The outlook brightening.Notwithstanding, however, the defective manner in which the generality of the merchants act, some already are beginning to distinguish themselves by the prudence of their conduct, by forwarding, in time, their orders to the manufacturers of India and China, and, in other respects guiding themselves by the principles which characterize the intelligent merchant. Finally, it is to be presumed that, as soon as the government shall have thrown down this singular and preposterous system that has been the cause of so many disorders, and proclaimed the unlimited freedom of Philippine commerce, the greater part of these people will rise up from the state of inaction in which they now live, and the relations of the colony will then assume the course and extent corresponding to its advantages of position. At least, if our national merchants should not act up to the impulse given to all kinds of mercantile enterprises by the beneficial hand of the sovereign, foreigners will not be wanting, who, relying on due toleration, will be induced to convey their fortunes and families to the Philippine Islands, and, vigorously encouraging the exportation of their valuable productions, amply secure the fruits of their laudable activity and well-combined speculations.
Capital employed in commerce.Were a person, judging from the numbers constituting the body of registered merchants, and supposing all of them to possess the essential requisites prescribed by our commercial regulations, to form a prudent estimate of the amount of capital employed by them, his calculations would turn out extremely erroneous, for besides the case with which regulations of this kind are eluded, many are merely nominal traders, and there are others whose mercantile existence is purely artificial for they are sustained in a temporary manner, by means of a forced species of circulation peculiar to this country. This consists in obtaining the acquiescence of the administrators of pious and charitable funds, let out at interest, to renew the bonds they hold during other successive risks, waiting, as it were, till some fatal tempest has swallowed up the vessel in which these merchants suppose their property to be embarked, and at once cancel all their obligations. On the other hand, neither excessive expenses nor the shipment of large quantities of goods to Acapulco can in any way be taken as a just criterion whereby to judge of the fortunes of individuals; because, in the first, there is great uniformity, every one, more or less, enjoying, exteriorly, the same easy circumstances, notwithstanding the disparity of real property; and in the second, considerable fiction prevails, many persons shipping under the same mark, and even when the shipper stands alone, he might have been provided with the necessary funds from the pious and charitable establishments, possibly without risking a dollar of his own in the whole operation. Under circumstances so dubious, far from presuming to give a decided opinion on the subject, I am compelled to judge from mere conjectures, and guided only by the knowledge and experience I have been able to acquire during my long residence there. In conformity thereto, I am inclined to believe, that the total amount of capital belonging to and employed in the trade of the Philippine Islands, does not at present exceed two and a half million dollars, with evident signs of rapid decline, if the merchants do not in time abandon the ruinous systems of chiefly carrying on their speculations with money obtained at interest.
Large sums hoarded.The two and a half million dollars thus attributed to the merchants, form, however, the smaller part of the funds distributed among the other classes, and the total amount of the circulating medium of the colony might be considered an object sufficiently worthy of being ascertained, owing to the great light it would throw on the present state of the inhabitants; but it is in vain to attempt any calculation of the kind, at least without the aid of data possessing a certain degree of accuracy. The only thing that can be affirmed is, that during the period of more than two hundred and fifty years which have elapsed since the conquest, the ingress of specie into the Philippine Islands has been constant. Their annual ships have seldom come from New Spain without bringing considerable sums in return, and if some of them have been lost, many others, without being confined to the one million of dollars constituting the ordinary amount of the permit, have not unfrequently come back with triple that sum; for which reason there are ample grounds of judging the estimates correct, which fix the total importation of dollars, during the whole of that long period of years, to be equal to four hundred millions. It may further be observed that, as in the Sangley mestizos economy and avarice compete with intelligence and activity in accumulating wealth and as they are scattered, among the principal islands, and in possession of the best lands and the most lucrative business of the interior, there are ample motives for presuming that these industrious and sagacious people have gradually, although incessantly, amassed immense sums in specie; but it would be impossible to point out their amount, distribution, or the secret places in which they are hoarded.
Pious and charitable funds’ capital.The assemblage of pious legacies, temporalities, and other funds and property placed under the care of several administrative committees, for purposes as well religious as charitable, constitute the chief capital employed in external trade; and notwithstanding the failures, which from time to time occur, the subsequent accumulation of the enormous premiums obtained for funds laid out in maritime speculations, both in time of peace and war, not only suffices to make up all losses of the above kind, but also to secure the punctual payment of such charitable pensions and other charges as are to be deducted from the respective profits of this species of stock, its total amount, according to an official report made by order of the head committee of the sinking fund, including temporalities, and Queen Maria of Austria’s endowment for the College of Las Marianas, together with other funds of the same kind, not comprehended in the decree of abolition, at the commencement of the year 1809, amounted to $2,470,390, and as the sea-risks of that and the following year were successful, and the outstanding amounts punctually recovered, the aggregate sum, arising out of the above description of property, may now be estimated at more than three millions. Of these funds three distributions are generally made, viz., one part is appropriated to the China risks, at from twelve to eighteen per cent. premium, according to circumstances, and also those to Madras, Calcutta and Batavia, at from sixteen to twenty-two per cent. The second, which generally is in the largest proportion, is employed in risks to Acapulco, at various premiums, from 27 to 45 per cent.; and the third is left in hand, as a kind of guarantee of the stability of the original endowments.
Coveted by Spanish treasury.In the great exigencies of the Royal Treasury, experienced during the last years of the administration of Sr. Soler, the royal decree of Consolidación was extended to the Philippine Islands, under the pretext of guarding the funds belonging to public charities and religious endowments ... sea-risks, the income of which, when secured on good mortgages, does not generally exceed five per cent, many in Spain not yielding above four; but the remarkable difference between this plan and the one above described, together with various and other weighty reasons alleged by the administrators, caused the dreaded effect of this new regulation to be suspended, and whilst the head committee of Manila were consulting their doubts and requesting fresh instructions from the court at home, orders came out not to make any alteration in measures relating to this description of property.
Easy capital but lessened profits.Accustomed, in their limited calculations, to identify the resources, offered by the funds belonging to this class of establishments, with the very existence of the colony, the needy merchants easily confound their personal with the general interest; and few stop to consider that the identical means of carrying on trade, without any capital of their own, although they have accidentally enriched a small number of persons, eventually have absorbed the principal profits, and possibly been the chief cause of the unflourishing state of the colony at large. Without fearing the charge of rashness, it may, in fact, be asserted, that if these charities and pious endowments had never existed, public prosperity in the Philippine Islands would, as in other parts, have been the immediate effect of the united efforts of the individual members of the community and of the experience acquired in the constant prosecution of the same object. As, however, a progress of this kind, although certain, must necessarily have been at first extremely slow, and as, on the other hand, the preference given to mercantile operations undertaken with the funds belonging to public charities, has its origin in the assemblage of vices so remarkable in the very organization of the body of Philippine merchants, any new measure on this subject might be deemed inconsistent, that at once deprived them of the use of resources on which they had been accustomed to rely, without removing those other defects which excuse, if not encourage, the continuation of the present system. Without, therefore, appealing to violent remedies, it is to be hoped that, in order to render plans of reform effectual, it will be sufficient, under more propitious circumstances, to see property brought from other countries to these Islands, as well as persons coming to settle in them, capable of managing it with that intelligence and economy required by trade. The competition of those who speculate at random would then cease, or what is the same, as money obtained at a premium could not then be laid out with the same advantages by the merchants as if it was their own, it will be necessary to renounce the fallacious profits held out by the public charities, till at least they are placed on a level with existing circumstances, and brought in to be of real service to the honorable planter and laborious merchant, in their accidental exigencies, ceasing to be, as hitherto, the indirect cause of idleness, dissipation, and the ruin of an infinite number of families.
Mercantile shipping.The vessels which the district magistrates of the provinces employ in carrying on their trade with the capital and those belonging to some of the richer merchants, together with such as are owned by the natives and mestizos, on an approximate calculation, amount to twelve thousand tons, including ships, brigs, schooners, galleys, barges, etc. For the want of better data, this estimate is founded only on reasonable conjecture, aided by the advice of experienced persons, for although the greatest part of these vessels are built by the natives in the neighborhood of their own towns, no register is kept of their number and dimensions, nor do they carry with them the usual certificates. Those belonging to the merchants, that is, ships and brigs of a certain size, have already begun to frequent the ports of China, Java, the coast of Coromandel, Bengal, and the Isle of France, availing themselves of the lucrative freights which formerly enriched and encouraged foreign shipping. The other class of vessels, although perfectly adequate to the coasting trade, cannot in general be applied to larger enterprises, on account of their not being sufficiently strong and capacious. The seamen are not apprenticed, or as it is usually called, matriculated, but their frequent crossing from island to island, their familiarity with regional tempests, voyages to various parts of America, and the occupation of fishing followed by the inhabitants of the coast, serve to train up a large body of dexterous and able mariners who at all times can be had, without any compulsion, to complete the crews.
Need of nautical school.The want of a public school for the teaching of navigation, is, however, sensibly felt, as well as great inconvenience from the scarcity of persons capable of being trusted with the command of vessels, and the ignorance that prevails of the waters of this dangerous Archipelago. Repeated royal orders have been sent over for the board of trade to proceed to the institution of so useful an establishment, and in the meantime, a medium has been resorted to in order to supply the deficiency, by allowing the free admission of foreign mates, provided they exhibit proofs of their acquaintance with navigation, and profess the Catholic worship. Shipowners nevertheless experience great difficulties, particularly at times when the Acapulco ship is fitting out, for although she is considered as a vessel of war, and commanded by officers of the royal navy, the plan of her equipment is so singular, that in addition, she requires the extra aid of one chief mate, and three under ones.
Royal Phillipine company.The various modifications this corporate body has successively experienced, have, in great measure, changed the essence of its original constitution, and the remonstrances of its directors, founded on the experience of a long series of years, at length induced the government at home to sanction alterations dictated by existing circumstances. The project of raising these Islands from the neglected state in which they were, and in some measure to place them in contact with the mother country, accompanied by a wish to give a new and great impulse to the various branches of industry which constitute the importance of a colony, could not have been more laudable; but, as was afterwards seen, the instrument employed was not adequate to the object in view. At the same time that the company were charged to promote, and, by means of their funds, to vivify the agriculture and industry of these provinces, the necessary powers and facilities to enable them to reap the fruits of their sacrifices were withheld. The protection granted to this establishment, did not go beyond a general recommendation in favor of its enterprises, and, in short, far from enjoying the exclusive preponderance obtained at their commencement by all the other Asiatic companies, that of the Philippine Islands labored under particular disadvantages.
Local progress under adverse conditions.Notwithstanding an organization so imperfect, scarcely had the agents of the new Company arrived at Manila, when they distributed through the country their numerous dependents, commissioned to encourage the natives by advances of money. They established subaltern factories in the Provinces of Ilocos, Bataan, Cavite, and Camarines; purchased lands; delivered out agricultural implements; founded manufacturies of cotton cloths; contracted for the crops of produce at very high prices; offered rewards and, in short, they put in motion every partial resources they were able to avail themselves of and their limited means allowed. It would be extremely easy for me, in this place, to enter a particular enumeration of the important services of this kind rendered by the company, and to exhibit, in the most evident point of view, the advantages thence derived to these Islands, if, besides being slightly touched upon in the preceding articles, this task had not been already ably performed by the Factor Don Juan Francisco Urroz, in his accurate report on this subject, addressed to the governing committee of the company, in 1803. In justice I will nevertheless observe, that this establishment, anxiously resolved to attain the end proposed, in spite of so many obstacles, constantly followed up its expensive system without being disheartened; nor did the contrarieties with which the Royal Audiencia, or High Court of Justice, frequently paralyzed its plans, the indifference of the governors, or the general opposition and jealousy of the other classes, in any way tend to relax its efforts, till at length, convinced of the impossibility of successfully contending, alone and without any other arms than its own reduced capital; and, on the other hand, well aware that a political body of this kind in vain seeks to unite within itself the triple and opposite characters of agriculturalist, manufacturer, and merchant, a determination was taken to alter the plan, and withdraw the factories established in the provinces, and by adopting a rigid economy and confining the operations in future to the purchase of such produce and manufactured articles as suited their trade, and were voluntarily brought by the natives to their stores, the expenses of the Company were curtailed, and a plan of reform introduced into all their speculations. By this means also they always secured an advantageous vent for the productions of the country, after having been the chief spring by which agriculture was promoted and encouraged in a direct manner.