revenue service, as is that of tobacco; and that the entire product be deposited in the magazines of the custom-house. That at the time of its exportation a duty of 25 per cent be collected on the value of the opium, at the prices current in China. That the concession of raising opium should be granted by preference to the planters who already are maintaining large plantations of sugar, indigo, coffee, and other useful products.]

Of the cotton manufactures

The Madrast commerce annually carries into Filipinas fabrics of cotton, called cambayas, to the value of $300,000 to $350,000, a sum which the traders carry back to their own country in cash, without taking away any natural or industrial product of Filipinas. Likewise the Chinese carry into the islands annually, by means of their champans, cotton fabrics with the names of manta Hipo, Chuapo, and others, to the value of $300,000, nearly all of which sum they carry back to their own country in cash. The Armenians of India and the Chinese had likewise the control, from the time of the conquest of the islands, of importing into them annually the enormous quantity of small cotton articles [pañuelos] and ordinary cambayas which the natives of the country consume, until intercourse with those coasts was interrupted in the late war with Inglaterra. Then necessity and the high price of those goods induced the natives of Filipinas to manufacture them, and in such abundance that the ships which arrived at Manila, after the peace, with those commodities suffered great loss; and from that time the importation of those fabrics ceased, and the natives continued to manufacture them in the country. This has not been the case, however, with the fine cambayas and kerchiefs from Madrast, nor with the cotton fabrics from China; for the former are dyed with the beautiful and permanent Indian colors, furnished by certain plants which are to this day unknown in Filipinas, and the latter [are desired] on account of the very low prices at which the Chinese sell them. Thus, although various manufacturers of Manila have attempted to weave and dye that class of goods, they have not obtained favorable results, and have abandoned to the Armenians and Chinese the exclusive provision of Filipinas with those commodities. It seems impossible that a colony in which is produced cotton of a quality superior to that of all the other colonies in Asia, whose natives are industrious, and where the general consumption of the country offers a large and sure market for cotton fabrics, must be dependent for its supply on foreign manufacturers, and carry on with them a commerce which is one-sided [pasivo] and ruinous. Nevertheless, the causes of this incongruity lie in the great population of India and China as compared with that of Filipinas, which causes the wages paid for the spinning of the thread (and it is this item which increases or diminishes the cost of the woven goods) to be very low; in the enormous crops of cotton which those countries produce as compared with that of Filipinas, which abundance causes a diminution in the price of the raw material there; and, finally, in the superiority of the dyes of India, which no colony has been able thus far to imitate.

In order to compensate for the cheapness of hand labor in the great populations of India and China, it is necessary that in Filipinas cotton-spinning machinery should be introduced, and that this project be encouraged by all means; that instructors in weaving and dyeing cambayas and kerchiefs be taken thither from Madrast, who shall at the same time introduce into Filipinas a knowledge of the plants from which the Oriental dyes are obtained, with the methods of planting and cultivating these—meeting this expense from the communal funds of the Indians. [These measures, and the promotion already urged for large plantations of cotton, would furnish employment to many natives of Filipinas, and “place in circulation within the country itself the $650,000 which annually are carried out of it in hard money to foreign lands for the value of the cambayas and other fabrics imported into it.” Moreover, a new and important line of goods would be added to the exports of Filipinas in these fine cotton fabrics, which would be equal to those of India and even cheaper; while the islands can always supply their own coarse cottons much more cheaply than these can be manufactured in España, an industry which should therefore be fostered in Filipinas. These coarse commodities could thus be supplied also to España, more cheaply than they can be manufactured there; thus Spanish commerce would be liberated from its present dependence upon foreign countries for them, and the money paid for them would instead go into the hands of Spaniards, in Spanish possessions. To secure these ends, the government of Filipinas should be cautious in imposing import duties on the fine foreign goods, gradually increasing them according to the ability of Philippine manufacturers to displace foreign goods by native products. Bernaldez therefore recommends: That encouragement and rewards be conferred on those who introduce cotton-spinning machinery; that instructors in weaving and dyeing be brought from India, as above mentioned; that the manufacture of coarse cotton fabrics in the islands be promoted; that duties on the fine goods should be gradually increased; that raw cotton be permitted free exportation from the islands; and that the authorities of the exchequer there confer on these matters with the local manufacturers and merchants.]

Of the means for establishing regular communication and frequent and permanent mercantile relations between España and the Filipinas Islands.

[The writer urges the necessity of more interest and care for the needs of the islands, and action by the Spanish government in their behalf, if they are to be retained as a Spanish possession. For this purpose a regular commerce with the islands should be maintained, sufficient to keep twelve ships in constant employment, six sailing for the islands every year; and thus could be kept in efficient condition the large force (more than one thousand two hundred) of government employees in all the departments of the island service. He warns the ministry against plans which may be proposed by selfish interests and intrigues, for leaving the islands in their present poverty and isolation from the mother country. The commercial interests of the latter should unite to carry on this work, partly for their own profit, partly as a matter of patriotism. “The Filipinas Islands ought to be the center of the Spanish government’s power in Asia, the great market for Spanish commerce,” and the source of enormous revenues to the Spanish treasury; they should be to España what India is to England, and are even more capable, by their natural endowments, of being a source of power and opulence to the mother country. Spanish commerce is being greatly injured by the restrictions laid upon trade with the countries of Asia, and the treasury should adjust the duties it exacts to those of other countries; this would put an end to the smuggling which wastes more than half of its revenues under the present system, cheapen prices, increase the consumption of goods, and augment the revenues of the crown. Bernaldez compares the restrictive Spanish policy with that pursued by the Dutch and English in Asia, the latter being “based on the principle of maintaining and protecting their principal possessions in those regions;” and illustrates this by allusion to their leading colonies, while he censures Spain’s negligence and folly in regard to Filipinas, and her apathy in allowing foreign nations to seize her commerce. The royal decree of January 10, 1820, although aiding Philippine commerce only as a temporary measure, has already done much for the islands; their commerce with España has placed in circulation considerable quantities of capital, and has increased the products of agriculture and the exportation of these from Manila to such a degree that their value has risen to almost double what it was before. This has been mutually beneficial to both countries; but the colony “will become the victim of this very prosperity” unless the home government shall grant certain exemptions and privileges to render it permanent and solid. The present restrictions on Spanish commerce prevent the exportation of silver to Filipinas, and enable the foreigners to monopolize the trade of the islands in iron, wine, brandy, paper, and other wares which, being Spanish products, ought to be furnished by Spanish merchants—who, in this fettered condition, are “unable to find any way of placing funds in Manila for the purchase of their cargoes.” Moreover, “the premiums on insurance have been considerably increased for [vessels bearing] the Spanish flag, on account of the risk from the insurgent corsairs; and these same risks compel the merchants to increase, for their part, the expenses for the armament and crews of their ships.” The merchants of Manila have only two commodities to offer to Spanish trade, sugar and indigo, and the latter of these is not practicable for the sole lading of a vessel; while if the sugar crop should fail, those merchants are left without other resource, to say nothing of the uncertainty in prices caused by that in the number of foreign customers who will arrive at Manila. The Spanish government, therefore, “should open to the commerce of España with Filipinas a wider range of objects in all the productions of India and China, both natural and industrial, in which commerce can engage in speculation and with which it can furnish cargoes for its ships;” for the trade in sugar alone is far too inadequate and uncertain to support the ships needed for the maintenance and protection of Filipinas. Bernaldez urges forcibly such action by the government, and makes these recommendations: That Spanish ships be allowed to trade with Filipinas, without any restrictions or duties, save that on foreign goods carried by them a duty of ten per cent be paid, and five per cent on arrival at Manila. That returns from these consignments which consist in products of Filipinas shall be free from any duties or imposts whatsoever, at either end of the voyage or on their circulation in España. That ships may complete their cargoes at Manila, if they wish, with any products of India, China, and other Asiatic countries, to the extent of 30 toneladas of lading for every 100 toneladas of Philippine products carried in the vessel; these foreign goods shall pay ten per cent duty at Manila, and ten per cent on reaching the Spanish ports, reckoned on the cost of the goods at Manila as shown by the official registers. Any ship-owner who shall have carried only Spanish goods to Filipinas and Philippine products on the return trip shall be given the right to make another voyage to the ports of India or China, carrying the goods most suitable for those markets and returning to España with white cotton stuffs and other goods at their pleasure. In these latter voyages, Spanish products carried to Asia shall be exempt from all duties; and foreign products carried thither shall pay a duty of ten per cent on the values in the general tariffs; and Asiatic goods brought back to España shall pay the same rate on the first cost in Asia, as shown by the original invoices. That silver may be freely exported from España for all these trading expeditions, by paying two per cent. And that the shipments of moneys due from the colonial revenues to the Spanish government be made through the Spanish ships which shall be at Manila at the beginning of the monsoon, in proportion to their respective tonnage.]

Of the necessity of forming a special code of laws for the Filipinas Islands; and of ordaining that a periodical visitation of that colony be made by officials from the Peninsula.

[Such visitation should be made] every five years, by officials despatched from the Peninsula for the purpose of inspecting the manner in which the laws are fulfilled, and the conduct of government employees of all classes; to examine the progress made in all the branches of administration, and matters that are worthy of reform; to make provisional arrangements for these, according to the instructions that shall be entrusted to them; and to furnish information to his Majesty’s government, from their positive knowledge and examination of the facts. The climate of Filipinas, and the disposition, passions, and customs of its inhabitants, are very different from those of the two Americas, by whose code the islands are governed. Although they form a naturally agricultural colony, they lack agrarian laws suited to the nature and resources of the country. The administration of justice demands many modifications of the general laws; and the institutions of the municipality and the [commercial] consulate, similar to those of the Peninsula, have not corresponded to the beneficial ends which the sovereign intended in them, on account of the character of the persons who in Manila compose that class of corporations, and of their clashing interests and relations. The chairs of theology, laws, and philosophy should, I am forced to say, be abolished, on account of the abuse which is made of the knowledge gained in those branches of learning; and in their places be substituted chairs of agriculture, botany, mineralogy, arts, and commerce—throwing open the colleges and universities of España to the natives of Filipinas who desire to cultivate the former branches. In the laws which regulate law-suits, in the tariffs, in the penalties—in short, in all which has been adopted from other countries and another condition of human life—there is a certain discord with the character, usages, and customs of the inhabitants of Filipinas which it is necessary to correct. A periodical visitation by officials experienced in affairs, would set everything in motion in that colony, fill the natives with hope, correct the arbitrary use of power (which usually increased in proportion to the distances from the center of government), and furnish to this government accurate and impartial data for making its decisions. It is a great mistake, in my judgment, to seek for light on affairs of government in the colonies from the information furnished by their authorities and corporations; they are always prone to support their own jurisdictions or interests, and, in whatever matter these may cross, it is impossible to expect impartiality. The laxity which the climate inspires, the pleasures, the relations of friendship, kindred, and interest in a small population of Spaniards - all these things cause the neglect of affairs of government, and the domination of private interests. Points of mere etiquette, questions of little importance to the [royal] service, and discords (which furnish a bad example) between married persons - it has been mainly these things which for many years have filled the official correspondence of the colonies and kept their authorities occupied. Many of the subjects which are touched upon in this writing are either absolutely unknown to the government, or have not been discussed with the specifications and explanations which their importance deserves.

I have explained to your Excellency impartially the causes which antagonize the security and progress of the Filipinas Islands; and your Excellency will recognize, by the irrefutable facts which I have here set down, that in that colony there exist the elements necessary for it to render itself prosperous, and to distribute its wealth throughout España, increasing the glory and power of her sovereign. Your Excellency desires radical measures of reform, and solidly-grounded plans for prosperity, because you recognize that this is the great art of government and of political economy. I have endeavored not to embarrass myself with the examination of one-sided and isolated questions, but rather to rise to the comprehension of the axioms and general principles which would give perpetual strength to the tranquillity of the Filipinas Islands and lay the foundations for their advancing prosperity.

It has already been made evident by melancholy experience that the governmental measures adopted since the conquest of the colonies have not been suited to their object. It is therefore necessary either to leave existing in Filipinas the same causes which have brought other colonies to their ruin, or to change the system without loss of time. This great reform will assuredly be the work of the present enlightened government of his Majesty, and the future prosperity of the Filipinas Islands will be the grandest monument to his glory. Madrid, April 26, 1827.

Most excellent Sir,

MANUEL BERNALDEZ PIZARRO

[Here follows a “résumé of the measures proposed in this memorial,” which we have already presented by sections, at the end of each subject treated. At the end is a list of the items of estimated increase in the public revenues of the islands provided the reforms advocated by Bernaldez are adopted.]

[Another MS. in the possession of Edward E. Ayer, dated Madrid, July 15, 1827, is of similar scope to this; it is signed with the initials “P. de S. M.,” and is addressed to the Spanish minister Ballesteros. The writer states, in the prefatory note, that his paper is the fruit of his many years of practical experience and observation, being actively engaged in commerce from Manila throughout the Philippine archipelago, in China, in all the foreign colonies of India, and on the Pacific coasts of America; and that he has written this paper “in the short time since he knew the charge given to Señor Bernaldez.” He sends it to the minister to be laid before “the junta extraordinaria (or special committee) which at that time was considering the judicious informatory report of the auditor Señor Bernaldez Folgueras in regard to the protection and preservation of the Filipinas Islands;” and he offers to appear before the committee in person, to give any further information or explanation which may be desired. He states that, like Ballesteros, he is a Galician; and he displays much enthusiasm for the advancement and prosperity of Filipinas. This MS. is headed, “Impartial reflections of a Spaniard, who is enrolled among the citizens of Manila, upon the causes of the decadence of the Filipinas Islands, and the means which he deems most suitable for making them productive to the central government, and for restoring them to the state which, by their advantageous location, they are capable of occupying.” It begins by deploring the injury and loss caused to the islands by the piracies of the Moros, and recommending that the Spanish government remedy the abuses and negligence displayed in the administration of the colony, and the enormous and extravagant expenditure of funds in the wars against those pirates. This latter could be ended by effecting the conquest of Joló, Mindanao, and other centers of piracy, and establishing therein military and agricultural colonies of Visayans; this, and the development of the natural resources of those islands, would stop piracy and add much to the colonial revenues. Following the example of the English colonies in America, and of the Jesuit missionaries in Paraguay and California, agriculture should be fostered in every way in Filipinas—where much greater success can be obtained because the native population is large and robust, and needs not to be supplemented by slave labor, which fortunately has been kept out of the islands. This and other industries there can be promoted at the same time, by proper measures. The preservation of the colony cannot be left to the Indians, and six thousand men from España, selected carefully, should be sent to Filipinas as soldiers and colonists, lands being bestowed on them; and with them should come commissioners of high standing and integrity to reform abuses in the colony and take measures for its benefit. Banks should be established, currency provided for, and facilities given to all the people for securing credit when needed—under the care, protection, and partly the management of the government. Commerce should be made entirely free to the world, in all kinds of products, whether native or foreign, save for the payment of moderate customs duties. A lottery should be established; fire and marine insurance companies should be protected; all artisans, of every class, nationality, and religion, should be free to settle in the islands (those who oppose this show puerile fears and absurd and impolitic notions); the ownership of land should be made secure and legal; waste lands should be brought under cultivation, under penalty of losing title to them; such lands should be freely granted to all, whether natives or foreigners, who will cultivate them; and intending colonists be aided in all practicable ways, even from the public funds. The convents and cabildos which have the administration of funds deposited with them for the promotion of agriculture should be obliged to render their accounts of these, and to distribute them so as to carry out the intentions of the founders; and the funds which were to be invested in the Acapulco trade should, as that has now ceased, be applied to the benefit of agriculture. Foreign nations should be allowed to send consuls to Manila, which would be a benefit not only to foreigners residing in the islands, but reciprocally to Spaniards who navigate the seas controlled by foreign nations. A printing-office should be established there, and provision be made for the publication of a daily paper devoted to commerce and industry, and having correspondents in the other Oriental colonies to furnish information of their progress and achievements in all the useful arts. A mint should be erected at Manila; and the government establishments there for making cannon and gun-powder, which now are almost useless, should be put on an effective footing, and those articles should be supplied for the defense of the merchant and coasting vessels. A probate court has been formed, for the proper care of intestate property and that left to minors; and its administration should be regulated carefully, and the funds in its charge be administered for the benefit of its owners and of the country. Manila and its environs should be sufficiently policed, and lawlessness curbed; vagabonds should be kept under control, and all who employ Indian servants should be made responsible for their conduct; and such servants should not be employed by any one, whether Spaniard or foreigner, nor allowed to enter colleges as students, without producing certificates from the police department. A college should be established in which the youth should receive instruction in belles lettres, medicine, chemistry, botany, experimental physics, and mathematics; and a botanical garden should be made near Manila. Martins should be introduced into Luzon, for the extermination of the locust plague. The intendancy of the royal exchequer should be separated from the office of captain-general, so that the intendant shall have authority to direct the affairs of the former independently.]

[The writer proceeds to describe the character of the Tagalog natives, which he paints in gloomy colors.] It is impossible to define either the character of these Tagálos, or their morality—although it can be said that they have none; for, although in outward appearance they profess the Catholic religion, inwardly and in their actions they manifest that they follow no religion. The zeal with which the first conquistadors undertook to instruct them in the true belief has been useless; and the watchful care of the missionaries whom the piety of our kings has not ceased to send to those regions has been of no avail, except to make of their neophytes, instead of true Catholics and useful members of society, a new species of men, who unite the slothfulness of the savages to the vices of civilized peoples. Thus it is that the Tagálos are fickle, vagabonds, full of superstitions, assassins, liars, licentious but without love, adroit thieves; and, in one word, they do not respect even the most sacred of the laws, divine or human. They lose no opportunity to make mischief among the authorities, and between the latter and Spaniards of all classes; and they have the cunning to throw the blame on these last, as being more timid. Moreover, they perjure themselves without the least scruple; their telling the truth depends on their being more or less carefully instructed by the parties to the suit; and unfortunate is he who summons them as his witnesses. They do not understand love, and their sensuality is carried to the extreme; consequently they are cruel fathers and worse husbands, and they have not the least respect or consideration for their wives. Paternal love is a strange thing for them, and therefore when they punish their children they do so barbarously, and if they begin it in the morning they do not finish until night. The same cruel disposition is seen among the schoolmasters who are paid by the government to teach the youth in their villages.

The code of laws for the Indias, considering these Indians as neophytes like those of the Antillas and the Americas, has made them participants in the privileges and liberties granted to those natives; and it exempts them from the penalties of which they render themselves worthy by the atrocious crimes which they continually commit. Incest, for example, is a common vice among them, for which opportunity is given by the little privacy in which the families live; for the mother, daughters, and sisters all sleep in one bed [hacen cama redonda], without any other separation from the men than merely a blanket. It is difficult to prove this crime among them, and only the cura or missionary could rebuke them and apply the proper correction, in their wrongly-understood condition of neophytes, if in confession they should reveal their sin; but, as lying is their dominant vice, they are silent or else deny it, and the cura cannot, even when he knows of it, obtain any satisfaction from them. The capital and its environs are the refuge of the more perverse, who migrate from the provinces and from their villages, in order not to work and to relieve themselves from paying the tribute. There they devote themselves to studies in the colleges of Santo Tomas, San José, and San Juan de Letran, making progress in a short time, and deceiving the professors with their apparent ingenuousness; at the same time they are occupied as servants to the Spaniards and foreigners, but only nominally, since they do not go to their master’s house except for eating, sleeping, and stealing from him (which they do with astonishing dexterity). After a little time, having abused the master’s patience, and having violated his wife, daughters, and other relatives, if he has such (without respecting even those who have not reached the age of puberty), they end by departing with the utmost coolness; and in order to avoid recognition, and so that they cannot be caught if they happen to be pursued, they employ the trick of shaving the head, and, while naked, anointing the entire body with oil, and then take to flight, with no other covering than a mere breech-clout. The poor Spaniard, although he finds that he has been robbed, does not think of resorting to the magistrates to make complaint, for he knows that instead of doing him justice they would, after making him spend much money, sentence him to pay the costs and exculpate the Indian, regarding the latter as a neophyte. Still less does he say a word about the rape, in order not to make public his own dishonor. Let it not be supposed that this occurs only among private persons; for there have been persons in authority who have experienced in their own houses similar acts of insolence from these vicious and immoral neophytes. After these evil deeds, they disappear, as I have said; and in a very short time they are seen returning from Ilocos, Camarines, and Cebú, ordained as clerics, with what sort of character may be understood—now cleansed from all their crimes, and absolved from guilt and penalty, to continue their studies in the colleges. Thus they graduate as bachelors and doctors, and secure curacies, in which they commit the acts of folly which may easily be inferred, and which it would be tedious to explain here; and with their corrupt behavior they set an example to their parishioners of dissoluteness, impiety, and slothfulness.

[The writer then enumerates the good qualities of this people, so far as they go. They are inclined to the arts and sciences, and learn quickly, and their deficiencies therein are due only to their lack of books for their instruction, and tools with which to finish off their work; this is mainly due to their improvidence, “for an Indian, even though he is a doctor and a cura, is unable to save one cuarto for purchasing those things, no matter how cheap they may be; on the other hand, he will, if he needs money for his vices, pledge his breviary or sell his missal.” “Nevertheless, they exercise all the occupations except those of silversmith, tailor, and watch-maker, for no one would trust them [in these];” but lack of tools prevents them from doing as good work as Europeans. They have taste in the fine arts, and almost all the buildings are planned by them. They are excellent artillerists, and a French naval commander (in 1798) thought them better than his own; and are useful in naval fights, on account of their courage and agility. An Indian will in a few days’ practice understand as much of seamanship as a European would gain in twenty years; and many of them have migrated from the islands as seamen on the ships. But they resent being called “negroes,” and in several cases where they have been thus affronted they have mutinied, killed the Europeans, and fled with the ship and cargo. So great has been this migration that in the other colonies of Asia rigorous measures have been taken to stop it, and “in all the ports of India, the entrances and roads are full of gibbets on which men from Manila are hanged, for a warning; but, seeing that this had no effect, all the owners and captains of merchant ships have been compelled by law not to receive on their vessels more than four or six of these Indians.” The Tagálos are free with their money, and readily lend to any European whatever they may possess. They take great care of their fighting cocks (“who are for them actual idols”), are very temperate in eating and drinking, and are never seen intoxicated. They are often devoted to agricultural labor, and will do well in it when they are supplied with better methods and appliances.]

[Some account is given of the Negritos and other wild tribes of Luzón; and it is stated that any colonist who wishes to settle among them will be able to succeed in any agricultural or other enterprise which he may undertake, if he will obtain the consent of the chiefs, pay the savages whom he may employ exactly what he has agreed to give, and not annoy them with matters of religion. As for the civilized Tagálos, their women are entirely different from the men; they are kind, hospitable, and industrious, and, although coquettish, are very modest and decorous in behavior. They sow the rice, and gather all the crops; roll cigars, and weave beautiful fabrics of cotton and abacá; and embroider beautifully, besides making hats, mats, and many other articles. In fine, “if it were possible to put an end to all the men and leave only the women, or rather unite them to other men who would possess their good qualities and think as they do, Filipinas would come to be the most wealthy and fortunate country in the universe.” It is certain that agriculture would be the best mode of life for the Indians, and they ought to be urged to engage in it, after the examples furnished by the Jesuits in Paraguay, the Quakers in America, and other successful colonists. The writer suggests various means to stimulate the Indians to greater industry (especially as the Spaniards cannot undertake work in the fields), and for the formation and management of agricultural enterprises; he would have them well treated, promptly and justly paid, and supplied with house, land, and suitable amusements. It has been a great mistake to prohibit the alcaldes-mayor and other provincial officials from owning estates there, while permitting them to engage in trade; this policy ought to be reversed, and they be obliged to cultivate the land, and prevented from harassing the Indians as they have done. In forming large estates, provision should be made for the homes of the laborers being comfortable, arranged in regular streets, protected as far as possible from the danger of fire, and shaded by trees of useful sorts; and from these should be well isolated the proprietor’s dwelling, sheds, machinery, and other property. Gardens, orchards, fishponds, etc., should be formed; and all appliances should be furnished which are desirable for improving the quantity and quality of the products of the estate, and for providing a safe and abundant supply of food, and of the luxuries which are dear to the heart of the Indian. Careful directions are given for the selection of land, the supply of water, cattle-raising, making of plantations, protection against storms, etc. An interesting account is given of the Chinese in Filipinas, their trade, relations with the Spaniards, the abuses in these, the hatred felt toward them by the Tagálos (resulting mainly from the illicit relations of the Chinese with the Indian women), their mode of life, etc.; they should be compelled to devote themselves only to agriculture and the useful arts, and to abandon commerce and business entirely. They have been very injurious to the interests of the islands, and ought to be expelled from Filipinas, save as they are engaged in handicrafts or the tillage of the soil. The Spaniards ought thus to follow the example of the Dutch in Java and other islands, where the Chinese have made excellent agriculturists and manufacturers of agricultural products, and have enriched both themselves and the Dutch; if they had been thus treated in Filipinas, that country would now be as prosperous and wealthy as are the Dutch colonies, and its trade would be as rich and extensive as that of the Dutch. As it is, enormous sums of money have been carried to Filipinas from España, and spent in the islands, with hardly any return to the mother country; and the greater part of this wealth has been absorbed by the trade with China, and has been stored away in that country.]

[A note at the end of this MS. outlines the author’s plan for the establishment of a banking system at Manila.]

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[1] The great length of this document obliges us to summarize passages of lesser importance; but as much of the author’s exact language has been retained as possible. [↑]

[2] Bernaldez refers to the massacre of foreigners in 1820, and the mutiny under Novales in 1823, both of which are related in the first document of this volume. [↑]

[3] In the Archivo general de Indias at Sevilla is a MS. map, drawn (June 20, 1773) by the government engineer at Manila, Miguel A. Gomez, showing “portion of the site on the river of Tanay, indicating the plan of the iron-works for casting anchors and artillery, and the shop for casting the small iron articles which are called in the Philippine archipelago cauas—which are equivalent to kettles, boilers, and frying-pans, and which the Chinese or Sangleys manufacture with so great skill and dexterity.” Gomez estimated that this establishment would cost “at least 175,000 pesos, without reckoning the cost of the dwelling-houses” for officials, artisans, and laborers. [↑]

[4] The native name for the annotto (Bixa orellana), the seeds of which produce a yellow substance used for coloring cheese, butter, etc. [↑]

[5] Polizon: “a person who embarks by stealth and without a passport, in the ships which sail to America.” (Dominguez.) [↑]

[6] “The association of the Audiencia with the governor began in 1527, with Cortes, as the court recognized the impossibility of controlling so great a hero by means of a single, and perhaps insignificant, man. (Roscher, Spanish Colonial system, Bourne’s ed., p. 24, note 5.) [↑]

[7] The writer here adds: “This exportation is of very little importance in the markets of Asia, where the more usual and cheaper beverage for the people is Rak [English, “arrack”], or wine made from rice.” [↑]

[8] In 1853 a pamphlet was published at Madrid, written by Sinibaldo de Mas, entitled, Articulo sobre las rentas de Filipinas y los medios de aumentarlas,” written for the Boletin Oficial of the Treasury Department.” (Vindel, Catálogo biblioteca filipina, no. 1558.) [↑]

[9] “Only since 1843 have the Chinese shops been opened on the same terms as those of other foreigners. But there is no doubt that the Chinese have been a great boon to the colony. They have had, in the main, a civilizing influence on the natives, and have taught them many important things: as the working of iron and the manufacture of sugar from the juice of the sugar-cane. They have also ever been the leaders in commerce and the chief middlemen of the colony; and for this reason mainly they have been deemed an unwelcome necessity, for, without them, trade would almost be brought to a standstill, and, in consequence, labor would suffer and living be rendered dearer to every class. By their superior shrewdness and unscrupulous cunning they have, on the other hand, excited the hatred of the natives, who despise them for their cowardice. Thus, from time to time, the feeling against them is very bitter. Another objection against the Celestial is that he underbids all competitors, working for what others refuse. Furthermore, he spends little, and all that he saves he carries to his own country. Their expulsion, however, would be as unwise as it is impracticable, and the only remedy that meets the case is a proper State-control. The employment of coolie labor, notwithstanding, is at present impossible, on account of the hatred that the lower-class natives feel toward them. In Manila there are at present no less than 40,000 Chinese, while the whole colony contains about 100,000. They have their own courts, their guilds, and secret societies, which are necessary for their self-protection; and they choose representative deputations to represent them in the Government.” (Lala, Philippine Islands, pp. 104–106.)

Le Gentil says (Voyage, ii, p. 101) of the banishment of the Chinese from Manila in 1767 (at which time he was residing there): “I did not know any Spaniard in Manila who did not sincerely regret the departure of the Chinese, and who did not frankly admit that the Philippines would suffer for it, because the Indians are not capable of replacing the Chinese …. The Parian was a sort of market, where could be found provision of everything necessary for living; and it is not without reason that the Spaniards regretted the loss of this laborious people.” [↑]

[10] “This spirit of greed compelled the Chinese to abandon in their internal commerce the gold and silver coins which were in general use. The number of those who made counterfeit money, which was continually increasing, permitted no other line of conduct; and money was no longer coined save in copper. This metal, however, having become scarce, in consequence of events which history does not record, the shells so well known under the name of ‘cauris’ [English, ‘cowries’] were mingled with the copper coins; but the government, having observed that the people were dissatisfied with so frail an article, ordered that the copper utensils throughout the entire empire should be given up to the mints. As this ill-judged expedient did not furnish resources adequate to the public needs, the government caused about four hundred temples of Foé to be demolished, the idols in which were melted down. Finally the court paid the magistrates and the army partly in copper and partly in paper; but the people rebelled against so dangerous innovation, and it became necessary to give it up. Since that time, which was three centuries ago, the coinage of copper is the only legal one.” (Raynal, Établissemens et commerce des Européens, i, pp. 641, 642). [↑]

[11] Spanish, temporalidades: referring to the bureau in charge of the property formerly belonging to the Jesuits. [↑]

[12] Thus in text, but evidently a clerical error by Bernaldez’s amanuensis. A similar discrepancy is seen in the estimate of the trader’s profits, below. [↑]