3rd. The administration requires a complete reform. The command of Filipinas has always been entrusted to a governor and captain-general, as if it were a province of España. To set some balance to his power, because of the distance from the throne, certain privileges and preeminences have been granted to other persons, especially to the Audiencia, even to the point of making of the latter a court of appeal against the measures of the chief of the islands. Besides, the revenues have been removed from his jurisdiction, and the office of the intendant has been constituted, who obeys no others than the orders communicated to him by the ministry of the treasury from Madrid.[23] It is very obvious that this single point is quite sufficient to paralyze completely the action of the governor-general. Besides, since there are many matters which require to be passed on by distinct ministries, it happens that two contrary orders touch the same matter, or that one order is lacking, which is enough to render its execution impossible, the contingency moreover arising that a chief may detain a communication, even after he has received it, if it does not suit him. This system of setting obstacles in the way of the governor of a distant colony is wise and absolutely necessary, but since the Leyes de Indias are not a constitutional code, but a compilation made in the year 1754[24] of royal orders despatched at various epochs and by distinct monarchs, in which are decided points of government, justice, war, politics, revenue, procedure, etc., there results rather than a balance among the various departments of authority a confusion of jurisdictions, the fatal fount of eternal discord. [Mas cites laws from Leyes de Indias showing the great confusion and contrariety of the orders to governor and Audiencia. This confusion has given rise to scandalous and tragic events because of the contests over authority. During these latter years have occurred many offenses of like nature. General Enrile had them with the intendant, and General Camba mentions several during the period of his government. To these difficulties, is added another, in order that the chariot may run right and easily; the government of the provinces is in charge of an alcalde-mayor,[25] who is at once judge of first instance, chief of the political matters, subdelegate of the treasury, and war captain or military commandant, for whose different attributes he is subject to authorities distinct from one another. This appears inconceivable, but yet it is a fact, although the cleverness of our India legislators has not been so great that it could free the system of the inconveniences which necessarily must obstruct it.
Whatever difficulty occurs in the fulfilment of an order, it must be solved by means of a conference and advice [consulta],[26] from which a reply is not obtained until from twelve to fourteen months. These difficulties are more frequent in Filipinas than in a province of the Peninsula, because of the lack of knowledge of the country generally possessed by the ministers who dictate the measures. Things have gone so far that it has been ordered that the cultivation of the balate (a fish) be encouraged; and that the situado of Zamboanga be sent overland, because of the loss of the ship which was carrying it across to the island of Mindanao, where D. Infantes was then governing said presidio. The superintendent Enriquez says in the document which he printed on leaving his post in 1836,[27] that in the short period in which he filled the superintendency, he sent to the court six hundred and twenty-seven questions for resolution. And to these springs of torpor in the administration of the government, we must add that the captains-general scarcely decide any question whatever, without handing the matter for report to the assessor, fiscal, Audiencia, etc., because of the distance and impossibility of consulting España, and through their fear of compromising themselves, since on many occasions, measures have been obtained against them in Madrid, through agents and representatives or through complaints sent from the islands. The same thing happens with regard to the intendant and other authorities. From this practice arises the system of expedientes[28] which reigns, and which is so fatal to the prosperity and good government of the country, since very often the arrangement that appears good to some, is contrary to the opinions or interests of others. [Expedientes lasting for years have been formulated for matters requiring immediate attention. For instance, one lasting for years was formulated in regard to an expedition against the Moro pirates. An expediente is formed when a foreigner arrives at Manila without a passport from Spain and asks permission to remain in the country, although the law on this point is explicit. Thus much valuable time is lost and the expedientes result in only a waste of paper, besides great injury to the islands. The governor often has to conform to the opinions expressed in the expediente, although he knows they will be the cause of injustice.[29] On the other hand, the governor is often directly at fault, because he enforces his own opinion on his assessor, who has often obtained his position through favoritism and is not a lawyer, and decides questions according to the will of the governor. Besides, the governor has the armed force at his disposal. The chiefs of the various departments at Manila carry on correspondence with the directors-general of their respective departments in Madrid, without the knowledge of the governor, a fact that increases the confusion and disorder. The director of the mails even is at fault in this, and renders accounts to the general post-office department in Spain.] A sub-inspector of engineers newly created, just went to Manila with orders to extend the fortifications of the capital to its suburbs. The suburbs contain about fifty thousand inhabitants scattered throughout various villages which are composed of houses all of one story in height, which is enough to give an idea of the extension of the imagined fortification. The amount of artillery for garrisoning their walls, the workshop necessary to keep the artillery in good condition, the garrison necessary for their defense, besides the operating gangs: all were to be in the greatest magnitude, and demand an annual expense which the treasury of the colony could not even remotely meet. And if one reflect that the enemy can take all the other islands and even disembark at any point of Luzon itself without the necessity of going to Manila; that if this capital were besieged, it would be by enemies coming by sea, and hence, being masters of the port, they would very quickly take by hunger a place of one hundred and fifty thousand souls, or indeed it would be surrendered by the natives, and then the inhabitants, instead of contributing to the defense, would open their doors to the aggressors; and that the concentration of the forces, the property, the archives, and public and private wealth, at one single enclosed point, is to form a target to call the attention of exterior and interior enemies: we can do no less than agree that the plan of extending the fortifications of Manila to all its suburbs lacks all reasonable foundation, and that it will be advocated only by the many people who possess houses on the shores of the Pasig River, within cannon range, because of their fear lest, if the events of 1762 are again repeated, all those edifices which they were by a fatal lack of foresight permitted to raise successively (an evil which it is now very difficult if not impossible to remedy), would be leveled to the ground.
[However, the present condition of the treasury will not allow this plan to be executed. The sub-inspector of the artillery has petitioned that all companies of the regiment be commanded by captains of the staff. This would cause discontent among the subalterns who would see all hope of promotion vanish forever. They can rise now only to captain, and some of them are even now angry. The artillery corps has always been loyal to the government and it is advisable to keep it so. Officers might indeed be trained in the military college, but in that case the promotion of the sergeants must be arranged for. Complaints of the military in the Philippines mean more than they do in Spain where the complainers are retired or exercise patience. But this substitution may be made without consulting the governor, as it is a matter concerning the artillery itself.]
In the various departments of the administration there may also be abuses to examine or correct, which will never be known or exactly proved by chiefs resident in Madrid, because of the distance which is so favorable to the distortion of facts. For example, the brigadier of the navy, Don J. Ruiz de Apodaca, told me before the sub-inspector of artillery and another chief that all the articles which were bought by the treasury for the arsenal, were charged at a much higher price than those for the fort, etc., and he invited me to go to his house where he would prove it to me with the documents. On the other side, I have heard complaints that after a contract had been made with the treasury for cables, iron, etc., it is impossible to get a receipt for them in the arsenal, unless for a bonus; that quantities of timber will not be receipted for and those who have transported it to Cavite have to sell it at any price; and that it is bought by the very ones who have qualified it as useless; that many houses have been built in Cavite with the timber given out as no good, only with the object of making new bargains. Don F. Ossorio told me in the house of the secretary of the government, and in the presence of several respectable persons, that when he was commandant of artillery at that place, he made all the furniture of his house with wood which he bought in the arsenal as firewood. It is a fact that naval construction is very dear, and that the fragata “Esperanza” cost more than 600,000 pesos fuertes. During my stay in the islands, there has been talk of trickery in the outlay of tobacco, besides a defalcation in the magazines of three thousand eight hundred bundles of leaf. It was declared that there was introduced, for example, into the factory magazines, a quantity of bundled tobacco, in which was one part composed of fillers [palos] which had to be burned as useless; but if these fillers amounted to five thousand arrobas, only four thousand were destroyed. The other thousand arrobas were taken out as leaf of the best brand [from the magazines] and was carried to private houses where it was manufactured as contraband. This leaf was replaced by the fillers which ought to have been burned. For that reason, the cigars which were sent to the tobacco shops of the provinces, and even those which were sold to the trade, were sometimes of the worst quality; that the boxes were short weight; that choice lots were finished with care, and marked with a mark, and papers were given authorizing the exchange of tobacco in the factory, by which means the associates in these speculations could buy the poor tobacco which was given to the public, and leave it in the national magazines, taking in place of it, that manufactured properly and reserved. But what I know to be a positive fact in this matter is that few or many superior or fine boxes were made, which were obtained by favor in Manila; and that when Don Luis Urrijola[30] left the intendancy, the tobacco had lost its credit, and nine thousand boxes were held in the magazines, which no merchant then or since has cared to buy. The new superintendent, Don J. M. de la Matta took direct and positive measures by separating the magazine from the factory, and reducing the functions of the latter to the manufacture only, etc., whereupon the requests for the new tobacco were renewed, so that when I left Manila, it was impossible by a great amount to meet the demands of the trade. But had it not been for the providential appointment to the superintendency of said clever and zealous employe, perhaps that revenue would have entirely ceased. This is one of the foremost resources of that country, and the governor-general would at this moment find himself, perhaps, in the greatest straits, and it would be impossible to prevent the evil, although he knew its origin and progress, as he had no intervention in the department of the treasury, which is, nevertheless, the soul of all government. In the same place I also heard talk of the sale of posts, of abuses in the pay of vouchers and other matters. [These things may be misrepresentation or calumny, but they are ever increasing in force and are being repeated with exaggeration—which tends to weaken Spanish prestige which is the source of their moral strength.]
I believe that all that I have observed is enough and more than enough to show that the actual system of administration suffers from capital defects, and to assert that, in my opinion, the organization of a government is peremptory, which besides being a check on despotism and a barrier to ambition, by means of correction and reform through itself, contains the elements of unity, concord, prudence, rectitude, power, and duration. Here follows for what it may be worth, a plan circumscribed on fundamental bases.[31]
[Mas’s plan provides for a regency or commission of three persons, one of whom shall be the president and exercise the powers of the governor-general. A fourth member is to be elected as a substitute in case of death or illness, who, until called upon to fill any vacancy, shall travel through the provinces and study the conditions of the country. All matters of importance, especially money matters must be decided at a meeting of the regency, and appear by an act signed by all three. The president shall communicate and sign all orders, and all official communications must be sent to him. The two secretaries, political and military, shall receive orders only from the president, and shall attend the meetings of the regency without vote. The president alone shall decide questions of detail and procedure and execution, in accordance with the regulations, always expressing whether any measure has been voted on or not. The secretary shall send concise daily reports of all communications signed during the day by the president, noting after each one whether it was with or without the vote of the regency. Thus the other two regents having it in their power to call for the rough draft of any measure, can easily tell whether the president has overstepped his executory powers and encroached on the powers of the entire regency. This provision will obviate any such tendency on the president’s part, and will remove the jealousy of his two associates. The plan further provides for a commander-in-chief of all the army; a commander of the navy; a superintendent of the treasury; a court of justice; and a Council of State, to be composed of the officials above mentioned, together with the chiefs of artillery and fortification, the contador-mayor of accounts, the contadors of the army and treasury, the archbishop of Manila, and the provincials of the religious orders. The Council which has no power to assemble of its own accord, shall be assembled to consult on serious matters by the regency. At the death of the president, the senior regent shall assume his office, the substitute shall take a regular seat in the regency, and the Council shall appoint a new substitute to act provisionally until the court make a regular appointment, which shall never be the provisional appointment of the Council. The deliberations of the Council shall be secret and the regents shall only state the matters for discussion and then retire. The Council may be assembled at the request of the regents acting either singly or in accord. In impeachments of the president, if the impeachment is sustained, the senior regent shall take his place; if it is not sustained, the Council shall retire, but may be assembled any number of times for the same matter. There is a clause against lobbying in the Council to influence the votes of the members. In case of two summons at the same time, the Council shall obey the one emanating from the president or senior regent first.]
The members of the regency shall be jurisconsults, owners of estates, or military men, and the regularly-appointed president shall always be a grandee of España. It is highly important that, at that distance, the first chief impose some personal respect, and that even his very lineage make him appear superior to all the others.
[The dissension manifest in Basco’s term as governor was due to his low rank, as he was only a captain of fragata when he went to the islands as governor, a fact that gave rise to envy. He was an excellent governor, but the ministry that supported him did not know the sentiments that move the human heart. Governor Lardizabal also was of lower rank than some who served in subordinate positions in the islands. It would be better to appoint a grandee to the post of governor; for, having his estates in Spain, he would be more loyal. A grandee also could better support the prestige of the government than a poor soldier or man of no rank, as he would be more accustomed to the duties of that life. A soldier generally desires to make money, and will neglect his real duties. As a rule there are no battles to be fought, while there are many duties of an administrational and industrial character. The governor must have tact with the natives, and look carefully after foreign, commercial, and industrial relations, and the progress of the islands. It would be highly advisable to choose such a man when General Alcala is relieved.]
[For the government of the provinces, advocates shall be appointed from Spain, and they shall remain no longer than twenty years in the islands. There shall be three classes of provincial governments with distinct salaries. In addition to the requisite number of provincial governors there shall be six or eight substitutes in case of vacancies. These shall receive a salary of fifty pesos per month, so long as they are not called upon to fill a vacancy, and shall meanwhile do the bidding of the regency. A vacancy in the governments of the first class shall be filled by the regency from the governors of the second and third classes; and one in the third class from the substitutes. Governors may be transferred at will by the regency, and the relative importance of the various provinces may also vary.]
The provincial governors shall be as now political chiefs, judges of first instance, subdelegates of the treasury for the receiving of the direct incomes, managers of the mails, and war captains. This centralization has many advantages, a very chief one being the economic. The inconveniences which follow from it, will disappear when there is one supreme authority in the islands.