It is not easy to account for, but the fact is undeniable. I have heard it ascribed to “telluric influence,” but that is a wide and vague expression. Perhaps the explanation may be found in the extreme violence of the phenomena of nature.
The frequent earthquakes, the almost continuous vibration of the soil, the awe-inspiring volcanic eruptions, with their sooty black palls of ash darkening the sky for days together, over hundreds of miles, the frightful detonations,[3] the ear-splitting thunder, the devastating rage of the typhoons, the saturated atmosphere of the rainy season, and the hot dry winds of Lent, with the inevitable conflagrations, combine with depressing surroundings and anxieties to wreck the nerves of all but the strongest and most determined natures. If to all this the white resident or sojourner in the Philippines adds the detestable vice of intemperance, or even indulges in a liberal consumption of spirits, then instead of merely shattering his nerves, he is likely to become a raving maniac, for it takes much less whisky to bring on delirium tremens there, than it does in a temperate climate.
Long sojourn in some other lands appears to act in a different manner. In tropical Africa it seems to be the moral balance that is lost. The conscience is blunted if not destroyed, the veneer of civilisation is stripped off, the white man reverts to savagery. The senseless cruelties of Peters, Lothaire, Voulet, Chanoine, and of some of the outlying officials of the Congo Free State are not mere coincidences. They must be ascribed to one common cause, and that is debasement by environment. The moral nature of a white man seems to become contaminated by long isolation amongst savages as surely as the physical health by living amongst lepers.
If a poor white man wishes to sink to the level of a native, he has only to marry a native woman, and his object will be fully attained in a few years. But he will find it very much to his pecuniary interest, for she will buy cheaper and sell dearer than he can, and will manage his house and his business too, most economically. Some of her relations will come and live with him, so that he will not feel lonely, and a half-caste family will grow up round about him, talking the dialect of their mother, which he, perhaps, does not understand. But if the poor white man takes out a white wife, he will probably have the pain and distress of seeing her fade away under the severity of the climate, which his means do not permit him to alleviate. White women suffer from the heat far more than men. Children cannot be properly brought up there after the age of twelve. They must either be sent home to be educated, or allowed to deteriorate and grow up inferior to their parents in health, strength, and moral fibre. When I think of these things, I feel amazed at Oscar F. Williams’ presumption in writing that letter. I hope that not many have taken his advice, and that any who have will call on him to fulfil his imprudent pledges.
However, now I have done with the poor white man. Capital is the great necessity of the Philippines. The labour is there if Generals Otis and McArthur have left any natives alive.
More banks are wanted. At present there are three important banks in Manila, and two of them have branches in Yloilo. The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation has the largest resources; next comes the Chartered Bank of India, Australasia, and China, and lastly the Banco Español Filipino. The first two give the most perfect facilities for business. I was only interested in importing, but certainly nothing more could be desired by an importer than their system of opening credits against shipping documents; for practically he only had to pay for the goods when they arrived in Manila. All their business was done in the most expeditious manner, and I could suggest no improvement on their methods.
The Banco Español Filipino was in a measure under government control, its procedure was consequently very slow, and its ways those of bygone days.
These banks, however, did not advance money to cultivators to clear lands, plant crops, or erect machinery, as the returns are too slow, not to say doubtful. Yet this is what is wanted; banks in Manila and the chief towns that will advance money for such purposes, under the advice of experts personally acquainted with the cultivators and their lands. Such a business certainly requires great intelligence and discernment.
Still there is a future for such banks, for agriculturists have to pay enormous rates of interest and commissions for money to carry on their plantations. Such banks could also finance timber-cutters, gold miners, and other bona fide workers.
Amongst the enterprises I have recommended when writing about the Pampangos, and others engaged in planting sugar-cane, is the establishment of central sugar factories in suitable localities. Such undertakings, judiciously administered, would have every prospect of success.