The decimal system of accounts and currency was introduced into the Philippines by a royal decree, and an end put to all the complications of maravedis, quartos, and reales de ocho, by the simple adoption of the dollar, divided into one hundred cents. It would be, indeed, a wretched compliment to the population of England (let me say it in passing) if, as certain opponents of improvement have averred, they would never be brought to appreciate or comprehend a change to decimal denominations which the “untutored mind” of the “wild Indian” has already begun to adopt, using his digits as the instruments of the new philosophy, and aided now and then probably by the simple abacus of the Chinese shopkeeper, with whom he has much to do.
The weights and measures used in the Philippines are—
| The Arroba | (25 | lbs. Spanish) | = | | 25·36 | English lbs. |
| The Quintal | (100 | ) | = | | 101·44 | |
| The Catty | = | | 1·395 | |
| The Pecul of 137 catties (36 lbs.Spanish) | = | | 139·48 | |
| Cavan | = | | 25 | gautas. |
| Gauta | = | | 8 | chupas. |
| Pie | = |  | 12 | Spanish inches. |
| 11 | English inches. |
| Vara | = | | 3 | pies. |
| 33 | English inches. |
| Cavan of rice (clean) weighs | 132lbs. | avoirdupois. |
| paddy | 103½ | |
| Jar of oil | 96 | |
The following return gives the exports from Manila for the year 1858:—
EXPORTS FROM MANILA FOR 1858.
| | United States, Atlantic. | California. | Continent of Europe. | GreatBritain. |
| Hemp | Peculs. | 289,953 | 10,140 | 6,650 | 105,633 |
| Sugar | | 16,030 | 45,038 | 17,252 | 315,768 |
| Sapan Wood | | 10,594 | | 2,491 | 21,295 |
| Indigo | Qtls. | 503 | | 171 | 58 |
| Leaf Tobacco | | | | 82,120 | |
| Cigars | M̄. | 4,613 | 3,416 | 209 | 8,244 |
| Coffee | Peculs. | 2,389 | 236 | 13,882 | 81 |
| Cordage | | | | 2,751 | |
| Hides | | 999 | | 113 | 3,619 |
| Hide Cuttings | | 2,929 | | | 62 |
| Mother-of-Pearl Shell | | | | 1,205 | 1,351 |
| Tortoise-Shell | Catties. | | | 260 | 1,931 |
| Grass Cloth | Pieces. | 57,224 | | 547 | |
| Gum Almasiga | Peculs. | | | 2,113 | 3,571 |
| Cowries | | | | | 2,773 |
| Rice | Cavans. | | | | |
| Paddy | | | | | |
| Beche de Mer | Peculs. | | | | |
| Liquid Indigo | Jars. | | | | |
| Buffalo Horns | Peculs. | | | 11 | 387 |
| Birds’ Nests | | | | | |
| Arrowroot | | | 170 | 15 | 368 |
| Gold Dust | Taels. | | | | |
| Canes | M̄. | | | 11 | 610 |
| Cow Bones | Peculs. | | | | |
| Hats | M̄. | | | | 408 |
| Molave Logs | | | | 58 | |
EXPORTS FROM MANILA FOR 1858. (Continued.)
| | Australia. | Batavia. | Singapore, and BritishIslands. | South America, Cape of Good Hopeand Pacific Islands. | China. | Total. |
| Hemp | | | 1,100 | | 28 | 412,504 |
| Sugar | 147,369 | | | 170 | 15,506 | 557,133 |
| Sapan Wood | | 1,200 | 4,607 | | 27,031 | 67,218 |
| Indigo | | | | | | 732 |
| Leaf Tobacco | | | | | | 82,120 |
| Cigars | 18,504 | 12,552 | 24,489 | 115 | 13,000 | 85,142 |
| Coffee | 6,764 | 55 | | | 1,556 | 24,963 |
| Cordage | 10,150 | 999 | 3,293 | | 4,606 | 21,799 |
| Hides | | | | | 1,694 | 6,425 |
| Hide Cuttings | | | | | 884 | 3,875 |
| Mother-of-Pearl Shell | | | | | 36 | 2,592 |
| Tortoise-Shell | | | | | 314 | 2,505 |
| Grass Cloth | | | 350 | | | 58,121 |
| Gum Almasiga | 14 | | 1,674 | | | 7,372 |
| Cowries | | | 165 | | | 2,938 |
| Rice | | | | | 21,361 | 21,361 |
| Paddy | | | | | 1,300 | 1,300 |
| Beche de Mer | | | | | 3,889 | 3,889 |
| Liquid Indigo | | | | | 4,805 | 4,805 |
| Buffalo Horns | | | | | | 398 |
| Birds’ Nests | | | | | 66 | 66 |
| Arrowroot | 263 | | | | | 816 |
| Gold Dust | | | | | 1,721 | 1,721 |
| Canes | | | | | | 620 |
| Cow Bones | | | | | 906 | 906 |
| Hats | | | 120 | | 1,372 | 1,900 |
| Molave Logs | | | | | 1,203 | 1,259 |
In the year 1855, Don Sinibaldo de Mas, having been charged with an official mission of inquiry into the state of these islands, published an article on the revenues of the Philippines, addressed to the finance minister of Spain.[1]