The Former Philippines thru Foreign Eyes Part 13

[Land tenure.] Purchases of land are seldom made, it being generally acquired by cultivation, by inheritance, or forfeiture. In Catbalogan the best rice land was paid for at the rate of one dollar for a ganta of seed-corn, and, on the north coast of Lauang, a field producing yearly one hundred cabanes was purchased for thirty dollars. Reckoning, as in Naga, one ganta of seed-corn at four loanes, and seventy-five cabanes of produce at one quinon, the eastern rice land costs, in the first instance, three thalers and a third, in the second three thalers. The owner lets the bare property out on leases, and receives one-half the harvest as rent. [198] The cultivation of rice in Leyte is conducted as in Samar, but it has given way to the cultivation of abaca; the governors, while they were allowed to trade, compelled the natives to devote a part of their fields and of their labor to it. Should a peasant be in arrears, it is the prevalent custom in the country for him to pay to the dealer double the balance remaining due at the next harvest.

[Mountain rice.] Mountain-rice culture, which in Catbalogan is almost the only cultivation, requires no other implement of agriculture than the bolo to loosen the soil somewhat, and a sharp stick for making holes at distances of six inches for the reception of five or six grains of rice. Sowing is done from May to June, weeding twice, and five months later it is cut stalk by stalk; the reaper receiving half a real daily wages and food. The produce is between two and three cabanes per ganta, or fifty to seventy fold. The land costs nothing, and wages amount to nearly five reals per ganta of seed-corn. After a good harvest the caban fetches four reales; but just before the harvest the price rises to one dollar, and often much higher. The ground is used only once for dry rice; camote (batata), abaca, and caladium being planted on it after the harvest. Mountain rice is more remunerative than watered rice about in the proportion of nine to eight.

[Other products.] Next to rice the princ.i.p.al articles of sustenance are camote (convolvulus batatas), ubi (dioscorea), gabi (caladium), palauan (a large arum, with taper leaves and spotted stalk). Camote can be planted all the year around, and ripens in four months; but it takes place generally when the rice culture is over, when little labor is available. When the cultivation of camote is retained, the old plants are allowed to multiply their runners, and only the tubers are taken out of the ground. But larger produce is obtained by cleaning out the ground and planting anew. From eighteen to fifteen gantas may be had for half a real.

[Abaca.] Although there are large plantations of abaca, during my visit it was but little cultivated, the price not being sufficiently remunerative.

[Tobacco.] Tobacco also is cultivated. Formerly it might be sold in the country, but now it has to be delivered to the government.

[Balao oil.] A resinous oil (balao or malapajo) is found in Samar and Albay, probably also in other provinces. It is obtained from a dipterocarpus (apiton), one of the loftiest trees of the forest, by cutting in the trunk a wide hole, half a foot deep, hollowed out into the form of a basin, and from time to time lighting a fire in it, so as to free the channels, through which it flows, of obstructions. The oil thus is collected daily and comes into commerce without any further preparation. Its chief application is in the preservation of iron in shipbuilding. Nails dipped in the oil of the balao, before being driven in, will, as I have been a.s.sured by credible individuals, defy the action of rust for ten years; but it is princ.i.p.ally used as a varnish for ships, which are painted with it both within and without, and it also protects wood against termites and other insects. The balao is sold in Albay at four reals for the tinaja of ten gantas (the liter at eight pence). A cement formed by the mixture of burnt lime, gum elemi, and coconut oil, in such proportions as to form a thick paste before application, is used for the protection of the bottoms of ships; and the coating is said to last a year. [199] [Wax.] Wax is bartered by the Cimarronese. The whole of Samar annually yields from two hundred to three hundred piculs, whose value ranges between twenty-five and fifty dollars per picul, while in Manila the price is generally five to ten dollars higher; but it fluctuates very much, as the same product is brought from many other localities and at very irregular intervals of time.

[Scarcity of stock.] There is hardly any breeding of cattle, notwithstanding the luxuriant growth of gra.s.ses and the absence of destructive animals. Horses and carabao are very rare, and are said to have been introduced late, not before the present century. As in Samar there are hardly any other country roads than the seash.o.r.e and the shallow beds of rivers (it is better in the north of Leyte), the carabao is used only once every year in treading over the earth of the rice-field. During the year he roams at large on the pastures, in the forest, or on a small island, where such exists, in the neighborhood. Some times in the year one may see several carabaos, attached to the large trunk of a tree, dragging it to the village. Their number, consequently, is extremely small. Carabaos which tread the rice land well are worth as much as ten dollars. The mean price is three dollars for a carabao, and five to six dollars for a caraballa. Horned cattle are only occasionally used as victims at festivals. The property of several owners, they are very limited in number, and live half-wild in the mountains. There is hardly any trade in them, but the average price is three dollars for a heifer, and five or six dollars for a cow. [Swine.] Almost every family possesses a pig; some, three or four of them. A fat pig costs six or seven dollars, even more than a cow. Many Filipino tribes abstain strictly from beef; but pork is essential to their feasts. Grease, too, is so dear that from three to four dollars would, under favorable circ.u.mstances, be got on that account for a fat animal. [Sheep and goats.] Sheep and goats thrive well, and propagate easily, but also exist only in small numbers, and are hardly utilized either for their wool or their flesh. Creoles and mestizos are for the most part too idle even to keep sheep, preferring daily to eat chicken. The sheep of Shanghai, imported by the governor of Tacloban, also thrive and propagate famously. [Poultry.] A laying hen costs half a real, a rooster the same, and a game c.o.c.k as much as three dollars, often considerably more. Six or eight hens, or thirty eggs, may be bought for one real.

[Cost of food.] A family consisting of father, mother, and five children requires daily nearly twenty-four chupas of palay (rice in the husk), which, after winnowing, comes to about twelve chupas. This at the average price of four reals per cavan costs about half a real. The price, however, varies. Sometimes, after the harvest, it is three reals per cavan; before it, ten; and in Albay, even about thirty reals. Then about three cuartos are wanted for extras (as fish, crabs, vegetables, etc.), which, however, are generally collected by the children; and, lastly, for oil two cuartos, buyo one cuarto, tobacco three cuartos (three leaves for one cuarto), the latter being smoked, not chewed. A woman consumes half as much buyo and tobacco as a man. Buyo and tobacco are less used in Leyte than in Samar.

[Clothing cost.] For clothing a man requires yearly--four rough shirts of guinara, costing from one to two reals; three or four pairs of trousers, at one to two and a half reals; two kerchiefs for the head, at one and a half real (hats are not worn on the south and west coasts), and for the church festivals generally one pair of shoes, seven reals; one fine shirt, a dollar or more; and fine pantaloons, at four reals. A woman requires--four to six camisas of guinara, at one real; two to three sayas of guinara, at three to four reals, and one or two sayas of European printed cotton, at five reals; two head-kerchiefs at one and a half to two reals; and one or two pairs of slippers (chinelas) to go to ma.s.s in, at two reals and upwards.

[Women's extras.] The women generally have, besides, a fine camisa costing at least six reals; a mantilla for churchgoing, six reals (it lasts four years); and a comb, two cuartos. Many also have under skirts (nabuas), two pieces at four reals, and earrings of bra.s.s and a rosary, which last articles are purchased once for all. In the poorer localities, Lauang for instance, only the home-woven guinaras are worn; and there a man requires--three shirts and three pairs of trousers, which are cut out of three pieces of guinara, at two reals, and a salacot (hat), generally home made, worth half a real; while a woman uses yearly--four sayas, value six reals; and a camisa, with a finer one for the festivals, eight reals. Underskirts are not worn; and the clothing of the children may be estimated at about half of the above rates.

[Household furniture.] For household furniture a family has a cooking pot [200] of unglazed burnt clay, imported by ships from Manila, the cost of which is fixed by the value of its contents in rice; a supply of bamboo-canes; seven plates, costing between two and five cuartos; a carahai (iron pan), three to four reals; coconut sh.e.l.ls serving for gla.s.ses; a few small pots, altogether half a real; a sundang, four to six reals, or a bolo (large forest knife), one dollar; and a pair of scissors (for the women), two reals. The loom, which every household constructs for itself of bamboo of course costs nothing.

[Wages.] The rate of daily wages, in the case of Filipino employers, is half a real, without food; but Europeans always have to give one real and food, unless, by favor of the gobernadorcillo, they get polistas at the former rate, which then regularly goes into the public coffers. An ordinary carpenter earns from one to two reals; a skilful man, three reals daily. The hours of work are from six to noon, and from two to six in the evening.

[Industries.] Almost every village has a rude smith, who understands the making of sundangs and bolos; but the iron and the coal required for the purpose must be supplied with the order. No other work in metal is executed. With the exception of a little ship-building, hardly any other pursuit than weaving is carried on; the loom is rarely wanting in a household. Guinara, i.e., stuff made of the abaca, is manufactured, as well as also some pina, or figured silk stuffs, the silk being brought from Manila, and of Chinese origin. All these fabrics are made in private homes; there are no factories.

[Barter.] In places where rice is scarce the lower cla.s.s of people catch fish, salt and dry them, and barter them for rice. In the chief towns purchases are made with the current money; but, in the interior, where there is hardly any money, fabrics and dried fish are the most usual means of exchange. Salt is obtained by evaporating the seawater in small iron hand-pans (carahais), without previous evaporation in the sun. The navigation between Catbalogan and Manila continues from December to July, and in the interval between those months the ships lie dismantled under sheds. [Communication.] There also is communication by the coast eastwards to Guian, northwards to Catarman, and sometimes to Lauang. The crews consist partly of natives, and partly of foreigners, as the natives take to the sea with great reluctance; indeed, almost only when compelled to leave their villages. Samar has scarcely any other means of communication besides the navigation of the coast and rivers, the interior being roadless; and burdens have to be conveyed on the shoulders. An able-bodied porter, who receives a real and a half without food, will carry three arrobas (seventy-five pounds at most) six leagues in a day, but he cannot accomplish the same work on the following day, requiring at least one day's rest. A strong man will carry an arroba and a half daily for a distance of six leagues for a whole week.

[No markets.] There are no markets in Samar and Leyte; so that whoever wishes to buy seeks what he requires in the houses, and in like manner the seller offers his goods.

[Debts.] A Filipino seeking to borrow money has to give ample security and pay interest at the rate of one real for every dollar per month (twelve and one-half per cent. monthly); and it is not easy for him to borrow more than five dollars, for which sum only he is legally liable. Trade and credit are less developed in eastern and northern Samar than in the western part of the island, which keeps up a more active communication with the other inhabitants of the Archipelago. There current money is rarely lent, but only its value in goods is advanced at the rate of a real per dollar per mensem. If the debtor fails to pay within the time appointed, he frequently has to part with one of his children, who is obliged to serve the lender for his bare food, without wages, until the debt has been extinguished. I saw a young man who had so served for the term of five years, in liquidation of a debt of five dollars which his father, who had formerly been a gobernadorcillo in Paranas, owed to a mestizo in Catbalogan; and on the east coast a pretty young girl, who, for a debt of three dollars due by her father, had then, for two years, served a native, who had the reputation of being a spendthrift. I was shown in Borongan a coconut plantation of three hundred trees, which was pledged for a debt of ten dollars about twenty years ago, since which period it had been used by the creditor as his own property; and it was only a few years since that, upon the death of the debtor, his children succeeded, with great difficulty, in paying the original debt and redeeming the property. It is no uncommon thing for a native to borrow two dollars and a half from another in order to purchase his exemption from the forty days of annual service, and then, failing to repay the loan punctually, to serve his creditor for a whole year. [201]

[People of Samar and Leyte.] The inhabitants of Samar and Leyte, who are at once idler and filthier than those of Luzon, seem to be as much behind the Bicols as the latter are behind the Tagalogs. In Tacloban, where a more active intercourse with Manila exists, these qualities are less p.r.o.nounced, and the women, who are agreeable, bathe frequently. For the rest, the inhabitants of the two islands are friendly, obliging, tractable, and peaceable. Abusive language or violence very rarely occurs, and, in case of injury, information is laid against the offender at the tribunal. Great purity of manners seems to prevail on the north and west coasts, but not on the east coast, nor in Leyte. External piety is universally conspicuous, through the training imparted by the priests; the families are very united, and great influence is wielded by the women, who are princ.i.p.ally engaged in household employments, and are tolerably skilful in weaving, and to whom only the lighter labors of the field are a.s.signed. The authority of the parents and of the eldest brother is supreme, the younger sisters never venturing to oppose it; women and children are kindly treated.

[Leyte.] The natives of Leyte, clinging as strongly to their native soil as those of Samar, like them, have no partiality for the sea, though their antipathy to it is not quite so manifest as that of the inhabitants of Samar. [202]

[Public charity not accepted.] There are no benevolent inst.i.tutions in either of the two islands. Each family maintains its own poor and crippled, and treats them tenderly. In Catbalogan, the chief town of the island, with five to six thousand inhabitants, there were only eight recipients of charity; but in Albay mendicants are not wanting. In Lauang, when a Spaniard, on a solemn festival, had caused it to be proclaimed that he would distribute rice to the poor, not a single applicant came forward. The honesty of the inhabitants of Samar is much commended. Obligations are said to be contracted almost always without written doc.u.ments, and never forsworn, even if they make default in payment. Robberies are of rare occurrence in Samar, and thefts almost unknown. There are schools also here in the pueblos, which accomplish quite as much as they do in Camarines.

[Amus.e.m.e.nts.] Of the public amus.e.m.e.nts c.o.c.k-fighting is the chief, but it is not so eagerly pursued as in Luzon. At the church festivals they perform a drama translated from the Spanish, generally of a religious character; and the expense of the entertainment is defrayed by voluntary contributions of the wealthy. The chief vices of the population are play and drunkenness; in which latter even women and young girls occasionally indulge. The marriage feasts, combining song and dance, often continue for several days and nights together, where they have a sufficient supply of food and drink. [Suitor's service.] The suitor has to serve in the house of the bride's parents two, three, and even five years, before he takes his bride home; and money cannot purchase exemption from this onerous restriction. He boards in the house of the bride's parents who furnish the rice, but he has to supply the vegetables himself.

[203] At the expiration of his term of service he builds, with the a.s.sistance of his relations and friends, the house for the family which is about to be newly established.

[Morals.] Though adultery is not unknown, jealousy is rare, and never leads to violence. The injured individual generally goes with the culprit to the minister, who, with a severe lecture to one, and words of consolation to the other, sets everything straight again. Married women are more easily accessible than girls, whose prospect of marriage, however, it seems is not greatly diminished by a false step during single life. While under parental authority girls, as a rule, are kept under rigid control, doubtless in order to prolong the time of servitude of the suitor. External appearance is more strictly regarded among the Bisayans than by the Bicols and Tagalogs. Here also the erroneous opinion prevails, that the number of the women exceeds that of the men. Instances occur of girls of twelve being mothers; but they are rare; and though women bear twelve or thirteen children, many of these, however, do not live. [Great infant mortality.] So much so is this the case, that families of more than six or eight children are very rarely met with.

[Superst.i.tions.] Superst.i.tion is rife. Besides the little church images of the Virgin, which every Filipina wears by a string round the neck, many also have heathen amulets, of which I had an opportunity of examining one that had been taken from a very daring criminal. It consisted of a small ounce flask, stuffed full of vegetable root fibres, which appeared to have been fried in oil. This flask, which is prepared by the heathen tribes, is accredited with the virtue of making its owner strong and courageous. The capture of this individual was very difficult; but, as soon as the little flask was taken from him, he gave up all resistance, and allowed himself to be bound. In almost every large village there are one or more [Ghouls.] Asuang families who are generally dreaded and avoided, and regarded as outlaws, and who can marry only amongst themselves. They have the reputation of being cannibals. [204] Perhaps they are descended from such tribes? At any rate, the belief is very general and firmly rooted; and intelligent old natives when questioned by me on the subject, answered that they certainly did not believe that the Asuangs ate men at the present time, but that their forefathers had a.s.suredly done so. [205]

[Ancient Literature.] Of ancient legends, traditions, or ballads, it is stated that there are none. It is true they have songs at their dances, but these are spiritless improvisations, and mostly in a high key. They have not preserved any memorials of former civilization. "The ancient Pintados possessed no temples, every one performing his anitos in his own house, without any special solemnity"--(Morga, f. 145 v). Pigafetta (p. 92) certainly mentions that the King of Cebu, after his conversion to Christianity, caused many temples built on the seash.o.r.e to be destroyed; but these might only have been structures of a very perishable kind. [Festivals and shrines.] On certain occasions the Bisayans celebrated a great festival, called Pandot, at which they worshipped their G.o.ds in huts, which were expressly built for the purpose, covered with foliage, and adorned with flowers and lamps. They called these huts simba or simbahan (the churches are so called to the present day), "and this is the only thing which they have similar to a church or a temple"--(Informe, I., i., 17). According to Gemelli Careri they prayed to some particular G.o.ds, derived from their forefathers, who are called by the Bisayans Davata (Divata), and by the Tagalogs Anito; one anito being for the sea and another for the house, to watch over the children. [206] [Ancestor worship.] In the number of these anitos they placed their grandfathers and great-grandfathers, whom they invoked in all their necessities, and in whose honor they preserved little statues of stone, wood, gold, and ivory, which they called liche or laravan. Amongst their G.o.ds they also reckoned all who perished by the sword, or were killed by lightning, or devoured by crocodiles, believing that their souls ascended to heaven on a bow which they called balangas. Pigafetta thus describes the idols which were seen by him:--"They are of wood, and concave, or hollow, without any hind quarters, with their arms extended, and their legs and feet bent upwards. They have very large faces, with four powerful teeth like boars' tusks, and are painted all over." [207]

In conclusion, let me take a brief account of the religion of the ancient Bisayans from Fr. Gaspar San Agustin (Conquest, 169):

[Old religion.] The daemon, or genius, to whom they sacrificed was called by them Divata, which appears to denote an ant.i.thesis to the Deity, and a rebel against him. h.e.l.l was called Solad, and Heaven (in the language of the educated people) Ologan * * * The souls of the departed go to a mountain in the province of Oton, [208] called Medias, where they are well entertained and served. The creation of the universe is thus explained. [Creation myth.] A vulture hovering between heaven and earth finds no place to settle himself upon, and the water rises towards heaven; whereupon Heaven, in its wrath, creates islands. The vulture splits a bamboo, out of which spring man and woman, who beget many children, and, when their number becomes too great, drive them out with blows. Some conceal themselves in the chamber, and these become the Datos; others in the kitchen, and these become the slaves. The rest go down the stairs and become the people.

CHAPTER XXIII

[Ports of entry.] In 1830 seven new ports were opened as an experiment, but, owing to great frauds in the charges, were soon afterwards closed again. In 1831 a custom-house was established at Zamboanga, on the south-west point of Mindanao; and in 1855 Sual, in the Gulf of Lingayen, one of the safest harbors on the west coast of Luzon, and Iloilo in Panay, were thrown open; and in 1863 Cebu, on the island of the same name, for the direct communication with foreign countries.

[Old Zamboanga fort.] Before 1635 the Spaniards had established a fort at Zamboanga, which, although it certainly could not wholly prevent the piratical excursions against the colonies, yet considerably diminished them. [209] Until 1848 from eight hundred to fifteen hundred individuals are stated to have been carried off yearly by the Moros. [210] The establishment of this custom-house has, therefore, been based upon political rather than commercial motives, it being found desirable to open an easily accessible place to the piratical states of the Sulu Sea for the disposal of their products. [Exports.] Trade, up to the present date, is but of very inconsiderable amount, the exports consisting chiefly of a little coffee (in 1871 nearly six thousand piculs), which, from bad management, is worth thirty per cent. less than Manila coffee, and of the collected products of the forest and of the water, such as wax, birds'-nests, tortoise-sh.e.l.l, pearls, mother-of-pearl, and edible holothuria. This trade, as well as that with Sulu, is entirely in the hands of the Chinese, who alone possess the patience, adaptiveness, and adroitness which are required for the purpose.

[Sual's foreign trade.] Sual is specially important for its exports of rice; and its foreign trade is therefore affected by the results of the harvests in Saigon, Burma, and China. In 1868, when the harvests in those countries turned out good, Sual carried on only a coasting trade.

[Cebu.] Cebu (with a population of 34,000) is the chief town of the island of the same name, the seat of Government and of the bishop of the Bisayas, and within forty-eight hours from Manila by steamer. It is as favorably situated with regard to the eatern portion of the Bisayan group as Iloilo is for the western, and is acquiring increased importance as the emporium for its products. Sugar and tobacco are obtained from Bohol; rice from Panay; abaca from Leyte and Mindanao; and coffee, wax, Spanish cane, and mother-of-pearl from Misamis (Mindanao). Its distance from Samar is twenty-six, from Leyte two and a half, from Bohol four, and from Negros eighteen miles.

[Cebu island.] The island of Cebu extends over seventy-five square miles. A lofty mountain range traverses it from north to south, dividing the east from the west side, and its population is estimated at 340,000,--4,533 to the square mile. The inhabitants are peaceable and docile; thefts occur very seldom, and robberies never. Their occupations are agriculture, fishing, and weaving for home consumption. Cebu produces sugar, tobacco, maize, rice, etc., and in the mountains potatoes; but the rice produced does not suffice for their requirements, there being only a little level land, and the deficiency is imported from Panay.

[Land tenure.] The island possesses considerable beds of coal, the full yield of which may now be looked for, as the duty on export was abandoned by a decree of the 5th of May, 1869. [211] While in Luzon and Panay the land is for the most part the property of the peasantry, in Cebu it mostly belongs to the mestizos, and is let out by them, in very small allotments, upon lease. The owners of the soil know how to keep the peasants in a state of dependence by usurious loans; and one of the results of this abuse is that agriculture in this island stands lower than in almost any other part of the archipelago. [212]

[Customhouse data.] The entire value of the exports in 1868 amounted to $1,181,050; of which sugar to the value of $481,127, and abaca to the value of $378,256; went to England, abaca amounting to $112,000 to America, and tobacco to $118,260 to Spain. The imports of foreign goods, mostly by the Chinese, come through Manila, where they purchase from the foreign import houses. The value of these imports amounted in 1868 to $182,522; of which $150,000 were for English cotton stuffs. The entire imports of the island were estimated at $1,243,582, and the exports at $226,898. Among the importations were twenty chests of images, a sign of the deeply-rooted worship of the Virgin. Formerly the products for exportation were bought up by the foreign merchants, mostly Chinese mestizos; but now they are bought direct from the producers, who thus obtain better prices in consequence of the abolition of the high brokerages. To this and to the energy of the foreign merchants, under favorable circ.u.mstances, is the gradual improvement of agriculture princ.i.p.ally to be ascribed.

[Iloilo.] Iloilo is the most important of the newly opened ports, being the central point of the Bisayan group, and situated in one of the most thickly populated and industrious provinces. Nicholas Loney [213] estimates the export of goods woven from the fiber of the pina, from Iloilo, and the neighboring provinces, at about one million dollars annually. The harbor is excellent, being completely protected by an island which lies immediately before it; and at high tide there is about twelve feet of water close in sh.o.r.e for vessels to lie in. On account of the bar, however, ships of a deeper draught than this are obliged to complete their loading outside. Previous to the opening of the new harbors, all the provinces were compelled as well to bring their products intended for exportation to Manila, as to receive from the same place their foreign imports; the cost of which therefore was greatly increased through the extra expenses incurred by the double voyage, reloading, brokerage, and wharf.a.ge charges. According to a written account by N. Loney, it is shown how profitable, even after a few years, the opening of Iloilo has been to the provinces immediately adjoining--the islands of Panay and Negros.

[Sugar.] The higher prices which can be obtained for directly exported sugar, combined with the facility and security of the trade as contrasted with the late monopoly enjoyed by Manila, have occasioned a great extension of the cultivation of that article. Not only in Iloilo, but also in Antique and Negros, many new plantations have arisen, and the old ones have been enlarged as much as possible; and not less important has been the progress in the manufacture. In 1857 there was not one iron mill to be found on the island; so that, in working with the wooden mill, about thirty per cent. of the sap remained in the cane, even after it had thrice pa.s.sed through. The old wooden presses, which were worked by steam or carabaos, have now been supplanted by new ones; and these the native planters have no difficulty in obtaining, as they can get them on credit from the warehouses of the English importers. Instead of the old Chinese cast-iron pans which were in use, far superior articles have been imported from Europe; and many large factories worked by steam-power and with all modern improvements have been established. In agriculture, likewise, creditable progress is noticeable. Improved ploughs, carts, and farming implements generally, are to be had in plenty. These changes naturally show how important it was to establish at different points, extending over two hundred miles of the Archipelago, commercial centers, where it was desirable that foreigners should settle. Without these latter, and the facilities afforded to credit which thereby ensued, the sudden rise and prosperity of Iloilo would not have been possible, inasmuch as the mercantile houses in that capital would have been debarred from trading with unknown planters in distant provinces, otherwise than for ready money. A large number of half-castes, too, who before traded in manufactured goods purchased in Manila, were enabled after this to send their goods direct to the provinces, to the foreign firms settled there; and as, ultimately, neither these latter nor the Chinese retail dealers could successfully compete with them, the result has been that, as much to their own profit as to that of the country, they have betaken themselves to the cultivation of sugar. In this manner important plantations have been established in Negros, which are managed by natives of Iloilo: but there is a scarcity of laborers on the island.

[Land disputes.] Foreigners now can legally acquire property, and possess a marketable t.i.tle; in which respect the law, until a very recent period, was of an extremely uncertain nature. Land is to be obtained by purchase, or, when not already taken up, by "denuncia"

(i.e. priority of claim). In such case, the would-be possessor of the land must enter into an undertaking in the nearest of the native Courts to cultivate and keep the said land in a fit and serviceable condition. Should no other claim be put in, notice is thereupon given of the grant, and the magistrate or alcalde concludes the compact without other cost than the usual stamp duty.

[Lack of capital for large plantations.] Many mestizos and natives, not having the necessary capital to carry on a large plantation successfully, sell the fields which they have already partially cultivated to European capitalists, who are thus relieved of all the preliminary tedious work. Evidently the Colonial Government is now sincerely disposed to favor the laying out of large plantations.

[Lack of roads.] The want of good roads is particularly felt: but, with the increase of agriculture, this defect will naturally be remedied; and, moreover, most of the sugar factories are situated on rivers which are unnavigable even by flat freight boats. The value of land in many parts of the country has doubled within the last ten years. [214]

[Sugar prices.] Up to 1854 the picul of sugar was worth in Iloilo from $1.05 to $1.25 and seldom over $2.00 in Manila; in 1866, $3.25; and in 1868, $4.75 to $5.00 in Iloilo. The business in Iloilo therefore shows an increase of $1.75 per picul. [215]

[Negros.] At the end of 1856 there were as many as twenty Europeans established on the island of Negros as sugar planters, besides a number of mestizos. Some of them were working with steam machinery and vacuum pans. The general rate of pay is from $2.05 to $3.00 per month. On some plantations the principle of acsa, i.e. part share, is in operation. The owner lets out a piece of ground, providing draught cattle and all necessary ploughing implements, to a native, who works it, and supplies the mill with the cut cane, receiving as payment a share, generally a third, of the product. In Negros the violet cane is cultivated, and in Manila the white (Otaheiti). The land does not require manuring. On new ground, or what we may term virgin soil, the cane often grows to a height of thirteen feet. A vast improvement is to be observed in the mode of dress of the people. Pina and silk stuffs are beoming quite common. Advance in luxury is always a favorable sign; according to the increase of requirements, industry flourishes in proportion.

[The future sugar market.] As I have already mentioned, California, j.a.pan, China, and Australia appear designed by nature to be the princ.i.p.al consumers of the products of the Philippine Islands. Certainly at present England is the best customer; but nearly half the account is for sugar, in consequence of their own custom duties. Sometimes it happens that not more than one-fourth of the sugar crop is sufficiently refined to compete in the Australian and Californian markets with the sorts from Bengal, Java, and the Mauritius; the remaining three-fourths, if particularly white, must perforce undertake the long voyage to England, despite the high freight and certain loss on the voyage of from ten to twelve per cent. through the leakage of the mola.s.ses. The inferior quality of the Philippine sugar is at once perceived by the English refiners, and is only taxed at 8s. per cwt., while purer sorts pay 10s. to 12s. [216]

[A valuable by-product.] In this manner the English customs favor the inferior qualities of manufactured sugar. The colonial Government did not allow those engaged in the manufacture of sugar to distil rum from the mola.s.ses until the year 1862. They had, therefore, little inducement to extract, at a certain expense, a substance the value on which they were not permitted to realize; but under ordinary circ.u.mstances the distillation of the rum not only covered the cost of refining, but gave, in addition, a fair margin of profit.

CHAPTER XXIV

[Manila hemp.] One of the most interesting productions of the island is Manila hemp. The French, who, however, hardly use it, call it "Silk-Plant," because of its silky appearance.

The natives call the fiber bandala, and in commerce (generally speaking) abaca, just as the plant from which it is obtained.

[Abaca.] The latter is a wild species of banana growing in the Philippine Islands, known also as Arbol de Canamo (hemp-tree), Musa textilis, Lin. It does not differ in appearance to any great extent from the edible banana (Musa paradisiaca), one of the most important plants of the torrid zone, and familiar to us as being one of our most beautiful hot-house favorites.

[Undetermined plant relations.] Whether this and the "musae"

(M. troglodytarum, M. sylvestris, and others), frequently known, too, as M. textilis, are of the same species, has not yet been determined. The species Musaceae are herbaceous plants only. The outer stem consists of crescent-shaped petioles crossing one another alternately, and encircling the thin main stem. These petioles contain a quant.i.ty of bast fiber, which is used as string, but otherwise is of no commercial value. The serviceable hemp fiber has, up to the present time, been exclusively obtained from the southern portion of the Philippines.