Early in the nineteenth century foreigners made their way past the bars of restriction. A Mr. Butler first asked the privilege of residing in Manila, and opening up trade with Europe; but his humble petition was rejected as something monstrous,—an innovation that would put an end to the political security of the colony. Yet the needs of commerce forced Spain out of this illiberal attitude, and an American firm, Russell and Sturgis, was soon after admitted by favor of the Governor-General. Then Mr. Butler came back. Many others have since followed, and there are, to-day, about a dozen British and as many German and Swiss firms in the ports of Manila, Iloilo, and Cebú, together with firms of other nations.
The house of Russell & Sturgis was long prominent in Philippine trade. It opened up the sugar culture in the isle of Negros, invested a large amount of money in agriculture, and was long the mainspring of Philippine enterprise. But it was, in the end, victimized by the natives, to whom its capital had been largely advanced, and in 1875, to the amazement and consternation of the people, the great firm failed. For a time its failure paralyzed trade, but the minor firms it had overshadowed soon expanded, and business grew brisker than before.
Vexatious Duties on Foreign Imports.
But while foreign merchants were thus forcing their way into the Philippines, they had to contend against the peculiar Spanish ideas of commercial enterprise. The customs duties—at that time seven per cent. on goods in Spanish ships—were double that in foreign vessels. And the most vexatious regulations prevailed. Thus there was a system of levying tonnage-dues on foreign vessels in addition to duties, a cargo-ship being charged double the dues of one in ballast. If a ship in ballast should land the smallest parcel, it was at once charged the higher rate. And it is said that the officials sometimes bribed a sailor to carry a small bundle on shore, to give them a pretext to make the higher charge. The story is told, that, one shipmaster, who had brought a cargo of cobble-stones to Manila, was severely fined because his cargo proved to be one stone short of the number on his manifest.
The Escolta: Looking Toward Santa Cruz.
In 1896 the collector of customs at Manila made $82,000 in this way, all of which went into his private purse. By exactions like these the Spanish officials managed to make their positions profitable, but they drove away trade, foreign shippers avoiding Manila.