[13] Philippine Commission Act No. 787, Section 13, Clause II, provides that the Moro Government is to “vest in their local or tribe rulers as nearly as possible the same authority over the people as they now exercise.” Clause L: “To enact laws for the abolition of slavery, and the suppression of all slave-hunting and slave trade.”
[14] From a statement kindly furnished to me by the Military and Provincial Governor, Maj.-General Leonard Wood, June, 1904.
[15] At Malábang about 500, at Párang-Párang 205, and at Joló 744.
[16] Kudaran͠gan Cotta was situated on the north bank of the Rio Grande. Datto Piangʼs fort stands at the junction of this river and the Bacat River. Fort Reina Regente, established in this neighbourhood, was the most inland Spanish stronghold in Mindanao, and was at one period in Spanish times garrisoned by 800 to 1,000 convict troops (disciplinarios).
[17] Panglima signifies General, or Chief of Warriors.
[18] The father of Mr. J. Schück was a German sea captain, who got into trouble with the Spaniards because he traded directly with the Sultan of Sulu. His ship and all he possessed were seized, and Captain Schück decided to settle in the Island under the protection of the Sultan. He took a Mora wife, became a very prosperous planter, and the Spaniards were eventually only too glad to cultivate his friendship. He died in 1887, leaving three sons; one is the gentleman mentioned above, another is the military interpreter, and the third manages the fine property and trading interests of the family. Mr. J. Schückʼs two sisters-in-law are Moras.
[19] Vide Legislative Council Act No. 51, relative to the Pearl Fisheries, in which the Sultan claims hereditary right. Also “Annual Report of Maj.-General George W. Davis, 1903,” containing Colonel W. M. Wallaceʼs report to the Adjutant-General to the effect that at Cagayán de Joló, on May 21, 1903, he gave instructions that the Sultanʼs emissaries were not to be allowed to collect the customary ₱5 per capita of tribute.
[20] Vide Report of the Moro Province for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1904.
[21] Under the Homestead Law, 39.54 acres of Government land may be acquired by any citizen of the Philippine Islands or of the United States, and 2,530 acres by a corporation. The grant or sale of such land is subject to occupancy and cultivation of the acreage for a period of not less than five years, and during that period the purchaser or grantee cannot alienate or encumber the land or the title thereto. Six consecutive monthsʼ absence from the land, during the above period of five years, cancels the grant. The land granted under this Act cannot be seized for debt contracted prior to the grant. Many applications have already been made for land under this Act.