The Philippine Islands Part 38

An official computation in the year 1885 stated the average number of vehicles which pa.s.sed through the main street of the city (_Calle Real_) _per day_ to be 950; through the _Escolta_, the princ.i.p.al street of Binondo, 5,000; and across the bridge, connecting Binondo with Manila City (where the river is 350 feet wide), 6,000.

Sir John Bowring, in the account of his short visit to Manila in 1858, says he was informed on good authority that the average number of vehicles pa.s.sing daily at that date through the _Escolta_ amounted to 915; across the bridge, between Binondo and Manila, 1,256; so that apparently in 27 years the number of vehicles in use had increased by about five to one.

The Pasig River is navigable by steam-launches and specially-constructed steamers of light draught, which go up the whole distance into the Laguna de Bay. The river is crossed at Manila and suburbs by three bridges, the chief of which is the _Puente de Espana._ [167]

In the suburbs there were four Theatres, in none of which a dramatic company of any note would consent to perform. In one (the _Teatro Filipino_) the performance could be partly seen from the street; another (the _Teatro de Tondo_) was situated in a dirty thoroughfare in a low quarter; the third (the _Teatro del Principe_) usually gave an entertainment in dialect for the amus.e.m.e.nt of the natives; and the fourth (the _Teatro Zorrilla_), located in Tondo, was built to serve as theatre or circus without any regard to its acoustic properties; hence only one-third of the audience could hear the dialogue. There was a permanent Spanish Comedy Company (on tour at times in Yloilo and Cebu), and occasionally a troupe of foreign strolling players, a circus, a concert, or an Italian Opera Company came to Manila to entertain the public for a few weeks.

In 1880 there used to be a kind of tent-theatre, called the _Carrillo_ where performances were given without any pretence to histrionic art or stage regulations. The scenes were highly ridiculous, and the gravest spectator could not suppress laughter at the exaggerated att.i.tudes and comic display of the native performers. The public had full licence to call to the actors and criticize them in loud voices _seance tenante_--often to join in the choruses and make themselves quite at home during the whole spectacle. About a year afterwards the _Carrillo_ was suppressed. The first Spaniards who systematically taught the Filipinos European histrionics were Ramon Cubero and his wife, Elisea Raguer (both very popular in their day), whose daughter married the Philippine actor and dramatic author Jose Carvajal. The old-fashioned native play was the "_Moro Moro_," which continued in full vogue, in the provinces, up to the end of Spanish dominion. [168]

In the suburb of Paco there was a bull-ring, which did not generally attract the _elite_, as a bull-fight there was simply a burlesque upon this national sport as seen in Spain. I have witnessed a Manila _espada_ hang on to the tail of his victim, and a _banderillero_ meet the rush of the bull with a vault over his head, amidst hoots from the shady cla.s.s of audience who formed the _habitues_ of the Manila ring.

The Civil Governor of the Province had full arbitrary power to enforce the regulations relating to public performances, but it was seldom he imposed a fine. The programme had to be sanctioned by authority before it was published, and it could neither be added to nor any part of it omitted, without special licence. The performance was given under the censorship of the Corregidor or his delegate, whose duty it was to guard the interests of the public, and to see that the spectacle did not outrage morality.

The ostensible purpose of every annual feast all over the Colony was to render homage to the local patron Saint and give thanks for mercies received in the past year. Every town, village, and suburb was supposed to be specially cared for by its patron Saint, and when circ.u.mstances permitted it there was a religious procession, which was intended to impress on the minds of the faithful the virtue of the intercessors by ocular demonstration. Vast sums of money were expended from time to time in adornment of the images, the adoration of which seemed to be tinctured with pantheistic feeling, as if these symbols were part of the Divine essence.

Among the suburban feasts of Manila, that of Binondo was particularly striking. It took place in the month of October. An imposing illuminated procession, headed by the clergy, guarded by troops, and followed up by hundreds of native men, women and children carrying candles, promenaded the princ.i.p.al streets of the vicinity. But the religious feeling of the truly devoted was shocked by one ridiculous feature--the mob of native men, dressed in gowns and head-wreaths, in representation of the Jews who persecuted our Saviour, rushing about the streets in tawdry attire before and after the ceremony in such apparent ignorance of the real intention that it annulled the sublimity of the whole function.

All Saints' Day--November 1--brought a large income to the priests in the most frequented parish churches. This is one of the days on which souls can be got out of Purgatory. The faithful flocked in mobs to the popular shrines, where an effort was made to place a lighted wax candle at the foot of the altar, and on bended knee to invoke the Saints' aid on behalf of their departed relatives and friends. But the crowd was so great that the pious were not permitted this consolation for more than two or three minutes. Sacristans made them move on, to leave room for new-comers, and their candles were then extinguished and collected in heaps, Chinese infidel coolies being sometimes employed to carry away the spoil to the parish priest's store. The wax was afterwards sold to dealers. One church is said to have collected on November 1, 1887, as much as 40 cwts., valued at P37 per cwt. This day was a public holiday, and in the afternoon and evening it was the custom to visit the last resting-places, to leave a token of remembrance on the tombs of the lamented.

The Asylum for Lepers, at Dalumbayan, in the ward of Santa Cruz, was also visited the same day, and whilst many naturally went there to see their afflicted relations and friends, others, of morbid tastes, satisfied their curiosity. This Asylum, subsidized by Government to the extent of P500 per annum, was, in the time of the Spaniards, under the care of Franciscan friars.

In January or February the Chinese celebrate their New Year, and suspend work during a week or ten days. The authorities did not permit them to revel in fun to the extent they would have done in their own country; nevertheless, Chinese music, gongs, and crackers were indulged in, in the quarters most thickly populated by this race.

The natives generally have an unbounded pa.s.sion for c.o.c.k-fighting, and in the year 1779 it occurred to the Government that a profitable revenue might be derived from a tax on this sport. Thenceforth it was only permitted under a long code of regulations on Sundays and feast days, and in places officially designated for the "meet" of the combatants. In Manila alone the permission to meet was extended to Thursdays. The c.o.c.k-pit is called the _Gallera_, and the tax was farmed out to the highest bidding contractor, who undertook to pay a fixed annual sum to the Government, making the best he could for himself out of the gross proceeds from entrance-fees and sub-letting rents in excess of that amount. In like manner the Government farmed out the taxes on horses, vehicles, sale of opium, slaughter of animals for consumption, bridge-tolls, etc., and, until 1888, the market dues. Gambling licences also brought a good revenue, but it would have been as impossible to suppress c.o.c.k-fighting in the Islands as gambling in England. [169]

The Spanish laws relating to the c.o.c.k-pit were very strict, and were specially decreed on March 21,1861. It was enacted that the maximum amount to be staked by one person on one contest should be 50 pesos. That each c.o.c.k should wear only one metal spur. That the fight should be held to be terminated on the death of one or both c.o.c.ks, or when one of them retreated. However, the decree contained in all a hundred clauses too tedious to enumerate. c.o.c.k-fighting is discussed among the natives with the same enthusiasm as horse-racing is in England. The majority of sportsmen rear c.o.c.ks for several years, bestowing upon them as much tender care as a mother would on her infant. When the hope of the connoisseur has arrived at the age of discretion and valour, it is put forward in open combat, perhaps to perish in the first encounter. And the patient native goes on training others.

Within twenty minutes' drive from Manila, at Nagtajan, on the right bank of the Pasig River, there was a good European club (since removed to Ermita), of which the members were chiefly English-speaking merchants and employees. The entrance-fee was [Pesos]30; the monthly subscription was [Pesos]5, and [Pesos]1 per month extra for the use of a fairly good library.

The princ.i.p.al hotel--the "Hotel de Oriente"--was opened in Binondo in January, 1889, in a large two-storeyed building, with 83 rooms for the public service, and stabling for 25 horses. It was the first building specially erected in the Colony for an hotel. The accommodation and board were good. It ranked with the best hotels in the East. [In 1903 the building was purchased by the (American) Insular Government for public offices.] In Manila City and Binondo there were several other Spanish hotels where the board was tolerable, but the lodging and service abominable. There was a telephone system established throughout the city and its environs.

The press was represented by five dailies--_El Diario de Manila, La Oceania Espanola_, three evening papers, _El Comercio, La Voz de Espana_, and (from March 3, 1889) _La Correspondencia de Manila_--also a bi-weekly, _La Opinion_. Some good articles appeared at times in the three dailies first mentioned, but as newspapers strictly so-called, the information in all was remarkably scant, due to the strict censorship exercised jointly by a priest and a layman. There was also a purely official organ--the _Gaceta de Manila_.

The first news-sheet published in Manila appears to have been the _Filantropo_, in the year 1822, which existed only a few years. Others followed and failed in a short time. The first Manila daily paper was the _Estrella_, which started in 1846 and lasted three years. Since then several dailies have seen the light for a brief period. The _Diario de Manila_, started in 1848, was the oldest newspaper of those existing at the end of the Spanish regime.

In Spain journalism began in the 17th century by the publication, at irregular intervals, of sheets called "_Relaciones_." The first Spanish newspaper, correctly so called, was established in the 18th century. Seventy-eight years ago there was only one regular periodical journal in Madrid. After the Peninsula War, a step was made towards political journalism. This led to such an abuse of the pen that in 1824 all, except the _Gaceta de Madrid_, the _Gaceta de Bayona_, the _Diario_, and a few non-political papers were suppressed. Madrid has now scores of newspapers, of which half a dozen are very readable. The _Correspondencia de Espana_, founded by the late Marquis de Santa Ana as a Montpensier organ, used to afford me great amus.e.m.e.nt in Madrid. It contained columns of most extraordinary events in short paragraphs (_gacetillas_), and became highly popular, hundreds of persons eagerly waiting to secure a copy. In a subsequent issue, a few days later, many of the paragraphs in the same columns were merely corrections of the statements previously published, but so ingeniously interposed that the hoax took the public for a long time. Newspapers from Spain were not publicly exposed for sale in Manila; those which were seen came from friends or by private subscription, whilst many were proscribed as inculcating ideas dangerously liberal.

There was a botanical garden, rather neglected, although it cost the Colony about P8,600 per annum. The stock of specimens was scanty, and the grounds were deserted by the general public. It was at least useful in one sense--that bouquets were supplied at once to purchasers at cheap rates, from 25 cents and upwards.

In the environs of Manila there are several pleasant drives and promenades, the most popular one being the _Luneta_, where a military band frequently played after sunset. The Gov.-General's palace [170]

and the residences of the foreign European population and well-to-do natives and Spaniards were in the suburbs of the city outside the commercial quarter. Some of these private villas were extremely attractive, and commodiously designed for the climate, but little attention was paid until quite the latter days to architectural beauty.

Very few of the best private residences have more than one storey above the ground-floor. The ground-floor is either uninhabited or used for lodging the native servants, or as a coach-house, on account of the damp. From the vestibule main entrance (_zaguan_) one pa.s.ses to the upper floor, which const.i.tutes the house proper, where the family resides. It is usually divided into a s.p.a.cious hall (_caida_), leading from the staircase to the dining and reception-rooms; on one or two sides of these apartments are the dormitories and other private rooms. The kitchen is often a separate building, connected with the house by a roofed pa.s.sage; and by the side of the kitchen, on the same level, is a yard called the _azotea_--here the bath-room is erected. The most modern houses have corrugated-iron roofs. The ground-floor exterior walls are of stone or brick, and the whole of the upper storey is of wood, with sliding windows all around. Instead of gla.s.s, opaque oyster-sh.e.l.ls (Tagalog, _capis_) are employed to admit the light whilst obstructing the sun's rays. Formerly the walls up to the roof were of stone, but since the last great earthquake of 1880 the use of wood from the first storey upwards has been rigorously enforced in the capital and suburbs for public safety. Iron roofs are very hot, and there are still some few comfortable, s.p.a.cious, and cool suburban residences with tile roof or with the primitive cogon-gra.s.s or nipa palm-leaf thatching, very conducive to comfort although more liable to catch fire.

In Spanish times there were no white burglars, and the main entrance of a dwelling-house was invariably left open until the family retired for the night. Mosquitoes abound in Manila, coming from the numerous malarious creeks which traverse the wards, and few persons can sleep without a curtain. To be at one's ease, a daily bath is indispensable. The heat from 12 to 4 p.m. is oppressive from March to May, and most persons who have no afternoon occupation, sleep the _siesta_ from 1 to 3 o'clock. The conventional lunch-hour all over the Colony is noon precisely, and dinner at about 8 o'clock. The visiting hours are from 5 to 7 in the evening, and _reunions_ and musical _soirees_ from 9. Society was far less divided here than in the British-Asiatic Colonies. There was not the same rigid line drawn as in British India between the official, non-official, and native. Spaniards of the best families in the capital endeavoured, with varying success, to europeanize the people of the country, and many of them exchanged visits with half-breeds, and at times with wealthy pure natives. Spanish hospitality in the Philippines was far more marked than in Europe, and educated foreigners were generally received with great courtesy.

Since the year 1884 the city and suburbs are well supplied with good drinking-water, which is one of the most praiseworthy modern improvements undertaken by the Spanish Government. To provide for this beneficial work, a Spanish philanthropist, named Carriedo--a late commander of an Acapulco galleon--left a sum of money in the 18th century, in order that the capital and acc.u.mulated interest might one day defray the expense. The water supply (brought from Santolan, near Mariquina), being more than sufficient for general requirements, the city and suburbs were, little by little, adorned with several public fountains. Although Manila lies low the climate is healthy, and during several years of personal observation I found the average maximum and minimum temperature at noon in the shade to be 98 and 75 Fahr. respectively. The climate of Manila may be generally summed up as follows, viz.:--December, January, and February, a delightful spring; March, April, and May, an oppressive heat; June, July, August, and September, heavy rains and more tolerable heat; October and November, doubtful--sometimes very wet, sometimes fairly dry. Briefly, as to climate, it is a pleasant place to reside in.

In 1593 Manila already had a coat-of-arms, with the t.i.tle of "_Muy Insigne y siempre leal Ciudad_" and in the beginning of the 17th century King Philip III. conferred upon it the t.i.tle of "_La muy n.o.ble Ciudad _"; hence it was lately styled "_La muy n.o.ble y siempre leal Ciudad_" (the very n.o.ble and always loyal city).

According to Gironniere, [171] the civilized population of this Colony in 1845 was as follows, namely:--

Europeans (including 500 Friars) 4,050 Spanish-native half-breeds 8,584 Spanish-native-Chinese half-breeds. 180,000 Chinese 9,901 Pure natives 3,304,742

Total civilized population 3,507,277

In the last Spanish census, taken in 1876, the total number of inhabitants, including Europeans and Chinese, was shown to be a little under 6,200,000, but a fixed figure cannot be relied upon because it was impossible to estimate exactly the number of unsubdued savages and mountaineers, who paid no taxes. The increase of native population was rated at about two per cent, per annum, except in the Negrito or Aeta tribes, which are known to be decreasing.

In Manila City and wards it is calculated there were in 1896 about 340,000 inhabitants, of which the ratio of cla.s.ses was approximately the following, namely:--

Per cent.

Pure natives 68.00 Chinese half-breeds 16.65 Chinese 12.25 Spaniards and Creoles 1.65 Spanish half-breeds 1.30 Foreigners (other than Chinese) 0.15

100.00

The walled city alone contained a population of about 16,000 souls.

Typhoons affect Manila more or less severely about once a year, nearly always between April and middle of December, and sometimes cause immense destruction to property. Roofs of houses are carried away; the wooden upper-storey frontages are blown out; ships are torn from their moorings; small craft laden with merchandise are wrecked, and the inhabitants flee from the streets to make fast their premises, and await in intense anxiety the conclusion of the tempest. A hurricane of this description desolated Manila in October, 1882, and, at the same time, the wind was accompanied by torrents of rain, which did great damage to the interiors of the residences, warehouses, and offices. A small house, entirely made of wood, was blown completely over, and the natives who had taken refuge on the ground-floor were left, without a moment's notice, with the sky for a roof. Two Chinamen, who thought to take advantage of the occasion and economically possess themselves of galvanized-iron roofing, had their heads nearly severed by sheets of this material flying through the air, and their dead bodies were picked up in the _Rosario_ the next morning. I was busy with the servants all that day in my house, in the unsuccessful attempt to fasten the windows and doors. Part of the kitchen was carried away; water came in everywhere; and I had to wait patiently, with an umbrella over me, until the storm ceased. The last similarly destructive hurricane, affecting Manila, occurred on September 26, 1905.

Manila is also in constant danger of destruction from earthquakes. The most serious one within the last century occurred in June, 1863. The shock lasted half a minute, and the falling _debris_ of the upheaved buildings caused 400 deaths, whilst 2,000 persons were wounded. The total loss of property on that occasion was estimated at P 8,000,000. Official returns show that 46 public edifices were thrown down; 28 were nearly destroyed; 570 private buildings were wrecked, and 528 were almost demolished. Simultaneously, an earthquake occurred in Cavite--the port and a.r.s.enal south-west of Manila--destroying several public buildings. In 1898 many of the ruins caused by this earthquake were still left undisturbed within the City of Manila. In 1863 the best buildings had heavy tiled roofs, and many continued so, in spite of the severe lesson, until after the shock of 1880, when galvanized corrugated iron came into general use for roofing, and, in fact, no one in Manila or Binondo now builds a house without it.

In 1880 no lives were lost, but the damage to house property was considerable. The only person who suffered physically from this calamity was an Englishman, Mr. Parker, whose arm was so severely injured that it was found necessary to amputate it.

Prior to 1863 the most serious earthquakes recorded happened in November, 1610; November, 1645; August, 1658; in 1675; in 1699; in 1796, and in 1852. Consequent on the shock of 1645, all the public buildings were destroyed excepting one monastery and two churches, some 600 persons were killed, and the Gov.-General was extricated from the ruins of his palace.

[172]According to the Jesuit Father Faura, Director of the Manila Observatory, the following slight quakes occurred in 1881, viz.:--3 in July, 7 in August, 10 in September, and 3 in October. Earth-tremors almost imperceptible are so frequent in these Islands that one hardly heeds them after a few months' residence.

In a cosmopolitan city like Manila--the temporary home of so many different races--it was interesting to observe the varied wearing-apparel in vogue. The majority of the Spaniards wore the European costume; the British generally dressed in white drill, with the coat b.u.t.toned up to the neck, and finished off with a narrow collar of the same material. The Chinese always preserved their own peculiar national dress--the most rational of all--with the pig-tail coiled into a chignon. The pure natives and many half-breeds wore the shirt outside the trousers. It was usually white, with a long stiff front, and cut European fashion; but often it was made of an extremely fine yellow-tinted expensive material, called _pina_ (_vide_ p. 283). Some few of the native _jeunesse doree_ of Manila donned the European dress, much to their apparent discomfort. The official attire of the headman of a Manila ward and his subordinates was a shirt with the tail outside the trousers, like other natives or half-breeds, but over which was worn the official distinction of a short Eton jacket, reaching to the hips. All this is now changing, with a tendency to imitate the Americans.

A native woman wore, as she does now, a flowing skirt of gay colours--bright red, green, and white being the common choice. The length of train, and whether the garment be of cotton, silk, or satin, depends on her means. Corsets are not yet the fashion, but a chemisette, which just covers her breast, and a starched neckcloth (_panuelo_) of _pina_ or _husi_ stuff are in common use. The _panuelo_ is square, and, being folded triangularly, it hangs in a point down the back and stands very high up at the neck, in the 17th century style, whilst the other two points are brooched where they meet at the top of the chemisette _decolletee_. To this chemisette are added immensely wide short sleeves. Her hair is brushed back from the forehead, without a parting, and coiled into a tight, flat chignon. In her hand she carries a fan, without which she would feel lost. Native women have an extravagant desire to possess jewellery--even if they never wear it. The head is covered with a white mantle of very thin material, sometimes figured, but more often this and the neckcloth are embroidered--a work in which they excel. Finally, her naked feet are partly enveloped in _chinelas_--a kind of slipper, flat, like a shoe-sole with no heel, but just enough upper in front to put four toes inside. Altogether, the appearance of a Philippine woman of well-to-do family dressed on a gala day is curious, sometimes pretty, but, in any case, admirably suited to the climate.

Since 1898 American example, the great demand for _pina_ muslin, at any price, by American ladies, and the scarcity of this texture, due to the plants having been abandoned during the wars, have necessarily brought about certain modifications in female attire.

There is something very picturesque in the simple costume of a peasant woman going to market. She has no flowing gown, but a short skirt, enveloped in a _tapis_, generally of cotton. It is simply a rectangular piece of stuff; as a rule, all blue, red, or black. It is tucked in at the waist, drawn very tightly around the loins, and hangs over the skirt a little below the knees, the open edges being at the back.

At times the better cla.s.s wear the more becoming short skirt and _tapis_ of silk or satin, with gold-lace embroidered _chinelas_. This dress is elegant, and adds a charm to the wearer.

The _tapi_ is smaller. It is not used in the street; it is a sort of _neglige_ apparel worn in the house only, or for going to the bath. The poorest cla.s.ses go to the river-side to bathe in it. It is drawn all around from the waist downwards.

The _patadiong_ is more commonly worn by the Visaya than the northern woman. It is somewhat like the _tapis_, but is drawn round the waist from the back, the open edges meeting, more or less, at the front. In Luzon Island the old women generally prefer this to the _tapis_.

On feast days and special occasions, or for dances, the young women who can afford it sport the gaudy flowing gown of bright particoloured striped silk or satin, known as the _saya suelta_, with the train cut in a peculiar fashion unknown in Europe.

The figure of a peasant woman is erect and stately, due to her habit from infancy of carrying jars of water, baskets of orchard produce, etc., on her head with a pad of coiled cloth. The characteristic bearing of both s.e.xes, when walking, consists in swinging the arms (but more often the right arm only) to and fro far more rapidly than the stride, so that it gives them the appearance of paddling.