They will, without any European supervision, heave down wooden sailing-vessels up to about 1000 tons, and repair the keel, or strip, caulk, and re-copper the bottom. I have often seen this done. They build from the excellent hard wood of the country, brigantines, schooners, lorchas, also cascos, and other craft for inland navigation and shallow waters. These latter vessels are most ingeniously contrived, and admirably adapted to the conditions under which they are to be used, and although not decked, carry their cargoes dry, and in good order, in the wettest weather. They make the most graceful canoes, and paddle or punt them with remarkable dexterity.
In Manila and Cavite are to be found a fair number of native engine-fitters, turners, smiths and boiler-makers.
There must be some 400 steam sugar-mills in the islands (besides 6000 cattle-mills). The engine-drivers and firemen are all natives, and mostly Tagals.
There are also in the capital large numbers of native house-carpenters, quarrymen, stone-masons, and some brick-layers and brick-makers.
Curiously enough, foundry work is not much done by Tagals, although when Legaspi arrived in Luzon he not only found cannon mounted at Manila, but there was a cannon-foundry there, and another at Tondo.
There are foundries at the latter place to this day belonging to Chinese half-castes, but church bells are more to their way now than cannon. They, however, cast small brass mortars with handles like quart pots, which are used for firing salutes at the feasts of the church. But I think most of the workmen were then, and are now, Chinese.
They make their own gunpowder, and fireworks of all kinds. They are inordinately fond of these, and get up very creditable displays. They are careless in handling them, and I was eye-witness of an explosion of fireworks during a water fête, on the passing in front of the governor’s palace at Malacañan, when a number of people were killed. I never learned how many had perished, and the newspapers were forbidden to enlarge upon it.
Excellent carriages are built in Manila entirely by native labour, the carromatas, or two-wheeled vehicles used for travelling, being made in the suburbs, or in Malabon.
Carriage-building is an important trade, for an incredible number of vehicles of all sorts are used in Manila.
Of an evening, in the Luneta, some hundreds may be seen, and on one occasion, at the races of the Jockey Club in Santa Mesa, two thousand vehicles were reported to be present.