Political and historical writings by Filipiniana Online

Republic of the Philippines Department of Education NATIONAL HISTORICAL COMMISSION Manila

FERDINAND E. MARCOS President Republic of the Philippines JU AN L. MANUEL Secretary of Education ESTEBAN A. DE OCAMPO Chairman DOMINGO ABELLA Member HORACIO DE LA COSTA, S.J. Member GODOFREDO L. ALCASID Ex-Officio Member

TEODORO A. AGONCILLO Member EMILIO AGUILAR CRUZ Member SERAFIN D. QUIASON Ex-O fficio Member

FLORDELIZA K. MILIT ANTE Executive Director RAMON G. CONCEPCION Chief. .4dmi?li8tra tive Division

JOSE C. DA YRIT A ctg. Chief. Re8earch Division

BELEN V. FORTU Chief. Budget & Fiscal Division

AVELINA M. CASTANEDA Chief. Special Service8 Divi8ion

EULOGIO M. LEANO Chief Hi8torical Writer-Tra?18Iator & Publicatio?lS Officer

ROSAU~O G. UNTIVERO Hi8torical Re8earcher & Edtitor

ISABELO R. BARCENAS Resident Auditor

JOSE RIZAL (1861-1896)

POLITICAL AND HISTORICAL / WRITINGS , JOSE 7;> RJZAL ---

,gc 1- 18C{(" 1

Volume VII

CENTENNIAL EDITION

AYALA MUSE 1\1 U ItAly National Historical Commission

Manila

1972

405 lALA MU~:::".

l.rBftM..

First Printing 1,000 copies National- Heroes Commission Manila, 1964 Second Printing 500 copies National Historical Commission Manila, 1972

FORE.WORD The Jose Rizal National Centennial Commission has been charged by law with the preparation for a fitting and dignified celebration of the First Centenary of the birth of the National Hero of the Philippines, Jose Rizal. The objectives set for the Commission to meet include, among others, the publication of all the works of the Hero in the original languages in which they were written as well as their translations into English and the principal languages of the Philippines. Appearing in several volumes, the greater part of the Centennial Edition consists of Centennial issues for the general diffusion of Rizal's ideas. The whole set covers the whole field of the Hero's writings, namely, reminiscences and travels, all his extant letters known to the Commission; poems and prose works, the novels Noli Me Tangere and 拢1 Filibusterisnio, his edition of Morga's Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas, political and historical writings, facsimiles of some of his other works and selected excerpts from his philosophical thoughts. Besides the above we have additional volumes containing the excerpts of the writings about our Hero by his contemporaries and others-Filipinos and foreigners as well as poems dedicated to him; a bibliography of his writings and published works of others about him; a Rizaliana album containing pictures, sketches, maps and other items associated with the life of the Hero. This is the entire range of the Centennial Edition which the National Heroes Commission takes pleasure to present to the reading public-to know from his own works who Jose Rizal really was, and to evaluate and appreciate his contributions to the welfare of his country and of mankind. There is no better way of paying homage to the memory of Rizal, aside from the cultural buildings to be constructed in his honor, than to collect all his works and those about him by others, and prepare them for easy understanding 路 of the people for whose cause he chose to die.

ALEJ ANDRO R. ROCES ( Secretary of Education) As Chairman v ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS Page

vii

FOREWORD TRANSLATOR' S NOTE _______ ____ ._ ....... ......... _._ .. _... _... _.. .. . .......... _.. ... ........... .

Introduction ..___ ..._................. _....... ... Unfortunate Philippines .............. Farewell to 1883 ............................ Reflections of a Filipino ._...... ...... Rizal's speech delivered at the banquet in Madrid in honor of the Filipino painters, Juan Luna and Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo .......................................... Note on the Maremagnum ........ Tribute to Blumentritt .... __ ........ _.. . Rizal's speech delivered at Cafe Habanero .. .................................... Petition of the town of Calamba Order of the Marquis of Malinta.. MA-YI .............. .................................. Tawalisi of Ibn Batuta .................. Message to the Young Women of Malolos ......... .... ............................ . Filipino Farmers .......................... .. To "La Defensa" ............................ How to Deceive the Native Land The Truth for all ........................... . Vicente Barrantes' Teatro Tagalo A Profanation .... __ ........................... . New Truths .................................... . Cruelty .... __ .. _............ _........ _............... Differences ..... __ ..... _____ .___ ..... _............ . To our dear Mother Country ... . v The Philippines a Century Hence

Xlll

1882 .................................... 1883 ................................... . 31 December 1883 .......... 1884 ........ _.... _.. _................. ..

1 4 7 10

25 June 1884 .................... 26 June 1887 .................... 7 July 1887 ....................

17 23 24

31 December 1891 """"" January 1888 ................. . 30 November 1888 6 December 1888 ....... . 7 January 1889 ........... .

28 37 42 44 49

22 February 1889 .......... 25 March 1889 ...... .... .......... 30 April 1889 .................. 15 May 1889 ................... . 31 May 1889 ................... . 15 June 1889 ................... . 31 July 1889 .................... 31 July 1889 ......... _.. _....... 15 August 1889 ... ......._.. . 15 September 1889 ....... . 10 October 1889 ............. . 30 September 1889 to . 1 February 1890

56 67 73 78 83 94 109 114 120 124 129

130

x Page

To "La Patria" ............................. .. . Inconsequences ..... .......................... . Tears and Laughter ...................... Ingratitude ..................................... . Reply to Barrantes' Criticism of the Noli Me Tangere ............... . Nameless ......................................... . The Philippines at the Spanish Congress ..................................... . Let us be Just ............ .... ................ Philippine Affairs ...................... .. . More on the N egros Affair ....... . A Hope ........................................... . The Indolence of the Filipinos ....

15 30 30 15

November 1889 ............ November 1889 .. ......... November 1889 ............ January 1890 ._..... _. .....

164 166 171 175

15 January 1890 ...... _... ... .. 181 28 February 1890 ........... . 194

31 March 1890 ................. 15 April 1890 ............. .... . 30 April 1890 .......... ........ ] ~ J\'[RY 1890 ............... . 15 July 1890 ..................... 15 July to 15 September 1890 ... .... .......... ...... Cowardly Revenge ...................... . 31 August 1890 ................. A Reply to Mr. Isabelo de los Reyes ................................ ........... - 31 October 1890 F. Pi y Margall: The Struggles of our Time .............. ................ . 15 November 1890 ........... How the Philippines is Governed 15 December 1890 ............ On the Calamba Incidents ....... . 1890-1891 .. ......... ....... The Rights of Man .. ................. -.- . 1891-1892 ................ Executives of the town of Calamba ........................................... . 1891-1892 .................. .......... Constitution of the Liga Filipina 1892 ............ ..... ..................... Just.ice in the Philippines .......... 15 February 1892 .-........... Proposed Agreement between the British North Borneo Company and the Filipino Colony ........... . April 1892 ..... ....... ... .. ..... Colonization of British North Borneo by Families from the Philippine Islands ....................... . April 1892 ........ ........ ......... Poor Friars! ........... ........... _............. 31 July 1892 ......... ... To the Filipinos ......................... ..... 28 June 1892 ......... By-laws of the Association of Dapitan Farmers ............................. . 1 January 1895 ........ -... . Data for my Defense .................... 12 December 1896 .......... Manifesto to some Filipinos .. ... . 15 December 1896 ............ Additions to my Defense ........... . 26 December 1896 ." ..... ....

197 203 209 216 223 227 266 268 274 287 296 300 303 309 317

321

~24

329 3~1

334 338 348 350

xi Pa,e

The Philippines as a Spanish Colony ......................................... . The Parents of Rizal ................... . Manila in the month of December 1872 ................................................ The People of the Indian Archipelago ........................................... . Notes on Melanesia, Malaysia and Polynesia ............................. .

No date ............................. No date .............................

355 358

No date

...............................

359

No date .................................

364

No date --- ..............................

372

APPENDICES

Address to the Spanish Nation ............................................ 15 December 1896 ........... Some Notes on Bohol and Guam No date ............................ The Lash of "La Defensa" ........ No date

385 392 395

TRANSLATOR'S NOTE

Assembled in this volume, the seventh in the Rizal Centennial Edition, are Rizal's articles, essays, and documents of an historical and political nature, in English translation, arranged in chronological order, as far as the dates of their production or publication can be ascertained, together with the facsimile of the extant manuscripts. Unfortunately, not all of the manuscripts have been found. These writings deal with a variety of subjects concerning the Filipinos and their multitudinous problems-political, economic, social, and religious. Shining through them al1 is Rizal's passionate love of his native land. Some of the pieces in this volume are journalistic articles mostly published for the first time in La Solidaridad, the Filipino fortnightly first published at Barcelona and afterwards at Madrid from 1889 to 1896. Such are "Los agricultores filipinos" (Filipino Farmers), "Como se gobiernan las Filipinas" (How the Philippines Is Governed), "A La Defensa" (To La Defensa), "A La Patria" (To La Patria), "Seamos justos" (Let Us Be Just), "Ensafiamiento" (Cruelty), "Una esperanza" (A Hope), "Filipinas en el Congreso" (The Philippines at the Congress ) , to mention some. Although they deal with problems that have lost their immediacy, they nevertheless can serve to illumine the gradually dimming Spanish colonial period in Philippine history. Moreover, they give us the Filipino point of view on the vital questions that stirred the country at that time. Their historical value may be better appreciated if we bear in mind that few Filipino voices could then be heard, owing to the total absence of a free press. Among the few voicesand an exceptionally courageous one--was that of Rizal, xiii

XIV

who was able to Pllblish his writings and thus leave behind him a literary legacy, because he was abroad. in Europe, beyond the reach of the clutches of the colonial authorities in the Philippines. Two other works in this collection are very well known, the lengthy historical essays, "La indolencia de los filipinos" (The Indolence of the Filipinos) and "Filipinas dentro de cien aiios" (The Philippines a Century Hence), both of which first appeared in series in La Solidaridad. In "The Indolence of the Filipinos" Rizal manifests a sensitive appreciation of the interplay of natural and human factors, of the workings of climate on man, of the political order upon the individual. This essay is a deep and perceptive analysis of political and social conditions obtaining during the Spanish colonial era. Rizal's brilliant historical imagination can be appreciated in " The Philippines a Century Hence" , notable for his persuasive interpretation of the past experience of the Filipinos and his vision of their future. Also included in this collection is his celebrated message to the young women of Malolos, "Sa mga kababayang dalaga sa Malolos", written in Tagalog and at the request of Marcelo H. del Pilar, a native of Bulacan, who asked Rizal to send a message to the Malolos young women who won the plaudits of the Filipino reformists in Spain because they had the courage to appeal to the governor general after the powerful parish priest had disapproved their petition for permission to study Spanish under Filipino teachers to be paid by them. Rizal at that time (1889) was already famous and prestigious . principally because of his Noli me tangere (1887), a novel with factual background. and his name was on the lips of every Filipino and every Spaniard concerned with the Philippines. This piece. which has become a classic. is a critical appraisal of the relgnlllg obscurantism in the Philippines,

the evidence of the predominance of the friars. It is an appeal addressed to the Filipino women to resist, to combat, so pernicious an influence, and it concludes with some advice whose enduring value and timeliness cannot be easily contradicted. A wittily ironical piece is "Reflections of a Filipino" on what should be the relation between the Filipino liberals and the friars. In "Tears and Laughter" Rizal muses in sarcastic tone over the education he received in the Philippines and the injustice of the Spanish colonial regime. In "Petition of the Town of Calamba" and "Justice in the Philippines", the latter in Rizal's English, are found Rizal's views on the agrarian troubles of the Calamba Estate owned and administered by the Dominican friars. Morally and materially the family and followers of Rizal suffered tremendously in the bitter conflict between the tenants of the estate and the friars. There are three important political documents in this volume--"Notes for My Defense", "Additions to My Defense", and "Manifesto to Some Filipinos"-which throw a bright light on his infamous trial and expose the duplicity of his enemies. The Constitution of the Liga Filipina, reprinted here, was cited in his trial and utilized by his enemies to bolster their charge that he engaged in revolutionary activities. Among his papers we have found a chronicle of his natal town titled, "Executives of the Town of Calamba", which is a list of important events that occur!!ed in that town during the incumbency of its mayors since it became a municipality in 1742 until 1891. Rizal was not only a devoted student of the general history of the Philippines, but with this piece he showed also his interest in local history, a subject which has not yet received due consideration from Filipino historians.

xvi

This collection of Rizal's writings is one more evidence of the wide range of his intellectual interests and of his extraordinary industry in writing down his thoughts, thus enabling posterity to know him better and to understand the times during which he lived. His writings truly constitute a monumentum aere per,e nnius. ENCARNACION ALZONA

INTRODUCTION *

Reader, I believe firmly in your knowledge, but before I relate to you the true facts of this history, seemingly a novel, let me describe to you the stage where my personages are going to move. The author of an opera and even that of a play use an introduction through which shines the idea of the work so that if a delicate ear finds in it nothing worthy of his attention he could leave his seat and seek the fresh air of the night and the mystic harmonies of stillness and solitude. Well then, I too don't want you to waste your time one instant-I shall lose as much writing these pages. If, upon reading this sketch, you glimpse in it neither amusement nor teaching, close the book: You have lost already your money and I, a friend and a h?pe. If you have not been born in the country, theater of my drama, these lines will tell you what neither books nor writers, always foreigners, have said about our customs and feelings. If perchance, through your lucky or unlucky star, your first remembrances, your first love, your first stammered words, had for witnesses the beautiful sky of my native land and were perfumed by the breeze of her blue lakes and the aura of her virgin forests then watch and contemplate how life evolves in the midst of the apparent monotony of our isolation. How many times do we run over a thing and we don't see its details. We need somebody else to call our attention and arouse our interest in order that we may realize its value.

. .

.. .

. . . .

. . . . . .

Very noble notions that make him forget his own livelihood and entity. â&#x20AC;˘ ObvIously 00S481

first rough draft and not intended for the public.

2 There still remained to her the processions and the Masses of Grace, the novenae, and the cockpits, solace of soul and body-amusements that absorb the attention and money of families. Dinners, banquets, and serenades are still given in profusion and ostentation. There still remained two or three newspapers, reviews of the eloquent and sublime pulpits, carromatas and calesas 1 that overturn, hardtrotting horses that fall extenuated, the lengua de tienda/ and little tales about the ineptitude of the Indio and the talent of the tellers. There remained the theaters of Arroceros, Principe Alfonso or Espanol, to which the creme of society goes and which Steffani and other managers already find like an old cow that gives everything except milk. There remain the Circo of Bilibid and the Teatro de Tondo, refuge of the persecuted Tagalog comedy, crystallized plagiarism of the literature of chivalry of the XVI century, introduced perhaps by the first teachers of th e Philippines. These and many other things remain of tHat past. What new thing does it offer? Since the last four years the Philippines has begun a new life . . . . Manila, the old Pearl of the Orient, in the year 1876, the time in which our story begins, was only a shadow of her moral and historic past-a woman that reminds us of the girl not for her beauty or candor but for the defects acquired in early age. She is no longer the Pearl of the Orient. Her importance has been eclipsed by Singapore, Hong Kong, and Yokohama w hieh are more flourishing and more fortunate. Manila walks very slowly, if she does not go backward, 1 Carromatas and calesas are horse-drawn vehicles. spacious, made of bamboo and wood, cheaper and used generally by shoppers and traders. The calesas vehicles with a capacity for two. They are painted and

The first are more practical. They are are chiefly passenger neater in appearance.

(E.A.) II

Lengua de tienda is the name given to the corrupt Spanish spoken in

Manila and Cavite principally. (E.A.)

3 while other cities advance rapidly in industry and commerce. However, there remain a consolation of her past fortune innumerable convents of monks and nuns within and outside of the City, magnificent temples with gay and sonorous bells, where its women lead happily a contemplative life, where the Catholic religion is worshipped with splendor and magnificence. The University of Sto. Tomas where they still teach as in the middle ages how to sharpen the mind among the subtleties of scholastic argumentation, creating a metaphysical problem of archeological mind and which sits disconsolate without being able to determine the attributes of being, without solving the question of belief and of existence.

)

UNFORTUNATE PHILIPPINES

After the earthquakes of 1880 which left no building intact in Manila as well as in the provinces; after a horrible fire which reduced to ashes the most centrical, most beautiful, most animated, and richest street of the city; after the cholera, that devastating plague that made so many orphans and widows, that afflicted so many hearts, plunging families once happy into loneliness and tears; it seemed that Heaven ought to be satisfied already with the prostration and mourning of that unfortunate colony so cruelly punished. What more could be demanded of a country where the groans and lamentations of the few who have survived still were being heard, where the church bells have not yet ceased their funereal ringing; where mother earth, satisfied with the corpses of those who at one time were happy parents or affectionate children, sustained only feeble convalescents or anguished spectres wandering amidst solitude and misery? The unfortunate Filipino who has seen in a few hours those dear to his heart disappear one by one, who has heard the weeping and contemplated the horrors of so terrible a calamity, back to life, hoped to occupy the old home of his lost parents, concentrating all his love, all his tenderness in what had served as shelter to his family for so long a time. The faint hope that remained to him in order to live disappeared and evaporated in a few moments. A frightful cyclone never before seen since 1831 deprived him of his home, of the poor roof, that sheltered him. Without family, homeless, loveless! Are there perchance greater misfortune and misery? 4

5 It seems incredible that so many calamities should occur at one time in such a short period of time. We cannot describe in all its nakedness the horrible picture those Islands would present. What at one time was called Pearl of the Orient, that greeted the traveler like a dear person, waving palms and with an exclamation of love and endearment, that was discerned in the distance, smiling and brilliant like a dream, covered with a mantel of flowers, the land of springs and cascades, today is a cemetery, a heap of ruins, a picture of misery and desolation. From these happy regions we cannot appreciate the extent of those almost Biblical misfortunes, for imagination is puny before the immensity of the catastrophes that annihilate and crush her. The newspapers that we have received bring the unhappy news that break the heart and hurt even those who like us are accustomed to similar spectacles. And notwithstanding, reality is never describable. However, in order to give some slight idea of the destruction wrought by the typhoon we quote from a newspaper the following: All churches were destroyed. Of the theaters one has remained with the stage only, and the others have not left the slightest sign of their existence. An entire district has not even one house standing. (From Divisoria to Dulumbayan). All the trees on the promenade of the isthmus of Magallanes are uprooted. The rivers swelled and the waters flooded the highest streets of the capital, reaching above the ankles on the Escolta. Besides destroying all the houses of stone and galvanized iron, there was the case of a house whose roof was blown away whole. The minute hand of the clock on the tower of St. Augustine Church, due to the force of the wind, turned around the whole circle in the opposite direction. The volutes and solid columns of Colgante Bridge were cracked. The palaces of Malacanang, of the vice-governor, of the archbishop, and other public buildings, were either blown down or rendered inhabitable and ruined. The iron sheets torn from the roofs gyrated in the air like a thin leaf of paper, but killed several passers-by.

6 Twelve barges loaded with rice foundered. The following craft ran aground: Two English boats and a frigate; two German boats; one American frigate, one steamer, and one boat; a Norwegian brig; one Swedish boat; and the Spanish boats Teresa and Maria. On the river there were considerable collisions causing much damage. A resident of Ermita exclaimed: "The bowsprit of an American frigate demolished my house."

In the face of those fatal misfortunes that our brothers beyond the seas are suffering; before these terrible calamities that have befallen our beautiful Archipelago, as if fateful destiny takes a delight in conspiring eternally against those islands; before these dismal considerations of the havoc wrought by a chain of fire, earthquake, cholera, and typhoon in that poetic land; we emerge from our habitu:11 retreat to the platform of the press in order to invoke public philanthropy so that the whole Peninsula with its never denied generosity hasten to alleviate the unfortunate lot of her daughters, Cuba and the Philippines. We hope then that the noble heart of the Iberian people, which will not ~emain deaf to the voice of charity, tnrough a national subscription and certain amusements prepared ad hoc, knock at the doors of its homes in demand for help, for alms, for the unfortunate peoples of Columbus and Magellan.

FAREWELL TO 1883 *

I will avail myself of your invitation to speak. Your rare and hard attention is not to be wasted and what I have to tell you is worth very little. Benevolence will favor goodwill. '83 deserves a fond farewell, a smile of gratitude, from us. It's a friend that is bidding us farewell; a peaceful and calm day that slips away at the nightfall; a b2autiful and rich page of the variegated book of our existence. With it have gone many of our ideals, sweet affections and illusions of the soul. And in fact '83 has given us our mutual friend Ventura who has not only been our companion but a genuine compatriot. His name is in our hearts and I'll not extol him. '83 has brought us the two Esquivels, animation and joy, one a mathematician, the other a linguist to others; to us they are friends besides; Mr. Felipe Zamora, glory of our medical science, who has not only left pleasant memories in Madrid but also a void that no one has filled; lVir. Enrique Rogers, a worthy model for his character, talent, and sentiments; Mr. Evaristo Aguirre, orator, poet, with a delicate and ready pen, who has brought us the airs of the Andalucia beyond the seas; Mr. Jimenez whose brief sojourn concealed many of his good qualities; Mr. Tuason who is remembered for his generous deeds and who makes himself liked without being hated; and finally '83 has returned to Madrid, to letters, and to his comrades the indefatigable Mr. Pedro Paterno, the personification of longing and activity, a son of the mother country, and a favorite of the Muses. â&#x20AC;˘ Rizal's speech at the banquet of the Filipino students held at the Cafe de Madrid on 31 December 1883 to greet the New Year. 7

The students have made a good showing; the future prepaTes splendors and magnificence. Love and Joy, those divinities of youth, have visited us and attended our dances, outings, strolls, pilgrimages, in the form of youthful beauties who have departed with the flowers of spring. Many hearts have lost their freedom but they bless their chains. Unanimous and spontaneous strokes of good fellowship, meetings where the voice of discussion did not extinguish that of friendship and nobility; good sense and application to studies everywhere; the deceitful diversions relegated to oblivion; here's 1883. It is true that we lost the Hispano-Filipino Circle after a long agony, but we felt it and we mourned it like we do a ship which is abandoned for the waves to swallow up, like a tomb that is closed and left alone. '83 is rich in memories; '84 I dare prophesy will be brilliant and glorious; '83 is a day of early youth, gay, festive, smiling; '84 is a day of virility, deeds, and greatness. Luna is now drawing from his luminous palette the secret of immortality and soon he will tell it to the artistic world; Resurrecci6n has launched himself in the City of Light, but more fortunate than the butterfly, he will emerge from it brilliant and immortal; Laserna will soon be on the rostrum a holy protest against the injustices of man; the genii of social gatherings roam in the museum of Mr. Pedro Paterno in order to enliven future soirees; the energetic burin of Figueroa will return to opinion what opinion has taken away from him; Graciano Lopez feels the impetus that at one time animated the bar and the rostrum and soon he will let loose torrents of arguments and enthusiasm; in short, our youth fulfills its duty, and the brush, and the burin, and the pen, and the bistoury~ and the compass, m:d the spectacles are being wielded and used to the utmost and each one fashions a laurel leaf in order to weave an unwithering crown.

9 If until recently the remembrance of our motherland was for us a remorse, a recrimination, henceforth at the sound of her name, we raise our head, because we are worthy to be her sons, and because in truth we deserve to be. 1ÂŁ returning to my home, my country which they call savage, my country where hospitality is neither sold nor bought but indeed it is offered and is regarded as a duty, if this country which, in spite of her poverty, aids her sons in faraway lands, to whom a civilized government denies the meager stipend for their work; if this country, I say, rough and barbarous, because she has less criminals and less disturbances, because brothers respect one another, because mothers do not sell their children in those markets of women that are called public places, because children daily kiss their parent's hand, because they respect the foreigner and the helpless, if this country, if the Philippines, would ask me what I have done during my pilgrimage, I would give the same answer I give to a hidden thought of yours that I feel and deplore; I'll say "In my heart I have suppressed all loves except that of my motherland; in my mind I have erased all ideas which do not signify her progress and my lips have forgotten the names of the native races in the Philippines in order not to say more than Filipinos." I avoid the toast; our life is an eternal toast, an eternal aspiration, an insatiable desire. Only that instead of verses, perhaps cries and curses are proclaimed and instead of wine the cups are filled with tears or blood! At the banquet of liberty, the dishes are served by Death and struggle; those present feed on sacrifices. The future and posterity are the ones which are nourished to become our curse 0;' our apotheosis. JOSE RIZAL

REFLECTIONS OF A FILIPINO â&#x20AC;˘ When I contemplate the present struggle between the religious corporations and the advanced groups of my country, when I read the numerous writings published by this and that group in defense of their ideas and prin.., ciples , I'm prompted to ask myself at times if I, as a son o~ the country, ought not to take part in the struggle and declare myself in favor of one of the two groups, for I should not be indifferent to anything concerning my native land. Or, if I'm more prudent and have learned my lesson better. mv role should be to remain neutral, to witness and watch the struggle, to see which party wins and immediately take its sidE' in order to gather more easily the fruit of victory. My life has been one of continuous doubting and continuous vacillation. V/hich party should I side? Let's examine closely t,h e matter and afterwards we shall see. What are the advantages of being anti-friar? Nothing really. The more I analyze the thing the more I find it silly and imprudent. This thing of struggling so that the country may progress . . . the country will progress if it can and if it cannot, no. Moreover, what do I care if the coming generation would enjoy more or less freedom than I, have better or worse education, if there be justice for all or there be none. . .. The question is that I, my number one, don't have a bad time; the question is the present. A bird in hand is worth more than one hundred flying, says the proverb. 1 Charity begins at home, says ... A statistical essay by Rizal entitled Pensamientos de un Filipino. It is unsigned and without date. In the opinion of the hero's nephew, Dr. Leoncio L6pez Rizal, it was written at Madrid between 1883 and 1885. The original is in the Bureau of Public Libraries. 1 Literal translation. In English: A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

another. Here I have two proverbs in my favor and there's not even half a proverb against me. For the present, in fighting the religious orders, one risks being imprisoned or exiled to some island . .. Well, not so bad. I like traveling to know the islands, a thing that cannot be done better than by going as an exile. Passports are unnecessary and one travels more safely. Go to jail? Bah, everybody goes to jail. In that way, one gets free house, for as it is, there I don't pay. Deportation and jail are nothing, but if ... if number one is finished, if they take advantage of a mutiny and they charge me as its leader, I'm tried by a council of war and they send me to the other life?2 Hm! It's a serious matter to be an anti-friar. What do I care if the friars don't want the education of the country? They must have a reason. I agree with them. Since I was a child, I have had a hard time going to school and a harder time getting out of it , . . because the teacher at times kept me a prisoner. Let there be a vote on the matter and see how all the children will vote for the friars, asking for the suppression of every kind of teaching. .. That the friars oppose the teaching of Spanish . . . and what's the matter with that? For what do we need Spanish? To know the beautiful stories and theories of liberty, progress, and justice and afterwards get to like them? To understand the laws, know our rights and then find in practice other laws and other things different from them. Of what use is the knowledge of Spanish? We can speak to God in all languages . . . if it were Latin I say, well. The curate says that God listens first to the prayers in Latin before those in Tagalog. That's why Masses are in Latin and the curates live in abundance and we the Tagalogs are badly off. But, Spanish? To understand the insults and swearing of the civil guards? For this purpose there's no need to know Spanish. It's enough to understand the language I

This was what happened to the author, Rizal. Read his biography.

12 of the butt of guns and have the body a little sensitive. And of what use is it to us since we are forbidden to reply, because one can be accused of resisting authority and because the very same civil guard tries the accused, a prison sentence is certain. The truth is that I like to travel and see the islands, through tied elbow to elbow. 3 .I n this matter of not teaching Spanish, I agree with the friars. Now, they may say this and that about the friars, that they have many women, paramours, that they don't respect married women, widows, or maidens and the like. On this matter I have my private opinion. I say if one can have two, three, and four women, why should he not have them? Women are to blame. Besides there's something good about the curate. He does not let his paramours die of hunger, as many men do, but he supports them, dress them well, protect their families, and leave a good bequest to his daughters or nieces. And if there's any sin in it, he'll absolve them at once and without great penance. Frankly speaking, if I were a woman, and I had to prostitute myself, I would do it to a curate . . . for the time being, I'll be the paramour of a semi-Jesus Christ, or of a successor of God on earth. In this regard, I believe that the enemies of the friars are merely envious. They say that they monopolize all the estates, get all the people's money. The Chinese do the same. In this world, he who can enrich himself, enriches himself, and I suppose that a friar for the mere fact of being a friar is not less of a man. 'Vhy then should not the Chinese and the merchants be persecuted? Moreover, who knows? Perhaps they take away our money to make us poor so that we may quickly get to heaven. Still we have to thank them for their solicitude. They are also accused of selling dear their scapulars, belts, candles, rosaries, and other things. This is to complain just for the sake of complaining. Let him buy who wants to buy, he who doesn't don't. Every trader â&#x20AC;˘ The common practice in transporting prisoners under the Spanish regime.

sells his merchandise at the price he likes. The Chinese sells his tinapa 4 sometimes two for a centavo, and at other times, three for two centavos. If we tolerate this practice of the Chinese dealer, why should we not tolerate that of the curate-trader of scapulars? Is the curate perchance less of a man than the Chinese? I say it is purely ill will. Let them shout and say that with his money and power the friar imposes on the government; what does it matter to me? What do I care if this or that one should give the order if after all I'll have to obey? Because, if the curate doesn't give the orders, any corporal of the carabineers will do so, and everything would be the same. In the final analysis, I see no reason whatsoever to go against the friar curates. Let's see now if there are advantages in siding with them against the liberal Filipinos. The friars say that these are all atheists . . . that I don't know. I know only one called Mateo, but it doesn't matter. They say that they will all go to hell . .. Frankly, though we ought not to judge harshly anyone, the successor of Christ on earth is exempt from this injunction. He should know better than anybody else where we are going after death, and if he doesn't know, I say that nobody will know it better. The friars exile many of their enemies; of this I can't or I shouldn't complain. I had a lawsuit and I won it because it happened that my adversary was an antifriar and he was exiled when I was almost in despair .of winning the case, for I had no more money to bribe the desk officials and to present horses to the judge and the governor. God is most merciful! They charged administratively Captain Juan, who had a very pretty daughter whom he forbade to go to the convent to kiss the curate's hand. Well done! That's doubting the holiness of the curate and he truly deserved deportation. Moreover, what's he going to do with his daughter? Why guard her so care6

A small smoke fish, a popular food of the Filipinos.

14 fully if, after all, she's not going to be a nun? And even if she had to be a nun, don't certain rumors somewhere around say the nuns of St. Claire:; and the Franciscan friars understand each other very well? What's bad about that? Aren't the nuns the wives of Jesus Christ? Aren't the friars his successors? Why so many women for him alone? Nothing, nothing, the friars are right in everything and I'm going to side with them against my countrymen. The Filipino liberals are anti-Spaniard, so the friars say, and I don't wish to be anti-Spaniard. The proof that they are is . . . that the friars say so. But, if the liberals win? If, tired, persecuted, and desperate for so much jailing and exiling, they throw all caution to the wind, they arm themselves as in Spain, behead their enemies, killing them in revenge for acts that they call violent and brutal, for so many imprisonments, exiles, and executions committed upon their orders? And if all this happens and they win? Then their revenge may also reach me. Here! Here! Let's consider well if this is possible. Is a massacre of the friars possible in the Philippines? Is it possible here a slaughter similar to that which occurred in Spain thirty years ago as they say? No, a Filipino never attacks one who is unarmed, one who is defenseless. We see it among boys who are fighting. The biggest one does not use all his superior strength but fights the smallest with only one arm; he doesn't start the attack before the other one is ready. No, the Indio 6 may be stupid, simple, fanatical, and whatever one may say, but he always retains a certain gentlemanly instinct. He has to be very, very much offended, he has to be in the last stage of despair to engage in assassinations and massacres of a similar kind. e At Manila there was a monastery called Monasterio de Santa Clara, where a limited number of nUl'S lived, dedicated to a contemplative life. Rizal alludes to current stories about nuns and friars. See Rizal's El FiHbusterismo. e The name given by the Spaniards to the natives of the Philippines. It has a humiliating connotation.

15 But, if they should do to the friars what the friars did to the heretics on St. Bartholomew's Day in France? History says that the Catholics took advantage of the night when the heretics were gathered in Paris and beheaded and assassinated them . . .. If the anti-friar Filipinos, fearing that the friars may do to them what they did in France, take advantage of the lesson and go ahead. Holy God! If in this supreme struggle for survival, seeing that their lives, property, and liberty are in danger, they should stake everything and allow themselves to be carried away by excesses, by the terror that present circumstances inspire? Misfortune of misfortunes! What would then become of me if I side now with the friars? The best course is not to decide. So long as the government does not appease the minds of the people, it's bad to take part ir. these affairs. It might be desirable to deport, to send to the gallows all the liberal Filipinos to extirpate the seed . . . but, their sons, their relatives, heir friends ... the conscience of the whole country? Are there today more anti-friars than before 1872? 7 Every Filipino prisoner or exile opens the eyes of one hundred Filipinos and wins as many for his party. If they could hang all the Filipinos and leave only the friars and me to enjoy the country, that would be the best, but . . . then I'll be the slave of all of them. I'll have to work for them, which would be worse. What is to be done? vVhat is the government doing? Liberalism is a plant that never dies, said that damned Rizal . . .. Decidedly I'll remain neutral: Virtue lies in the middle ground. Yes, I'll be neutral. What does it matter to me if vice or virtue should triumph if I shall be among the vanquished? The question is to win, and a sure victory is a victory already won. Wait for the figs to ripen and gather them. See which party is going to win, and when they are already intoning the hymn, I join them and I sing louder than the â&#x20AC;˘ The year when the three martyred priests, Burgos, Gomez, and Zamora. were g~rotted for supposed complicity in the Cavite Mutiny of 1872.

rest, insult the vanquished, make gesttll'es, rant so that the others may believe in my ardor and the sincerity of my convictions. Here's true wisdom! That the fools and the Quijotes allow themselves to be killed so that their ideals may triumph; I wish them to kill themselves so that mine may triumph. Their ideal is justice, equality, liberty! My ideal is to live in peace and plenty! Which is more beautiful and more useful, freedom of the press, for example, or a stuffed capon? Which are greater, equal rights or some cartridges equally full of gold coins? Equality for equality, I prefer the equality of money which can be piled up and hidden. Let the friars win, let the liberals win, the question is to come to an understanding afterwards with the victors. What do I care about the native land, human dignity, progress, patriotism? All that is worthless if one has no money!

â&#x20AC;˘

RIZAL'S SPEECH DELIVERED AT THE BANQUET IN MADRID IN HONOR OF THE FILIPINO PAINTERS JUAN LUNA AND FELIX RESURRECCI6N HIDALGO (25 June 1884)

GENTLEMEN:

In speaking before you, I'm not scared by the fear that you may listen to me with lukewarmness. I come to join to your enthusiasm; ours, the stimulus of youth, and you cannot help but be indulgent. Sympathetic effluvia saturate the atmosphere; fraternal currents run in all directions; gel\erous souls listen; and consequently I do not fear for my humble person nor do I doubt your benevolence. Men of goodwill you seek only goodwill, and from that height where noble sentiments reside, you do not perceive petty trifles, you see the whole, and you judge the case, and you extend your hand to one who, like me, desires to join you in one single thought, in one single aspiration-the glory of genius, the splendor of the Motherland. (Good, very good! Applause) Here is, in fact, the reason why we are gathered. In the history of nations there are names that by themselves signify an achievement, that recall passion and greatness, names that, like magic formulae, evoke pleasant and smiling thoughts, names that become a pact, a symbol of peace, a bond of love between the nations. The names of Luna and Hidalgo belong to these: their glories illumine the two extremes of the globe-the East and the West, Spain and the Philippines. In uttering them I believe I see two lumin0US arches that, starting from both regions, are going to be 003483-2

18 entwined there above, impelled by the feeling of common origin, and from that height unite two peoples with eternal bonds, two peoples that sea and space separate in vain, two peoples in which the seeds of disunion that men and their despotism blindly sow do not germinate. Luna and Hidalgo are Spanish as well as Philippine glories. They were born in the Philippines but they could have been born in Spain, because genius knows no country, genius sprouts everywhere, genius is like light, air, the patrimony of everybody, cosmopolitan like space, like life, like God. (Applause) The patriarchal era in the Philippines is waning. The deeds of her illustrious sons are no longer wasted away at home. The oriental chrysalis is leaving the cocoon. The morrow of a long day for those regions is announced in brilliant tints and rose-coiored dawns, and that race, fallen into lethargy during the historic night' while the sun illumines other continents, again awakens, moved by the electric impact that contact with Western peoples pro-路 duces, and she demands light, life, the civilization that at one time they bequeath her, thus confirming the eternal laws of constant evolution, of change, of periodicity, of progress. You know this well and you exult in it. To you is due the beauty of the diamonds that the Philippines wears in her crown. She produced the precious stones; Europe gave them polish. And all of us contemplate proudly your work; we are the flame, the breath, the material furnished. (Bravos!) They imbibed over there the poetry of nature--a nature grandiose and terrible in its cataclysms, in its evolutions, in its dynamism; a nature, sweet, tranquil, and melancholy in its manifestation constant, static; a nature that stamps its seal on all that it creates and produces. Its children carry it wherever they go . Analyze if not their character,

19 their works, and however slightly you may know that people, you will see it in everything as forming their knowledge, as the soul that presides over everything, as the spring of the mechanism, as the substantial form, as tne raw material. It is not possible not to reflect on what one's self feels , it is not possible to be one thing and do something else. The contradictions are only apparent, they are only paradoxes. In El Spoliarium, through that canvas that is not mute, can be heard the tumult of the multitude, the shouting of the slaves, the metallic creaking of the armor of the corpses, the sobs of the bereaved, the murmurs of prayer, with such vigor and realism as one hears the din of thunder in the midst of the crash of the cataracts or the impressive and dreadful tremor of the earthquake. The same nature that engenders such phenomena intervenes also in those strokes. On the other hand, in Hidalgo's painting the purest sentiment throbs, ideal expression of melancHoly, beauty, and weakness, victims of brute force ; and it is because Hidalgo was born under the brilliant azure of that sky, to the cooing of its sea breezes, in the midst of the serenity of its lakes, the poetry of its valleys, and the majestic harmony of its mountains and ranges. For that reason in Luna 's are the shadows, the contrasts, the moribund lights, mystery, and the terrible, like the reverberation of the dark tempests of the tropics, the lightning and the roaring irruptions of their volcanoes. For that reason Hidalgo is all light, color, harmony, feeling, limpidity, like the Philippines in her moonlight nights, on her tranquil days, with her horizons that invite to meditation, and where the infinite lulls. And both, despite being so distinct in themselves, in appearance at least, coincide at bottom, as all our hearts do in spite of notable differences. In reflecting on their palette the splendiferous rays of unfading glory with which they surround their Native Land,

20 both express the spirit of our social, moral, and political life: mankind subjected to harsh tests: unredeemed mankind: reason and aspiration in an open struggle with preoccupations, fanaticism, and injustices, because sentiments and opinions cut passage through the thickest walls, because to them all bodies have pores, all are transparent, and if they lack pen, if the press does not help them, the palette and brushes will not only delight the eye but will also be eloquent tributes. If the mother teaches her child her language in order that she may understand his joys, his necessities, or his sorrows, Spain, as mother, teaches also her language to the Philippines in spite of the opposition of those myopic men and pigmies, who, desiring to insure the present, do not see the future, do not weigh the consequencesrachitic wet nurses, corrupt and corrupters, who tend to extinguish all legitimate feeling, who, perverting the hearts of the people, sow in them the germs of discord in order to reap later the fruit, the aconite, the death of future generations. But, I forget those miseries! Peace to those who are dead, because the dead are dead; they lack breath, soul, and worms corrode them! Let us not evoke their dismal memory; let us not bring their stench into the midst of our rejoicings! Fortunately, brothers are larger in number; generosity and nobility are innate under the sky of Spain: all of you are a patent proof of that. You have responded unanimously; you have helped and you would have done more if more had been asked of you. Seated to share our supper and to honor the -illustrious sons of the Philippines, you honor also Spain because you have done very well. The boundaries of Spain are neither the Atlantic nor the Cantabrian nor the Mediterranean-it would be ignominious for the water to place a dam to her grandeur, to her idea -Spain is there, there where her beneficent influence is

21 felt, and though her flag might disappear, there would remain her memory, eternal, imperishable. What does a piece of red and yellow cloth matter, what do rifles and cannon matter, there where a feeling of love, of tenderness, does not sprout, there where no fusion of ideas, unity of principles, harmony of opinions exist? (Prolonged applause) Luna and Hidalgo belong as much to you as to us; you love them and we see in them generous hopes, precious examples. The Filipino youth in Europe, ever enthusiastic, and others whose hearts always remain young for the disinterestedness 1 and enthusiasm that characterize their actions, offer to Luna a crown, a modest gift, small indeed for our enthusiasm, but the most spontaneous and the most voluntary of all the gifts hitherto presented to him. But the gratitude of the Philippines towards her illustrious sons was not yet satisfied, and desiring to give free rein to the thoughts that bubble in the mind, to the sentiments that abound in the heart, and to the words that escape from the lips, we have all come here to this banquet to join our wishes, in order-to give form to the mutual embrace of two races that love one another and like one another, morally, socially, and politically united for a period of four centuries, so that they may form in the future one single nation in spirit, in their duties, in their views, in their privileges. (Applause) I drink then to the health of our artists Luna and Hidalgo, legitimate and pure glories of two peoples! I drink to the health of the persons who have lent them a helping hand on the dolorous path of art. I drink to the health of the 1 In the copy published in Homenaje 4 Luna by Jose Rondon y Abella, 1888, pp. 97-104, this word is if/.teres; in Retana, Vida y escritos del Dr. Jose Riz4l, Madrid, 1907, pp. 94-98, it is desinteres. We have followed the latter for seeming to be in consonance with the meaning of the whole sentence. Spanish in Retana, Vida. y Escritos del Dr. Jo,e Rizal, Victoriano Suarez, Madrid, 1907, pp. 94-98. English translation by Encamaci6n Alzona. 5 August 1958.

Filipino youth, sacred hope of my Native Land, that they may imitate such precious examples so that Mother Spain, solicitous and heedful of the welfare of her provinces, implement soon the reforms she has contemplated for a long time. The furrow is ready and the ground is not sterile! And I drink finally for the happiness of those parents who, deprived of the tenderness of their children, from those distant regions follow them with moist eyes and palpitating hearts across seas and space, sacrificing on the altar of the common welfare the sweet consolations that are so scarce in the twilight of life, precious and lonely winter flowers that sprout along the snow-white borders of the grave. (Warm applause, congratulations to the orator.)

NOTE ON THE MAREMAGNUM

"I am absolutely certain from writings that I gathered later in Manila, when the stupendous works of this great Martyr for the cause of our Country's freedom, were honored, that this majestic and solemn dedication was delivered by the worthy doctor, changing some words, at the Archbishop's Palace in Manila, on occasion of the arrival of the eminent Captain General, the illustrious Don Carlos Maria de la orre."* J MADRID, 26, June, 1887.

(Sgd. )

JOSE RrzAL

This is a note written by Dr. Jose Rizal below the dedicatory remarks It was taken from a typewritten copy of the same book, which was edited by Mr. Herrnenegildo Cruz who intended to publish it, but who, for reasons unknown, did not continue the plan. The date and place of the note could not be satisfactorily explained as Dr. Rizal apparently was not in Madrid in June, 1887. (Dr. L. L6pez Rizal) in one copy of the Maremagnum of Father Jose A. Burgos.

•

TRIBUTE TO BLUMENTRITT

In this so-called century of positivism, it is surprising to fall upon a rare case of disinterestedness, of abnegation, devoid of any ulterior motive, and though we may displease practical souls, those whose motto is do ut des 1, we say in all candor that such a discovery moves and enchants us. Mr. Blumentritt as an historian of the Philippine Islands is one of these rare souls. Some write history to raise or to flatter the spirit of their nation, to depreciate or lower that of their enemies; others to support political, religious, or theoretical opinions with historical facts which they adapt and mutilate to suit their convenience; and others . . . ah! It is better not to speak of their ends and purposes! Our historian is a foreigner and writes in a country that never aspired to join to its crown the worn-out Pearl of the Orient. Since his youth he has been devoted to his study, with the tenacity of the Austrian, alone, without any other stimulus but his love and his desire, without any hope of recompense except the impotent gratitude of a blinded and hushed nation. And it must be noted that he has had to learn first Spanish, Tagalog, and other languages, such as English and Dutch, in preparation for his studies. Prague, the ancient and legendary Prague, the city of one hundred high towers, was his birthplace. On the banks of the Moldau the Nymph of the Far East must have appeared to him for the first time, half wrapped up in her green mantle, scattering pearls, and swimming in the light of early dawn. How did the timid shadow 1

Give and take.

25 venture to occupy his imagination in the midst of the bustle of the Kneipe S and among the sudden changes in the condition of the fencers in the Mensur:' How could the poor Philippines, his golden dream, that he calls mein goldener Traum, monopolize for herself all the strength of that admirable will and all the light of his privileged mind ? We have heard a very good friend of his say that his great-grandmother being Spanish-American, his favorite readings.in his boyhood were the travels of Columbus; from these travel stories he passed on to those of Magellan, the Philippine Islands striking vividly his attention. Others believe that the origin of his interest in the Philippines was the study of the history of Spain, etc.; but whatever the cause may be, it is enough for us to know that he takes up the study of the country conscientiously and affectionately, to whom he says not only the bitter truths but also the pleasant ones, a quality that for its rarity is highly to be appreciated. This love of a faraway country of the Far East took him daily to the Exposition of Vienna to talk with the Chinese and Japanese, composing in his imagination the features of his Filipinos. If metempsychosis were provep, we would say that his being is animated by the soul of one of the ancient Filipinos-purposely forgotten by history, but whose memory the people carefully preserve. It is not our desire to write his biography; we are not going to talk about the man, or of the friend, or of the professor, of the citizen, or of the happy family man. Neither does the size of the article permit it nor is this the proper place for it. Moreover, there are gems that should not be touched and virtues that should not be desecrated. They are admired or they are imitated, if it is possible. ZThe German term for beerball or tavem where German university students foregather. S The German term for students' duel.

26 Mr. Blumentritt may perhaps be the first historian of the Philippines of this century who is not satisfied with merely being a copyist. It is true that he has never seen the country nor has he ever left his native land; but he h(1s read everything about the country; he has studied it, analyzed and subjected it to the most severe and impartia1 criticism in such a way that by force of study and discernment he has succeeded, we would say, to evoke before him the vivid image of the country that he does not believe he will ever see. His library is all Philippine works. On his desk lay treatises and memoirs, his portfolios are full of newspaper clippings; in all corners of his study are found rolled maps; and even his children stammer strange names, one of whom, a girl, bears a Spanish name, Dolores. He is in active correspondence with Spaniards and Filipinos who are seriously engaged in the study of the country.

The numerous treatises of Mr. Blumentritt are considered authoritative by all ~ because they are not dictated by a partisan spirit nor written for political ends. Austria will never be Spain's enemy; she is not a colonizer, nor does she plan to exploit the rich booty of the Archipelago. Although the author is a good Catholic and submissive to the Roman Church , he does not confuse. however, dogma with fanaticism, man with God , nor does he take as authentic divine truth whatever appears with that trade-mark. Neither optimism nor pessimism animates him: nor does he deify some to humble others; on the contrary, he always sees the welfare of the Philippines in union with Spain, and the glory of Spain in broad and sensible liberal reforms. He does not write thinking of crosses or employment, or of occupying a position in the Council. He knows that he is not sufficiently hispanized for this. and he does not dream of glories because he is convinced that in Philippine gardens do not grow myrtles and laurels for

certain persons. He proceeds with the utmost CIrcumspection in his judgment; he does not generalize isolated facts, or attribute to the race what is proper to the individual, and when he censures, he does it gently, softening it even more, if it is possible, for reasons very easy to understand. Perhaps some notice in his writings the great defect of treating the inhabitants of the country with a certain consideration rather than as half-men or semi-brutes, but for this he can be forgiven for the sake of other fine qualities he possesses, which are a thorough instruction and a good education, apart from the fact that he is a profound ethnographer. He has published and publishes many works, articles in scientific periodicals, vocabularies, maps, and others. Some of these works, have been translated into Spanish, winning the appro aI of all who know the country well. JOSE RIZAL

RIZAL'S SPEECH DELIVERED AT THE CAFE HABANERO

(December 31, 1891)

The Filipino Colony in Madrid, that flower who is expected to rejuvenate the rotten trunk, that handful of youth, who, three thousand miles away from their distant homes, should have only one thought and only one aspiration, is now undergoing a progressive transformation. As proof, I am going to present to you some pages of its past, so that you may compare them with its actual condition. In September, 1882, the old Filipinos and the young ones grouped themselves together into one body: there were about twenty of the latter and some eight or nine of the former among whom were businessmen, proprietors, and military men. Their common center was the SpanishFilipino Club (Circulo Hispano-Filipino), located on Salud Street. Aside from this place, the young Filipinos had a groundfloor at the Sauco Street, where the two brothers Antonio and Maximino Paterno were living. The family that they used to visit v:as that of D. Pablo Ortiga y Rey, in whose house all of us Filipinos used to gather once a week. The older Filipinos were then displaying greater activity and initiative than the younger ones, thanks to the activities of D. Juan Atayde, who, if not pretending to be the club itself, was at least the one who managed H. The young ones, distracted by other thoughts, allowed him to do everything; and we can say that the elders were exclusively making the Filipino policy. Did the youth lack patriotism and leadership? Certainly not. Sancianco had just reaped 28

signal honors with his "Progress of the Philippines" (Progreso de Filipinas); Graciano Lopez, who had just arrived from Valencia where he obtained awards, was making a name for his political and administrative writings and for his activities that never abandoned him; Tomas del Rosario was the inexhaustible orator and the flowery and fluent writer; Julio Llorente, encouraged by roman exaltation for all that is noble and great, gave promise of bright and glorious days for his country; the ingenious Laserna, the most diligent of all of us, frankly showed himself still a liberal in his aspirations and ideas; Eduardo de Lete together with Lasel'na were the only ones rendering honor to poetry. There were, therefore, many intelligent and bright persons among the young Filipinos. But these bright young Filipinos were getting lost because of lack of unity and due to excessive individualism. Each and everyone was going his own way, and even with respect to enjoyments, diversions or what not, there were no two similar opinions. In the midst of the movement in the Metropolis and to the marasmus of the country we were like particle of earth in a cyclone. On the other hand, the elders, who were less in number and who were of less geniality than the younger ones, imposed and conducted the affairs of the club in accordance with their planned policy, but not having been able to follow it, nothing came but its death. In the first meeting which I attended with all the emotion of an apprentice called by the masters to take part in a great and delicate task, my surprise was only equal to my feeling. The Club had excessive expenses; the members, even the wealthy, hardly' paid their dues and it was apparently necessary to dissolve it. Then, gentlemen, with the enthusiasm of a neophyte and the faith of a youth in the destinies of his country, I proposed that help be secured from the Philippines, that the expenses be reduced, and that the Club be given three months more of life. My

30 proposition was favorably voted upon, so the Club was on trial, so to say, for its life, In the meanwhile, how did we make use of our time? With the exception of two or three who were attending classes, the rest were sleeping up to noon time; they passed their afternoons playing, "pinching Jorge's ear", as the Tagalog saying goes, (the Tagalog phraseology was not cultiv;}ted yet) ; at night, after coffee hours, they were visiting families, but especially families that had no single m ale in them. In the worship to the god of chance. like that one of the old Christians, no temples \I.'ere needed at all; wherever two gathered together there the cult begins. and there were seen on the altars of coarse pine or covered with gre en oil cloth , all kinds of offerings, from the ri di culous small coins to bank bills and gold coins. Love was stealing our time: hardly three or foul' of the twenty that we were, were serious in their love affairs. And yet, gentlemen, we were young. Our hearts throbbed with the most ardent feelings; only, these feelings were getting drowned under the heavy weight of frivolity and discouragement. Could you imagine that then to go to classes was considered out of place and ridiculous, and that the manifestation of love for the country was a mockery? The diligent student was then assured that it was useless to intend to do something for his country. There was too much discussion about such useless things, like the number of buttons in a coat; but not a word about the rights of the Filipinos, as for instance, about their representation in the Spanish Cortes. Perhaps they \\'erc evading these problems in order not to touch painful wounds: they were all bleeding within, but as they were all discouraged of the r emedy , they preferred to wait for de::\th, laughing ~md playing. In that year the Club published two issues of its Journal that were timid and very prudent ; in those articles Mr.

31 Atayde, departing from the rules, gave our society a monarchic characteristic. As I protested in the next meeting, there arose a crisis, and therefore I got in as a voter. In the meanwhile, months were passing by and no aid from Manila was forthcoming. Mr. Ramirez de Arellano was elected correspondent. Upon his election he asked about his salary, the expenses for correspondence, etc. There was one, however, who sent two and a half pesos, making himself a member, and requested that a case he had in the Overseas Ministry (Ministerio de Ultramar) be fixed for him. Transferred to the Del Bano Street, partly through the kindness of Mr. Atayde, when it was already about to die a natural death, the Club attempted a last effort: it organized a baU--Ql1. this date--a ball which came out to be very splendid a d successful, as it was well attended. I was requested to rite a poem and I wrote then the "Me Piden Versos" (They Ask Me for Verses.) Laserna read an ode To the Sta1路s . But the ball was just the Swan Song for the Club; it was the last spark. Oil was lacking and the light was dying out. Violent discussions. extraordinary meetings, continuous change of officers, charges and counter-charges, recriminations about the expenses incurred, . . . . that was all the Club. The elders, like rats that smelled the impending ruin of the house, abandoned their positions; in one night we had three presidents successively; one of them was our friend Ruiz. We were not contented with any of the three. The younger ones blamed Atayde, and this blamed the needs. At last, as further existence of the Club was already impossible, we voted for its death. The Spanish~Fi1ipino Circle lived like Diogenes, looking for a mC::!n to direct it, and it dted Uke Alexander with discord and confusion in his buria 1.

32 At the beginning, therefore, of 1883, that society of Filipinos died. There was an attempt to monopolize and reduce it as a mere instrument of one person, but the protest came too late. After the death of the Club, the older Filipinos and the young ones failed to come to an agreement on how to revive it. The Colony, although taken care of by Ventura, Esquivel (Jose), Rogers, and others, did nothing important during the first semester, except this or that considerable loss in gambling, a dance on Sauco Street, an excursion in the country, some strolls by the Retiro in the company of two families, whom the Filipinos got acquainted with at the beginning of Spring, and whom they characterized as "exploitable". Graciano was the only one who preoccupied himself in periodicals and in the interest of our country, but his voice was powerless. However, all of us knew the state of failure in which we were. At the banquet for Zamora, given at the suggestion of Maximo Paterno, and in which Lete read a poem, I got out of tune, because I pictured with vividness our dark situation and our uncertain future. Hidalgo, with sadness in his voice and discourag~ment in his eyes, drank a toast that the Filipinos could wipe away the dust in their shoes before returning to their homes. I believe that not more than four passed the examinations in that month of June. I passed summer in Paris and so to me the second year started from September, 1883. Groups are beginning to form in the troubled colony and from the ruins of the society; some intended to create a group composed of young people only: Llorente, his brother, Lete, and I established ourselves in a place which. with that of Ventura on Campomanes Street and the other one on Sauco Street, forms a tripode of the new society. Seldom do they gamble n~w; neither in our house nor at Ventura's. Beginning a new era in their life, the Filipinos

33 living on Barquillo Street are leaving the house little by little and w:thout any club, games and parties, they concentrate and gather .themselves only in cafes. With Evaristo Aguirre, Francisco Esquivel, Rafael del Pan and others they increased in number; in that year it was no longer strange to go to classes. Ventura, Laserna, Llorente, del Pan, Aguirre and Tuason were going to the University; Lete, the Paternos and I, to San Carlos. Discord and enmity, however, were beginning to rise in what with so great tact and task they had united. I, therefore, conceived the idea of introducing an end-of-theyear banquet as a conciliation party. I was given the idea by Rogers when I passed by Barcelona; but lacking voice and personality, I did not dare to propose it until later. The holding of the banquet was approved and organized by the Paternos. It was held at the Cafe Madrid in this way: at 12: 00 o'clock midnight we all sat at the table; one of us called from outside saying: "NEW YEAR" and then he entered. Thereafter, one by one of us spoke and toasts were offered. That first year was my turn to install them and let them resume the activities. The gathering was characterized as formal and imposing rather than joyful and cordial. The banquet produced, however, a great enthusiasm and it was agreed to revive the Club, for which purpose meetings were held on Sauco Street and attended by Col. Abreu and in which for the first time Pedro Gobantes mixed himself with us. There had been no unanirillty of OpInIOns. Gobantes wanted a newspaper; Esquivel, Lete and others, an elegant society, one organized in good form. As money was lacking, Lazarus did not come to life again. But the greatest event of 1884, which revealed to us the power and the patriotism of the Colony was the Spoliarium. Of the three feet of the Tripode I have spoken to you about before, that of Sauco Street became weaker and 003483-3

weaker with the return of D. Pedro Paterno and what it lost was gained by the others; ours and that of Ventura on Campomanes Street. The opinions of these two were being considered already by the colony. Nevertheless, all the groups unanimously agreed to celebrate the triumph of Luna. Pedro Paterno, Gobantes and many others thought of organizing a banquet in his honor; we instantly adhered to his plan; we wanted too to give Luna a more lasting gift and everybody contributed. Gentlemen, there were Filipinos who, earning only fifty pesos a month, like Aguirre, gave ten pesos each for the celebration; Bayot, although not with us, sent three pesetas; Valentin, twenty pesos. Only one among the old members contributed. The banquet was held in June, the period of examinations. Pedro Paterno was assigned to be the first speaker at the banquet. I, who just a few days before renounced the honor to speak, was asked to take his place, however. I had not delivered any speech until then and although I had nine (9) subjects, four oppositions and a licentiate, I did not hesitate to give in to the wishes of the others, judging always that the heavier the responsibility the less it should be refused. H I remind you of this, gentlemen, it is not because I wish to exalt myself but rather to prove to you that in spite of the disunity that existed then, still we respected, as we respect now, the will of the majority. In that banquet, when the Filipino National Airs were played upon arrangement of Pedro Paterno, a deep silence reigned and many eyes were filled with tears; we thought then that the spirit of our beloved country was talking to and blessing us. The foreigners respected our sad feelings. It was in this banquet that I saw Mr. Morayta for the first time, sitting among Filipinos and already enthusiastically handling their defense. There also appeared various articles, polemic and political, in the newspapers, although signed pseudonymously by

35 Gobantes, Lete and myself. The events in Ilocos and Pangasinan united us the more, and now among us the needs of our country are the frequent topics of our conversation; there were no other games, except chess and a native game and these are played without bets and only after supper. As a natural consequence, many of us took more courses, and several finished their careers. The third year was not abundant in events, but as a whole, there was nothing wanting. Gambling disappeared completely and the classes and reviews were diligently attended by the Filipinos. In that at-the-end-of-the-year banquet (1884) which was attended by all the old Filipinos, encouraged by that of the past year, two were known as great orators: Lete was one who started the toasts and the other was Llorente who delivered the best speech so far heard from him. Everybody made use of the word except the one who had to summarize the speeches: D. Jose Canas, who with evident great satisfaction stood up to give end to the affair. In 1885, the Ninay was published. In June the majority passed their subjects: only one or two did not take the examinations but prepared themselves for the September tests. Here, gentlemen, is the summary of the three years' activities that I saw in this Court. You can see how little by little union among the younger Filipinos has been blossoming, thanks to the events that impressed their hearts. During those rather ungrateful days the feeling for our country had never abandoned us; if the mutual zeal for individual independence and the natural pride of each and everyone seemed to becloud it, the mere invocation of the word "country" has revived it and has presented itself powerful and ready as the geni of oriental tales. The ground was always fertile, and on it, if for a long time

nothing sprouted but discord and confusion, that was because good seed was lacking. If the ground hardened and the water got stagnant, that was because there was no movement. The vices, those powerful children of idleness, escaped from us as soon as serious problems occupied our minds, and we can say that even when at times we suffered discouragement and seemed to retreat, finally we marched forward, and we progressed. Our hearts are noble and our aim is holy . . . Now the Filipino Colony understands the advantages of unity; now we all know that the iron is strong and the air is compressible because the molecules of one have liitle cohesion, while those of the other form a compact mass hardly leaving a vacuum between them. I understand, gentlemen, that in this situation the individual freedom suffers in its prerogatives, but destiny wills it that way; the molecules of the more solid and compact body are the most compressed, and the most powerful army is the most disciplined. What does it matter, gentlemen, if we sacrifice a portion of our freedom, but we offer it in the altars of our country? What does it matter if we are deprived of some particles, if these become grains that are kept to be planted and later harvested abundantly? We, therefore, profess, gentlemen, once again unity and solidarity among us. The good and welfare of our country is our motive. Let us prove to the whole world that when a Filipino wills something he can always do it.

PETITION OF THE TOWN OF CALAMBA

On December 30 an order from the government of this province was received in this townhall whose content is as follows: "GobernadorcilZo of Calamba: -As soon as you receive this order, jointly with various principales of that town you will inform this office if the Estate owned by the Dominican fathers situated in that locality has increased its products or lands during the last three years in compliance with the wishes of Central Administration of Direct Taxes communicated in an official letter of the 24th instant. -Santa Cruz. 30 December 1887.-Emilio Bravo." After thorough investigation, the following report was drawn up signed by more than fifty residents, among them tenants and principales. "Mr. Administrator: -The undersigned Gobernadorcillo and principaZes of the town in compliance with the preceding order have the honor to submit to you the following information: 1. The Estate of the Reverend Dominican Fathers is not situated in this locality but in fact constitutes the whole town, the Reverend Fathers believing that the boundaries set up by them these last years should be the limits of the Estate: On the north, the part of the lake until the island of Calamba; on the south, until the Bigo Bridge, Olango; Santol, Mount Sungay; on the east, until Los Baiios in Bacong, comprising almost one half of Mount Maquiling; on the west, until Cabuyao and Santa Rosa, having an area of 700 quifiones 1 of clean cleared land at least. 2 S A qumon is 2.8 hectares. â&#x20AC;˘ According to two officials of the Estate, the area of the cultivated land is 1,200 qumones.-M. H. del Pilar.

38 2. From the declaration of the tenants interviewed, it turns out that the products of the Estate-if by products are to be understood everything that the land produceshave increased for the Estate and diminished remarkably for the tenants, not only in the years that have passed but also in the last three, as the enclosed account proves. Such a statement needs to be explained. The products increase to the benefit of the Estate: (1) Because the wild forests which are given to the tenants for a low rent at the beginning according as the tenants clear and clean them, investing large capital in them, according as the fortune of the farmer becomes involved in them, the contract is arbitrarily altered by the Estate, the r ent rises enormously, there being a case when 45 pesos became 90Q in a few years through an annual forced imposition. (2) Because some lands pay twice for two harvests of rice, where some bamboo groves are found, the farmer pays for the land and for each bamboo grove besides, regardless of whether it is useless or it has been felled. In the lands where huts have been erected for the workers, one has to pay for the lots and the hut besides. (3) Because the rent of the town lots where houses or warehouses are erected increases every time an official or servant of the Estate measures them. There seems to exist either a supernatural power that invisibly extends the land or a natural power that shortens the measure of the official, who after all is neither an expert nor a surveyor, though he is very venal indeed. Without this trick, the rent is also raised when the tenant makes improvement in the lot, or when he replaces the bamboo fence with a stone one, or builds a wooden house, for comfort and public embellishment; therefore, many do not improve their dwellings even if they have the means to do so. Even lots where public buildings are erected do not escape this honor: The

39 cockpit for which the most well-to-do tenant is held responsible. The rent is raised by 16 dUTOS S that was formerly 100, though it had not been enlarged nor has any improvement been made in it. ( 4) Because ricefields that are planted with only 3 or 4 cavanes -i of seed, pay as if they have a capacity for 9.5 and 14 cavanes, on pain of being declared vacant and given to others. The Estate, not spending anything for the town's welfare, not contributing either to festivals or to schools, or to the development of agriculture, or to public improvements, has no other expense except a few cavanes of rice given to the workers during a locust invasion, a few thousand pesos invested in badly planned dikes and constructed under the direction of a lay-friar of the Estate, and some losses, like the debts of some unfortunate tenants who are unable to pay the enormous rentals. The products for the tenants have decreased cortsiderably, in spite of continuous labor, not only before but ~o these last years as proven by the large number of ruined farmers, indebted and dispossessed of their property. (1) By the discouragement of the farmers on seeing that the lands they have so laboriously cultivated and cleared are taken away arbitrarily for the futile reasons or without reason, on seeing that they cannot trust the Estate itself. At times what the lay-friar manager orders, inviting the farmer to buy machinery, to make improvements, compelling him to make excessive expenditures, is destroyed by the successor, making him pay for the expenses of demolition. (2) The absence of good faith on the part of the Estate discourages not a little. The land is looked after and appraised by the servant of the Estate, ignorant like the rest, mindful only of flattering his masters. At times he imposes a rental without measuring the land and when the farmer can no longer draw back, because he has invested in it his capital, a ghost of a measurement is â&#x20AC;˘ Duro is short for peso duro (hard peso) or silver dollar. 'A Philippine measure. A ca"an is equal to 75 liters.

done and excessive conditions are imposed. If this is settled, the rental will be raised again the following year, on pain of losing all the land, the toil, and the capital. On the other hand, the desperate ones who wish to return a parcel of land that is unproductive will not be allowed to do so and they face ruin as they will be threatened of being despoiled of all their other parcels. It arouses suspicion that they do not want to write in the receipts the amount paid as rental and the total absence of any record, especially in these last years. (3) For the public calamities, like locusts and the fall in the price of sugar. Many being unable to pay the rental, they were promised a reduction of 15% or a little less, a promise which was fulfilled in some cases but not in many. On the contrary, the rental of others was raised exorbitantly, or their sugar crop was confiscated by force and afterwards sold, according to them, at a price lower than the prevailing one. (4) For the responsibility of the well-to-do tenants to pay the rental of lots of the indigents and for the flood-the waters do not guarantee them against such an obligation. (5) For the increasing shortage of capital, for the people are exhausted, the land that is opened every year is not all planted and if it is planted it yields no profit. In these last years, a much less enthusiasm and less activity than ten years ago are noticeable.-In view of this, we avail ourselves of this opportunity to state the following for the government's consideration: "The town of Calamba has given proofs of having been and is one of the most industrious and fanning towns of the province. Proof of this is the felled forests, the land on the mountain slopes cleaned in a few years, the machinery and the mills turned by animals I) and its extensive rice-fields. "If, despite all this, _agriculture declines, the people are impoverished, the capitalist is ruined, and edubation is backward (before there were more than 20 men students and three college â&#x20AC;˘ Molinos de sangre are mills turned by men or animals. used in milling sugar cane. E. A.

41 girls,6 now there are no more than three of the first and one of the latter); should we look for the cause only in the fall of the price of sugar when other sugar towns do not experience the poverty in which we are found? Several farmers abandon the Estate and go elsewhere and if they are not followed by all, it is because the others lack capital or they are indebted and have invested much in the lands of the Estate. An imminent evil threatens this poor town, if the government does not stop it. The people who place their cause in its hands hope either for a serious, formal contract between the Estate and the former, or the sale of these lands to those who have made them tillable under government auspices and under a pattern that may be fixed; for all the pretensions and titles the Estate can claim cannot be valid before the tribunal of the nation than the remonstrances of an entire people, always submissive indeed, but already tired of so many injustices." e This is a literal translation of colegialas, who are students in a convent school, not of a college in the sense it is understood in the United States of America. E. A.

ORDER OF THE MARQUIS OF MALINTA

The Marquis of Malinta, by the grace of God and of his wife, the Marquis of Lotteries, Sultan of the Philippines, etc., etc. To Whom it may concern: Whereas, since the 4th of June last, when I took charge of this Philippine Archipelago, I have become convinced of its decadent state, that it is imperative to use an efficacious remedy; Therefore, taking into account the financial necessities that have compelled me to cross the seas in order to improve the exploitation of this Archipelago, I ordain and command: 1. That there be established houses of chapdiki 1 with the moderate tax of 짜150 daily for each house. 2. It remains absolutely prohibited to speak of morality with respect to this wise and paternal order. 3. That the convents, being mines for the impudent who know how to exploit them, it is prohibited for the present and while the friars come one by one, to attack in any sense this divine institution. It is permitted to speak of the friars only in terms of praise and eulogy; and he who would infringe or attempt to infringe this order by act, word, or thought will be liable to the penalties imposed upon a traitor to the mother country. 4. The tickets of the Philippine Lottery cannot be sold at the price list, my Most Excellent Marquis of Lotteries ~ Game of chance. The gambling houses were a source of income of the officialdom.

43 being in charge of the management and exploitation of this business for her benefit. 5. In charge of the strict fulfillment of these orders are all the sabermen under my command and it is recommended that they sharpen carefully their respective sabers; and that the censor of the press do not let out of his hand the red pencil, the savior of religion and the highest interests of this command. Given at my Palace of Malinta and countersigned by my Reverend Secretary on the 30th of November, 1888. The Marquis of Malinta By order of His Excellency, FATHER SALVADORCITO FILONT

Secretary , In a satirical writing entitled "By Telephone" Rizal called him Tont which lacks only one letter, "0" to make it tonto, the Spanish for "stupid". He was Father Salvador Font of the Order of St. Augustine who, as parish priest of Tondo, Manila, was notorious for his defiance of the rules of his Order. In 1887 he was asked by the University of Santo Tomas to censure Rizal's Noli me tangere and he rendered an adverse report branding Rizal as a heretic and blasphemer. But it was known that he picked from the novel the most stinging passages and published them first privately and later he printed a large number which circulated freely in Spain. He hid his identity under the nom de plume of "A Spaniard of long residence in the Philippines". In 1889 Father Font was appointed by the Augustinians their representative in Spain.

MA-YI

LONDON, 6

December 1888

To determine which is this island of the Philippines, th~ etymology of the word can be of little usefulness inasmuch as many of the names of Philippine towns have changed in such a way that, even admitting all the phonetical variations that time, usage, and the defective Chinese pronunciation might have introduced, hardly could we say with certainty which is Ma-Yi, whether it is an island or only a region. However, supposing that the authors of the manuscript or the merchants who gave these news followed in their accounts a geographil!al order in relation to the distance of China, their nutive land, as all peoples commonly do, we find here a commentary; "the savage traders will then carry these goods to the other islands for barter and it may take them up to eight or nine months" 1 for going to distant islands perhaps like Sebu, Panay, and others and even Mind3.nao. 2 I agree then with Prof. Blumentritt that Ma-Yi can very well he Luzon and perhaps a part of it, if it is not Manila. It must be inhabited by Tagalogs. Although Babuyanes Islands (in Tagalog Babuyan) are located on the north of Luzon and nearer to China, we do not believe they correspond to Pai-pu-yen, for being these islands very small :md of little importance and the Chinese not being given to stopping at small towns when there In English. Rizal's note: "Toward this principal island of Lozon... a large island to which every year Lechti people bring 6 or 8 junks to trade." (Pigafetta) 1

are larger ones with which they can trade. Notwithstanding, it is not impossible that they might be. We are inclined, therefore, to understand more by Pai-pu-yen the Island of Leyte, whose western coast, the most frequented, is called pre-eminently Baybay, as Prof. Blumentritt points out, and for being located on the south of Samal with which it seems to form a single island, both close to Luzon. We believe Pu-li-lu to be Bohol, for "people of a cruel disposition" would be to the Chinese the warlike Boholanos, who even now boast of being brave. Its geographical location, moreover, makes the Chinese writer hesitate to include it in San-hsui or the group of the Ma-Yi, inasmuch as Bohol is located between Leyte, Sebu, and Mindanao.

Li-yin-tung, Lin-hsin, and Li-han might perhaps be Lingayen; Mindoro . . . . because the writer does not say "the following islands" but "places". The relation of these parts with Ma-Yi ("to which they belong") perhaps ought to be understood as commercial relations as countries comprising a commercial zone, though the observation on Pu-liIu "(said to adjoin the San-hsui)" seems to indicate political groups rather than purely commercial. San-hsui would then be a principality subject to Ma-Yi that in the course of time separated resulting in a great division of the empire of Ma-Yi. In order to settle the question of Li-yin-tung, Lin-hsin, and Li-han, it should be asked if these mean something in Chinese and from the meaning deduce gropingly their relationship to the status of the Philippine Islands. However, in enumerating the countries belonging to Ma-YiJ the writer begins with San-hsui and ends with these three. What order has the author followed here? Has he arranged them according to their size, or distance from Ma-Yi or China, or commercial importance? If according to size, Li-yin-tung, Lin-hsin, and Li-han must

be small islands; if according to distance, they must be located where Masbate, Burias, etc. are. 1 As to the "real pearls" that the author mentions, let it be known that not only in Jol6 but also in Batangas (in S. Juan, for example) are pearls fished. SAN-HsIU

Under this name we believe that it should not be understood strictly three islands but rather three groups of islands, each one which is formed by a principal island and other small ones and that would be Mindanao, the group of Sebu, Negros, Panay (or Jol6) and that of Pala:wan (Paragua). In the East there is a tendency of making groups of threes, of forming trinities, etc., even of things that are not threes. (The Persons are three but God is One; Christ resurrected on the third day; the Three Kings, etc. Kamagen would be Mindanao or rather the Mindanao group, perhaps on account of Camiguin, the island-volcano adjacent to it. The volcano would attract more attention. Pa-lao-yu very probably is Palawan, the ancient name of Paragua (Palaoan, Pigafetta). Now there remains Pa-chi-neng. By this we ought to understand the Jol6 group or the group of Sebu, Negros, and Panay. If the first, the interpretation is obvious, we can give to Sebu, Negros, and Panay the name Li-yin-tung, Li-hsin, and Li-han, names that seem to have a certain analogy, as Sebu, Negros, and Panay have language relationship. But this has the disadvantage of being the Jolo group, insignificant from the commercial point of view, taking away its pearl trade, though politically it has much importance. If the second, we break up the group of the Philippines or the domain of the Ma-Yi, separating Panay, Negros, and Sebu which seem to form with Luzon, an archipelago. lOr where Sebu, Negros, and Panay are.

47 In conclusion, there is reason to believe that Ma-Yi must be or is in the Island of Luzon, the nearest point in this region to China, San-hsiu and Pu-li-lu being considered farther away. The observation of the writer, "in the north of Poni (Bruni)" ,* should not mean that the sampans came from the south passing through Borneo to go to Ma-Yi but rather Borneo, being perhaps better known and older in its relation with China, or perhaps for its greater importance, is taken as the center of orientation (as we do when we want to explain to our countrymen the geographical location of European countries, taking Spain as the point of orientation.) Undoubtedly the phrase "the meandering curves of a creek", * inhabited by thousands of families, makes us suspect that it refers to Manila or its bay, perhaps the Pasig River until Laguna de Bay. The gentleness of Tagalog customs that the' first Spaniards found, Ivery different from those of other provinces of the same race and in Luzon itself, can very well be the effect of Buddhism "(There are copper Buddha's images)",* coming not from China, making us think of India, inasmuch as the Tagalog is the language that has retained more Sanskrit terms. The Chinese writer speaks of "mandarin's place" perhaps because he saw a certain culture among the Ma-Yi not inferior to that of China, a state that knew how to defend itself well. For that reason, "Robbers seldom come to this territory". * The heavy penalties that formerly the Tagalogs imposed on thieves and the ingenious and barbarous methods that they employed to discover them were the reason for the writer's observation, "and even if they may not at first know the men . . . . there will be no loss";* and as we know from the Spaniards that the traders of Luzon went as far as Sebu, Panay, and other islands, we agree with Prof. Blumentritt that Ma-Yi is Luzon, â&#x20AC;˘ Quotations in English. E.A.

Pai-pu-ye-n-Leyte Kamagen-Mindanao Pa-Iaw-yu-Palawan and we opine that Pu-li-Iu means Bohol, leaving aside Pa-chi-neng, Li-yin-tung, Lin-hsin, and Li-han to be determined. RIZAL >I<

}

TAWALISI OF IBN BATUTA 1

LONDON, DR.

A. B.

7 J anua,'Y 1889

MEYER

VERY DISTINGUISHED

SIR,

Replying to your letter of 12 December of last year in which you honored me by asking my opinion on whether Tawalisi could mean the Philippines or a part of her, after having studied the matter, I have the honor of informing you of the following: 1. That of the translations of the text by Lee, Yule, and Sanguinetti, I prefer that of the last one. That of Lee, which you recommended to me, is undoubtedly good for those who know Arabic because, according to what they say, the abundant notes that enrich it make up for the mistakes in the text, but unfortunately my knowledge of Arabic is very limited. It seems to me an extract and contains in my opinion some contradictions and inaccuracies that are evident when compared with the texts of Yule and Sanguinetti. For example, he says that the king is called Tawalisi (which is accepted by the others) but later on he calls him Wahi Arduja, a name that Yule and Sanguinetti give to the daughter but not to the king. Afterwards he calls the region Tialisi and from this point to Canton he puts seven days ("a voyage of seven days") where Yule and Sanguinetti put seventeen days, a more probable thing as we shaH see later. I See Rizal's letter to Dr. A. B. Meyer, EpistoUt,'io Rizalino, II, 216. Rizal thanks Meyer for having accepted his opinion on Tawalisi. Dr. Meyer had published in 1885 a collection of photographs of aborigines in Luzon and other parts of the Philippine Archipelago: Album von Pltilippinen-Typen.. Dre$den, 1885. 49

008483-4

50 Yule's translation, though it is already more extensive and detailed than Lee's, is however less than Sanguinetti's, and in some passages seems a translation of the latter's work. For this reason, and for not having anything different from that of Sanguinetti, we prefer that of the latter, because it is more extensive and more detailed, though it is not annotated like that of Yule. II. We cannot accept Yule's suggestion that suspects that Tawalisi could belong to Captain Gulliver's geography. Though we doubt the accuracy of some data of Ibn Batuta, we believe however in his voyage to Tawalisi: There are details that only the reality of the events could have furnished, details that could not have been invented, such as the change of government of Cailoucary, formerly governed by the king's son, etc. Moreover, what interest could Ibn Batuta have in lying? In this voyage neither does he derive anything in favor of his religion or his person nor does he recount wonderful news or interesting adventures. The traveller had visited so many and so beautiful countries, much more interesting than Tawalisi and he would not discredit himself to relate an insignificant story. That he had wanted afterwards to enrich his travel account with certain exaggerated or fabricated details was possible. Imagination, love for the wonderful, or a certain confusion in ideas produced by the multitude of things seen can very well have been its cause. III. Location of Tawalisi. The principal data that we believe ought to be utilized are the distances, which do not vary with time, in preference to details concerning names and customs. From Kakula, in Mul Java, to Tawalisi takes 74 or 84 days generally; Ibn Batuta spent 71 days, 34 navigating by sail and 37 by rowing. From Tawalisi to Canton takes 15 days with favorable wind. (These data support' the veracity of Ibn Batuta, because travelers, when they want to lie put the country they invent as far away as they can.)

51 With these two data and knowing the average velocity of the ship in which Ibn Batuta went, which was from 8 to 10 geographical miles .(15 by degree)-from Maldives to Bengala 43 days; from Bengala to Babahnagar (Cape Negrais? Pegu?) IS-tracing two arcs, one from Canton with a radius of 180 geographical miles or leagues, supposing that with a favorable wind it ran 12 leagues daily, and another from Kakula (between Java and Sumatra) of a radius of 430, estimating that by rowing only they attain an average velocity, we shall have the intersection of both arcs fall precisely in the northern region of the Philippines. By these data of distances, Tawalisi cannot be found either in Celebes (Sanguinetti) or in Jol6 (Yule) because from these points one cannot go to Canton in 15 days with the velocity of the junks then. Neither can it be in Tonkin (Sanguinetti) nor in Formosa, because, where shall we-place the "calm sea, without waves, wind, or current", there where typhoons prevail? We could interpret the calm sea of Ibn Batuta with Yule (520-II) as the Celebes Sea where storms are very rare. "Its reddish color must be due to the earth of a nearby country" (Borneo) can be explained, for if he sailed near the continent, he would say du pays (of the country) and not d'un pays (of a country), Asia being known. With regard to the size of the oars, the number of rowers, and the manner of rowing, either it is to be doubted or it must be admitted that those sailors were of limited intelligence, because by the manner it is told they must have been hampered and the handling of the oar very imperfect, because with two ropes that are pulled and loosened, the necessary movement is not achieved: The 30 men on each oar would demand moreover considerable space. Speaking about Tawalisi (country) he says: "She is very vast and her ruler is equal to that of China"-a description inapplicable to Jol6 and only applicable to Luzon and her king whose son in the XVI century was the general

of the armies of- the Sultan of Borneo (Pigafetta) and who had besides, at the arrival of the Spaniards (1570), a foundry of artillery "as large as that of Malaga". (Gaspar de S. Agustin). ','She possessed numerous junks"; Known is the extensive commerce of the inhabitants of Luzon on land and on the sea, reaching Cebu, Mindanao, and Jo16. "With those they waged war against the Chinese". The inhabitants of Mindoro seized a Chinese vessel at the time of the arrival of Legazpi at that island, and it was he who liberated it. "The inhabitants of that country are heathens": Islamism was introduced into Luzon only among the chieftains, perhaps only in the XV century or towards its end. "Their complexion is copper-colored . . . ." "Their women ride horseback." Here is the , only detail against our conjecture. It is the general belief that the introduction of the horse in the Philippines is posterior to the arrival of the Spaniards, though no one mentions the precise epoch of its introduction. Morga already mentions it. The name "horse" and all its trappings, such as saddle, bridle, and others, are all Spanish. Is this detail apocryphal or is it an invention of Ibn Batuta? It cannot be poorly translated because Lee writes "horseback" and Yule "ride". For the rest, the women of Batangas, Laguna, and Tayabas are today excellent horsewomen. Did the horse exist or was it imported in the Philippines in the XIV century and afterwards became extinct, as it happened to the elephant? "Cailoucary, one of the most beautiful and largest among their cities." This further denies the possibility that it might be Jo16 or a small island, as it could not count on many large cities. "He brought with him a present for the king's son"~ A custom similar to that in Sebu at the arrival of Magellan. (Pigafetta)

53 "His father had given him another province to rule, etc." This gives the idea of a powerful king, of extensive domains in order to be able to divide them among his sons. "Chairs made of sandal wood . . . . daggers with gold incrustations . . . . gold vases." Though sandal wood does not seem to exist in the north of the Philippines, for we don't believe Ibn Batuta had confused it with the asana (Pterocarpus santalinus) or the kamttning (Comanus santaloides), however, it could be imported, or else it existed at one time and is now lost, because there were timbers that had disappeared from the Philippines, like Betis and ebony. Much gold is found in the Philippines. "She told me in the Turkish language, etc." Pigafettta tells us of numerous languages that the chieftains of the Philippines learned, though here one should take into account the imagination of Ibn Batuta, as Yule indicates. "Two' elephant-loads of rice. " He does not say precisely "two elephants" an it must not be deduced from here that necessarily there must have been elephants in Tawalisi, though there could have been imported ones, as there were afterwards, and because in Tagalog there is a word for elephant, gaya (Crawford). It could very well be that, accustomed to see elephants in the countries whence he came (Bengala, Sumatra, Kakula) and to estimate their load, he should mention them to give an idea of the quantity of rice that he had received. Travelers, speaking of foreign countries and abroad, often use weights and measures that do not exist in the country, as it happens with the English who always speak of miles, inches, stones 2; with the Germans who speak of Zehutnev even in England, etc. Moreover, Ibn Batuta does not speak of ivory objects. As to the rest, we repeat, the elephant could have existed in the Philippines. "Four martaban, or large porcelain jars, full of ginger, pepper, citron, and mangoes." This agrees precisely with : In Great Britain "stones" are a unit of weight of 14 pounds. (Translatot")

54 what Pigafetta saye; of the gift of a chieftain of Samar. In the Philippines, we call manabana some colossal jars of natural dark color for holding water, oil, and salted fruits, like salted mango ("all being salty"). "Women who fight like men." In the Filipino theater, a princess always appears with a warlike character, especially if she is a Moro woman. In real life we knew of truly Amazon women, like the famous smuggler Dagul of Pangasinan. We do not know if the belicose character of our princesses in the theater originates in the historical reminiscences or in the books of chivalry that the Spaniards brought with them. "Ordoudja returned with the head of her enemy on a lance." Although we find this custom of beheading the enemy not only among the Hebrews but also among the Scotch (Macbeth), Spaniards, and American Indians, here however it can be the custom of the headhunters of the Philippines (Kopfjiigerstamme). "The relatives of the latter will repurchase this head from Ordoudja with valuable treasure." This datum is in harmony with family affections that exist in the Philippines. "When the princess returns to her father, he gives her this city of Cailoucary." Perhaps the Philippines was the only country in the Far East where the woman has always been considered almost the equal of man. The daughter inherited and succeeded the father in his post, if he had no male heir; and even now, during the parents' lifetime, the daughter engages in business and handles funds and attends to the cultivation of the land. "I shall malTY only he who fights against me and vanquishes me." Although we do not know any Tagalog word equivalent to tournament, however, the idea of tournaments is found in the majority of Tagalog poems, and certainly in some of them women fight.

IV. Well now t with regard to the name Tawalisi. This name could come from Taga Lu,zon (inhabitant of Luzon). Arabic scholars can clarify the fact. Note that the Spaniards did not give the name Luzon to the island. It was already known thus, according to the Chinese and Japanese whom we have consulted and according to Pigafetta who caIls it Loson or Luzon. In the Philippines, moreover, there are towns that are called Talisay,3 as one in Batangas on the banks of Bombon Lake where Salcedo landed when he came for the first time. Having rejected the probability that Tawalisi existed in Celebes, Tongkin, or Jo16; not believing it possible that it is Tawali near Bachian, for how would we explain the distance of 15 days to Canton, th~ extent, the dominion, etc.? Or admittl~g it to be the town of Ta-wa-li on the eastern coast of F rmosa, the 15 days of favorable wind could not be explai~ed. The opinion that it might be a country of the north of the group that the Philippine Islands from is the only one that is most reasonable. Against the only contrary data of women who ride horseback, all circumstances agree in support of this opinion, above all the very important data of the number of days of voyage. There is moreover a favorable wind to those who sail from the Philippines to China and a current that flows toward the north. Unless we suppose that Tawalisi has sunk, it must be Luzon, or some of the adjacent islands. This is all I have to say about the Tawalisi of Ibn Batuta, supposing that the translations and the manuscripts are faithful and the data on the distances are exact. I have the honor to salute you and to offer myself, your attentive and faithful servant, JOSE RIZAL â&#x20AC;˘ Others: Talisay in Negros Occidental, Talisay near Dapitan. (Translator) .'.

MESSAGE TO THE YOUNG WOMEN OF ~ALOLOS

EUROPE,

To My

22 February 1889

COUNTRYWOMEN:

When I wrote the Noli me tangere I pondered long on whether or not courage was a common virtue of the young women of our country. Though I searched my memory diligently, though I recalled one by one all the young women I have known since childhood, only a few conformed to the ideal I longed for. It is true there were many endowed with sweet disposition, beautiful habits, gentle manners, modesty but withal were mingled complete deference and obedience to every word and request of the so-called fathers of the soul-as if the soul had any other father but God-due to their excessive goodness, humility, or perhaps ignorance,. They are like withered plants, sowed cmd grown in the darkness. Though they may bloom, their flowers are without fragrance; though they may bear fruit, their fruit has no juice. However, now that news arrived here of what occlli'red in your town of Malolos, I realized that I was wrong, and my joy was beyond bounds. I should not be blamed, for I did not know the town of Malolos nor its young women, except one Emilia and this one only by name. Now that you have responded to our vehement clamor for public welfare; now that you have shown a good example to your fellow young women who, like you, desire to have their eyes opened and to be lifted from their prostration, our hope is roused, now we are confident of victory. The Filipino woman no longer bows her head and bends her knee!>; her hope in the future is revived; gone is the mother who helps to keep her daughter in the dark, who educates 56

57 her in self-contempt and moral annihilation. It is no longer the highest wisdom to bow the head to every unjust order, the highest goodness to smile at an insult, to seek solace in humble tears. You have found out that God's command is different from that of the priest, that piety does not consist in prolonged kneeling, long prayers, large rosaries, soiled scapulars, but in good conduct, clean conscience, and upright thinking. You have also discovered that it is not goodness to be too obedient to every desire and request of those who pose as little gods, but to obey what is reasonable and just, because blind obedience is the origin of crooked orders and in this case both parties sin. The head or the priest cannot say that he alone will be responsible for the wrong order because God gave each one his own mind and his own conscience so that he can distinguish between right and wrong. All are born without chains, free, and no one ' can subject the will and spirit of another. Why would you submit to another your noble and free thought? It is cowardice and an error to believe that blind obedience is piety and it is arrogance to think and to reflect. Ignorance is ignorance and not goodness and honor. God, fountain of wisdom, does not expect man, created in his image, to allow himself to be fooled and blinded. The gift of reason with which we are endowed must be brightened and utilized. An example is the father who gave each of his sons a lamp to light his way in the darkness. Let them intensify its flame, take care of it, not extinguish it to depend on the light of others, but to help one another, seek each other's counsel in the search for the way. He is exceedingly stupid and he ~an be blamed if he stumbles in following somebody else's light, and the father could say to him: "What for did I give you a lamp of your own?" But one who stumbles by following his own light cannot be greatly blamed because perhaps his light is dim or else the road is very bad.

58 The usual reply of those who want to fool others is this: He who depends on his own reason is arrogant. I believe that more arrogant is he who wishes to subject another's will and dominate all men. More arrogant is he who poses as God, who pretends to understand every manifestation of God's will. And exceedingly arrogant or blasphemous is he who attributes to God everything he says and desires and makes his personal enemies the enemies of God. We ought not to depend on ourselves solely. We should seek advice, listen to others, and then do what we believe to be the most reasonable. The habit or the cassock does not add anything to a man's learning. Even if the wild mountaineer is clothed in layers of habits, he remains wild and he cannot fool anyone except the ignorant and weak-willed. So that this can be proven, buy a habit of St. Francis ana put it on a carabao. It would be lucky that with the haBit on, he does not become 路 lazy. Let me leave this subject and talk about another. Young womanhood, the nursery of fruitful flowers, ought to accumulate riches to bequeath to its descendants. What could the offspring be of a woman whose only virtue is to murmur prayers, whose only knowledge is derived from awit/ novena, prayer-books, and miraculous tales intended to fool men, with no other recreation but panguingue 2 or freq uen t confession of the same sins? What sons would she have but sacristans, servants of the curate, or devotees of cockfighting? The present enslavement of our compatriots is the work of our mothers because of the absolute confidence of their loving hearts and of their great desire to improve the lot of their children. Maturity is the fruit of childhood and childhood is in the lap of the mother. The mother who can teach nothing else but how to kneel and kiss the hand should not expect any other kind of children , Fanciful t.ales in verse in the vern:lculnt. ~

A popular card-game.

but stupid ones or oppressed slaves. A tree that grows in the mire is either light or only fit for firewood. If by chance there should be a bold one, his boldness is concealed and he will use it for evil, like the dazed bat which cannot come forth until it is twilight. The common reply is that foremost are piety and love of God. But, what is the piety that they have taught us? To pray and kneel a long time, kiss the hand of the priest, spend all the money on the church, and believe whatever occurs to them to tell us. Chatter, callous knees, rubbing of the nose . . . . With regard to church alms, using God as pretext, is there anything in the world which does not belong to and is the creation of God? What would you say to a servant who gives to his master alms consisting of a piece of rag borrowed from the same rich master? Who is the vain and foolish man who will give alms to God and believe that his. miserable gift will clothe the Creator of all things? Blessed. is he who gives to the needy, helps the poor, and feeds the hungry, but cursed and censurable is he who is deaf to the entreaties of the poor, who stuffs those who are satiated, and lavishes his money on silver hangings for the altar, on alms to the church or the friar who is swimming in riches, on Masses with music and rockets, while he squeezes this money from the bones of the poor and offers it to the master with which to buy the chains to bind him and to pay his executioners. Oh, blindness and shortsightedness! True piety is obedience to what is right, happen what may. "Deeds and not words are what I ask of you", said Christ. "He is not the son of my father who repeatedly says, my father, my father, but he who lives according to the will of my father." Piety does not consist in a worn-out nose nor in Christ's successor known for giving his hand to be kissed. Christ did not kiss the Pharisees, he never let his hand to be kissed. He did not fatten the rich and proud scribes. He did not mention scapulars, he

60 did not require the wearing of rosaries, he did not ask money for Masses, and he did not charge for saying prayers. St. John did not ask to be paid for baptizing on the Jordan River nor Christ for his preaching. Why is it that now priests ask to be paid for every move they make? And still hungry, they sell scapulars, rosaries, belts, and other things to entice money and to hurt the soul; because even if you wear as scapular all the rags on earth, wear as rosaries all the wood in the forests, gird around your waist all the skin of animals and over all of them all the priests in the world take pains to make the sign of the cross and to murmur prayers, and sprinkle them with all the water of the sea, they cannot cleanse the dirty heart, they cannot absolve the unrepentant of their sins. Likewise, for their covetousness they forbid many things, such as eating meat, marrying one's cousin, compad're, and the like, which however are permitted if one pays. Why, can God be bought and is He dazzled by money like the priests? The thief who pays for a bull for composit'ion can rest assured that he has been forgiven. Therefore, God wants to partake of stolen goods? Is it true that God is so needy that He imitates the carabineer or the civil guard? If this is the God that the friars worship, I turn my back to such a God. Let us be reasonable and open our eyes, especially you women, because you are the ones who open the minds of men. Consider that a good mother is different from the one created by the friars. Raise your children close to the image of the true God-the God who cannot be bribed, the God who is not avaricious, the God who is the father of all, who is not partial, the God who does not fatten on the blood of the poor, who does not rejoice at the plaint of the afflicted, and does not obfuscate the intelligent mind. Awaken and prepare the mind of the child for every good and desirable idea-love for honor, sincere and firm character, clear mind, clean conduct, noble action, love for one's fellow men, respect for God.-teach this to your

61 children. And because life is full of sorrows and perils, fortify their character against any difficulty, strengthen their hearts against any danger. The country should not expect honor and prosperity so long as the education of the child is defective, so long as the women who raise the children are enslaved and ignorant. Nothing can be drunk in a turbid and bitter spring. No sweet fruit can be picked from a sour seed. Important indeed are the duties that women must fulfill in order to relieve the country of her sufferings, but they are not beyond the strength and character of the Filipino woman to perform. Everybody knows the power and the prudence of the women in the Philippines. Hence they blind them, chain them, weaken their spirit, so sure are they that so long as the mother is a slave, all her children can be enslaved also. This is the reason for the enslavement of Asia; the women in Asia are ignorant and oppressed. Europe and America are powerful because there the women are free and educated, their mind is lucid and their character is strong. We know that you lack instructive books; we realize that nothing is injected into your mind daily except what will serve to dim your inherent light. We are aware of all this so that we are endeavoring to make the light that is shining over your fellow women here in Europe reach you. If you will not be bored with these few words that we are going to say and you will read them, perhaps no matter how thick is the fog that envelopes our country, the brilliant light of the sun will penetrate it and it will shine however faintly. We shall not falter if you help us. God will help us to dispel the mist for He is the God of Truth; and the former brilliance of the Filipino woman will be restored undiminished. She lacks nothing but a free mind, for she has an excess of goodness. Such is the longing that is constantly in our thoughts, that we dream of-the honor of the woman who is the partner of

our heart, who shares our happiness and our misfortune. 1ÂŁ she is a young woman, let the young man love her not only for her beauty or the sweetness of her disposition but also for the firmness of her character, her lofty ideas that invigorate and encourage the weak and timorous man or arouse brilliant ideas. That she may be a young woman of whom the country can be proud, a young woman who inspires respect. It is the common talk here among Spaniards and friars who came from there that the Filipino woman is weak and ignorant, as if all were weak because some have fallen; as if in other countries there were no women of weak character, whereas in fact the Filipino women possess more virtue than those of other countries. Nevertheless, the Spaniards and the friars who return to Spain, perhaps because of the looseness of their tongues, broadcast first of all in print and by word of mouth, accompanied by shouts, laughter and insults that So and So was like that in the convent, like that to a Spanish houseguest, and many other things that are irritating whenever we remember that many of the faili~gs are due to naivete, excessive kindness, meekness, or blindness, which is their own work. There is a Spaniard here, who is now an important personage, whom we fed and housed during the time he was wandering about the Philippines. As soon as he came back to Spain, he had it published that once he sought hospitality in Pampanga. He ate and slept there and the lady of the house was this and that to him. This was how he returned the kind hospitality of the lady. Likewise the returned friar regaled his Spanish callers with stories about his obedient girl hand-kissers and other things accompanied with smiles and significant winks. In the book published by Mr. Sinibaldo de Mas and in other books written by friars are related the sins confessed by women, which the friars did not keep a secret, recounting them to their Spanish callers and embellishing them at times with incredible tall and lewd stories. I cannot repeat here what a friar unashamedly told Mas which he could not

63 believe. Every time we hear or read about these things we ask if all Spanish women are Holy Marys and all Filipino women are sinners. However, if it should come to the point of settling accounts and exposing, perhaps . . . But let me abandon this subject for I am not a father confessor nor a Spanish house-guest who destroys the honor of his hosts. I lay this aside and continue relating the duties of women. In countries where women are respected as in the Philippines, they ought to recognize their true position so that they may be able to perform the duties expected of them. An old custom was that when a student went courting, he threw away everything--studies, honor, money-as if a young woman sowed nothing but evil. The bravest, when he got married, became a coward; the coward became shameless, as if he were waiting only to get married before proclaiming his own cowardice. The son had no other excuse for his pusillanimity except his concern for his mother, and because of this he swallowed gall, endured blows, obeyed the most idiotic order, and he became an accomplice of traitors. It must be known that when no one flees, there will be no pursuer; if there are no small fish there will be no big ones. Why does not a young woman ask of the man she is going to love for a noble and honorable name, a manly heart that can protect her weakness, a noble mind that will not permit him to be the father of slaves? Instill in his mind activity and industry, noble behavior, worthy sentiments, and do not surrender your young womanhood to a weak and timid heart. When she becomes a wife, she should help her husband in every difficulty, encourage him, share with him nIl perils, console him, and drive away his woes, always bearing in mind that a heroic heart can endure any suffering and no legacy is as bitter as the legacy of infamy and slavery. Teach your children to guard and love their honor, to love their fellowmen, their native land, and to perform their duties. Tell them re-

peatedly to prefer death with honor to life with dishonor. They should imitate the women of Sparta and here I am going to cite some examples. When a mother handed the shield to her son who was going to war, this was all she said to him: "Bring this back or they bring you back", meaning, "You come back a victor or you die", because it was the custom to throwaway the shield of the fleeing vanquished warrior or bring back his corpse on top of the shield. A mother heard that her son was killed in the war and the army was defeated. She said nothing but gave thanks that her son had been saved from ignominy; but when her son came back alive, upon seeing him, she put on mourning. A warrior told a mother who had gone out to meet the returning heroes that her three sons had been killed in the war. "That is not what I am asking:', the mother replied, "but, did we win or did we lose?" The hero replied, "We won." "If . that is so, let us give thanks to God!" she said, and she went to the temple. Once a defeated king of theirs hid in the temple for fear of popular indignation. The ,Spartans agreed to close him up there and starve him. When they sealed the door, the mother was the first to bring stones. These customs were common among them and therefore all Greece respected the Spartan women. "Of all women", remarked one, "only you Spartan women wield power over men." "Of course", replied the Spartan women, "of all women we alone give birth to men." Men, said the Spartans, are not born to live for themselves but for their country. So long as this manner of thinking and this type of women prevailed in Sparta, no enemy was able to set foot on her soil and no Spartan woman ever saw an enemy army. I do not t!xpect to be believed because only I say it. Many people do not respect reason and truth, but the priest's habit, gray hair, or lack of teeth. But if old agJe is venerable because of hard experience, my past life though

65 a short one, dedicated to the welfare of my country, also has given me some experience. Far be it from me to compel others to believe me, to pretend to be a little god, a successor of God, to expect people to take my word with closed eyes, bowed head, and folded arms. What I ask is for all to think, to reflect and meditate, investigate and shift in the name of reason the following that I am going to state: First and foremost. Some become treacherous because of the cowardice and negligence of others. Second. Lack of self-respect and excessive timidity invite scorn. Third. Ignorance is bondage, because like mind, like man. A man without a will of his own is a man without personality. The blind who follows other's opinion is like a beast led by a halter. Fourth. One who wants to help himself should help others, because if he neglects others, he too will be neglected by them. One mid-rib is easy to break, but not a bundle of many midribs, tied together. Fifth. If the Filipino woman will not change, she should not be entrusted with the education of her children. She should only bear them. She should be deprived of her authority in the home; otherwise she may unwittingly betray her husband, children, country, and all. Sixth. Men are born equal, naked, and without chains. They were not created by God to be enslaved, neither were they endowed with intelligence in order to be misled, nor adorned with reason to be fooled by others. It is not pride to refuse to worship a fellow man, to enlighten the mind, and to reason out everything. The arrogant one is he who wants to be worshipped, who misleads others, and wants his will to prevail over reason and justice. Seventh. Analyze carefully the kind of religion taught you. Find out if that is the command of God or the teaching oÂŁ Christ for alleviating the suffering of the poor, for 00:1483-5

66 comforting those in pain. Consider everything taught you, the aim of every sermon, the underlying reason for every Mass, novena, rosary, scapular, image, miracle, candle belt, and other things that are forced upon you, dinned iaily into your ears and dangled before your eyes, and discover their beginning and their end, and then compare that religion with the pure religion of Christ, and see if your Christianity 1S not like the milking animals or like the pig that is being fattened, not for its own sake, but in order to sell it at a high price and make mure money out of it. Let us reflect then, study our situation, and poi.lJer. May these few loose lines serve as an aid to your natural intelligence and enable you to proceed along the }lath on which you have already started. Tuba lCo'y dakila sa puhunang pagod,3 and I shall welcome whatever may happen, the usual reward for any one who dares to tell the truth in our country. May you realize your desire to learn and may you not gather in the garden of knowledge the unripe fruit but select what you pick, think about it, taste it before swallowing it, for on the face of the earth all are mixed and it is not unusual for the enemy to sow weeds together with the good seeds in the middle of the field. This is the sincere wish of your compatriot,

JosE

RIZAL

a "My pains shall have their great reward," a line from Kay Selva, dedication in Francisco Baltazar's celebrated metrical romance entitled Florante at Laura. The whole stanza reads in English:

Though this may meet with criticism and mockery, My pains shall have their great reward; If reading this you would heave even a sigh In remembrance of this humble card. Tagalog translation: kung kasadlakcin man ng pula't pag-ayop, 1.u bo ko'y dakt1a 84 puhuMng pagod, kung binabasa mo'y isa mang himut6k 4y rualahanin yaring MgM1utndog.

FILIPINO FARMERS

We applaud the efforts of the minister of colonies to foster agriculture in the Philippines. Proofs of these are the boards, commissions, and committees and numerous projects. We suggest, however, that the farmer be consulted also, the one in direct contact with the land, who makes the land productive with his capital and labor and puts into practice the measures that science and experience suggest. And not only must he not be forgotten but neither must his hands be tied, disabling them for work, as it happens, unfortunately. It is not enough to issue royal decrees and timely measures; they must be enforced and enforced expediently. The Filipino farmer has to struggle not only with plagues and public calamities but also with petty tyrants and robbers. Against the first, defense indeed is permitted; against the latter, not always. We shan explain. After the floods, locusts, fires, bad harvests, and the like, the farmer capitalist has to deal with the constable who takes away from him his laborers for personal service, some public works, repair of roads, 'bridges, and others; with the civil guard 1 who arrests them for various reasons, sometimes for not carrying with them their personal cedulas (certificates), for not saluting properly, for being suspicious persons or for no reason whatsoever, and they manacle them to clean the barracks and thus compel the capitalist to live on better terms with the chief and, if not, they take away his carabaos, oxen, in spite of many protests, returning them later however, as these acts of violence are almost always unjustiPublished in La Solidarida.d, Vol. I, pp. 21-23, 25 March 1889 1 In Spanish, Guardia Civil, the police in charge of maintaining law and order. 67

68 fied and not within the competence of the civil guard. The work is usually delayed three or four days only but at times it is delayed weeks, the animal is lost or dies; and this happens when the civil guard, going beyond its jurisdiction or province, commits these plunders in another province and then returns to its own; hence the question of competency, the coming and going, etc., etc., etc. At times it is 1)ot the constable or the civil guard who opposes so indirectly the minister of colonies. An official of the court or of the provincial government, dissatisfied with the farmer, urgently summons this or that laborer, if not two or three. The unfortunate man undertakes a trip of two or three days, uneasy and distrustful, spends his savings, arrives, presents himself, waits, returns, returns the next day and waits, finally to be asked with a frown and the look of a judge, abstruse and unknown things. He is lucky if he comes out free from this questioning, for not infrequently after it, he is sent to jail from which he comes out later as stupid as before and all are as Christian as ever. Sometimes, rare fortunately, a campania volante (flying squad) sweeps the province. Woe to those who have enemies! It is enough to be in the list of suspects for the head of the squad to pick him up and take him to another place without tri31 or filing of a complaint. Goodbye farm and goodbye everything! See if after this he will be encouraged to plant in other islands. But if the capitalist knows how to grease and through offerings to appease the gods and render them favorable, he has already accomplished much. But still there remain other deities, the tulisanes or bandits. The tulisan is a terrible enemy of those whose farms are far from the towns. One cannot win his favor by giving him gifts or bribing him, as some do secretly, because he would fall into the opposite abyss and would be accused of being an accomplice of malefactors, which is equivalent

69 to being tortured and later exiled. The best remedy against this plague that the government cannot destroy is to arm oneself and expose oneself to a daily and dangerous combat. Well now; for the peaceful tax-payer to use firearms and to be able to defend himself, he needs the good report of the people, the civil guard, and the parish priest, to petition the government in Manila, to have patience, to wait because the petition is not always acted upon except after the end of several months if someone follows it up or if he has a friend of the employee in charge of issuing licenses. All this is very good. What is not so good is that despite the good reports, despite the peace in the province, the abundance of bandits, the good conduct of the farmer tax-payer, and the danger to which he and his farms are exposed, they deny him not only the use of the firearm, or the renewal of the 'license but al~o they confiscate the firearm, which he bought at a fabulous price sometimes, only to be left to rot, to become oxidized, in a corner of the barracks or the townhall, useless to all, except to the bandits, who in this way are the most favored. This is the case of a citizen of the province of La Laguna, owner of extensive lands planted to sugar cane, coffee and abaca located far from the town. That province has been for almost three centuries not only loyal to Spain but "superloyal", one Indio in that province, Captain Francisco de San Juan, having declared war in the name of Spain against the English in 1762 when even the government was submitting to the invader, succeeding with his energy to save the money that the authorities wanted to deliver to the enemy and with which later and with troops of Indios, kept the enemy within bounds. This made me say to a Spanish writer that that Indio was half a century ahead of the Mayor of M6stoles. Though La Laguna is one of the most agricultural provinces and most liable to natural and human calamities, this citizen is denied the renewal of his

70 license, and in spite of all the good reports, they confiscated his firearm. For this reason he had to abandon his farms, losing his abaca crops, for he could not venture out unarmed and he was sure that the authorities who left him thus could neither defend him nor ransom him from the bandits. We are convinced that the minister of colonies and the good Spaniards who love the prestige of Spair. and have an affection for those Islands do not know these details. We, who can cite names, towns, dates, witnesses, and attest other incidents through our own experience or as eye-witnesses, are content to cite this case and we say: Je passe et des meilleurs.2 It would be desirable to correct this, Mr. Minister of Colonies, lest some mischievous men say that the government there 3 being impotent might come to an understanding with the bandits and deliver to them the unarmed inhabitants, that it wants the lands to be cultivated with speeches, projects, and boards and for this reason it binds the hands of the farmer and puts a thousand obstacles on his path, so that he may plant according to the new system. Agriculture is not improved only in that way. It is necessary to aid those who practice it. Those who from their comfortable chairs think otherwise and see the inefficacy of the royal decrees throw the blame for its backwardness to the indolence of the Indio. They do not know with what obstacles he has to contend and they ignore that for a machine to run well, it is not enough that it be built according to principles but also that it be perfect in its details, that everything be levelled, and that no part get out of its proper place. These abuses, that for being unutterably bad become ridiculous, ruin the country and impair the prestige of the I pass on to the best. As Rizal was writing in Spain, he often refers to the Philippines as "there." II

71 government. This system of prevention, of unfounded fears, of unjust suspicions, not only irritates and awakens men but exposes the weakness of the government: Much fear reveals much weakness. This, added to the inability to stop banditry, makes an evil-minded person say that the government is only hard on peaceful and respectable citizens while it fondles or lets alone the rebellious and criminal. This is the usual reproach of independent Indios on Christianized Indios. This behavior of the government there hurts the real interests of Spain and through this way of making discontented men, the government appears as the foremost filibustero. 4 And as we believe that one cannot serve a country better than to tell her the truth, we say this to the Mother Country so that she can apply timely remedy. Hence we ask for representation in the Cortes and freedom of the press i Manila in rder to expose abuses to public opinion. Injustices there do not always find a writer who may relate them, nor every article a generous newspaper that will accept it for its columns; and even if it were not so, through the present road, the remedy always arrives late, if the abuse is remedied at all. We shall conclude by proposing to the minister a reform concerning the granting of licenses for the use of firearms. Inasmuch as they are not granted without the report of the people, of the chief of the civil guard (European), and of the parish priest (almost always European), instead of being issued in Manila, they should be issued by the court of every town, after previous consultation or secret voting of the judge, of the officer of the civil guard (European), and of the parish priest (almost always European). â&#x20AC;˘ To the Spaniards every Filipino who advocated reforms for his country was a filibustero-"a dangerous patriot who should be hanged soon". or "a presumptuous man", according to Rizal in his letter to Ferdinand Blumentritt, Berlin, 29 March 1887.

72 It should not be granted. without unanimity. In this way, it is simplified and the business is shortened, and the time is better employed. There are no other inconveniences but these two: There would be some more unemployed men and hidden enmities could not be satisfied with revenge and secret reports, but on the other hand, the treasury and mankind would be the gainer-the treasury with less employees and mankind with more loyal men and less traitors.

)

TO LA DEFENSA

As we offered in our preceding issue, we are going to antedate our work to examine the article of La Defensa in its issue for 30 March and we shall try to be brief because the Villanueva weekly carries the discussion to a gro!lnd where we cannot follow it, as it is full of mud and very slippery. We said to La Defensa that we did not accept the authority of Mr. Patricio de la Escosura on everything he says, for it is enough to read his Memoria to enable one to see that the Royal Commissary wrote with a certain fear, a certain prudence, bordering on lack of sincerity due to his difficult position, as it is evident even in his boldest passages, as in those wherein he says that the friars are opposed to the teaching of Spanish so that they may remain perpetual intermediaries, that the University was not enough and he proposes the creation of a faculty of medicine and pharmacy, in those passages in which he describes the difficulty encountered by the captain general, proposing to remedy the situation by creating the positions of ministers to head the different departments, etc., etc. We shall not analyze here his words but La Defensa admits that Mr. Patricio de la Escosura should express himself with more sincerity, with more independent criterion, for the high position that he holds gave him a right to do it and it was his duty to express his ideas very clearly. If our colleague wants us to quote his words, we shall cite offhand the following: Page 11: " . . . and those shepherds (friars), generally speaking, suffer nevertheless from a preoccupation that 73

they have gone as far as to contaminate many officials of the government . . . . " Page 12: "In fact, Most Excellent Sir, it is said" (the friars say) "and undoubtedly it is said in good faith that to teach the Indios Spanish . . . would be to furnish them with a medium that they lack now . . . of rising against Spanish rule; that from the moment that they could understand easily the laws and orders of the government, they will di.scuss and comment on them from the point of view of their local interests and for that reason in opposition to those of the Metropolis; that to give these natives an idea of their own rights is to inculcate in them the spirit of rebellion ( ?), or at least to foment their inclination to promote lawsuits or litigations; the superiority of race, which now exalts the Europeans, destroyed thus, it would be impossible to govern these provinces without material force, as it is being done now; and lastly, that the Filipino army, now dependable, because if, for example, the Tagalogs rebel, the Bisayos, hating the Tagalogs, will be on the side of the government, and reciprocally . . . . " (Proof that the tendency of the friars is to foster racial hatred.) Page 15: "The truth is, Most Excellent Sir, that once the Indio is equipped with an education suitable to his capacity and status and finds himself no longer in his present abject condition, it will not be so easy nor so devoid of danger as hitherto to abuse of his good disposition and exploit him without either scruple or mercy, as it has been seen in more than one occasion and place." Page 16: "And the abuses are overlooked by the authorities and their authors remain unpunished." Page 18: "I say that little can be expected from the parish priests in the matter of diffusing the Spanish 1anguage . . . . " "But I always said and I must repeat it: That it would be dangerous to spread our language among the Indios is a

75 preoccupation deeply rooted in these religious orders . . . an error in very good faith without doubt." Page 19: "All that can be hoped for is to neutralize the opinion of the religious orders so that they may not hinder the teaching of Spanish." But enough of Escosura for the present. Let La Defensa study that Memoria with which it is so much in love. It will note that that good gentleman has tried to protect the friars and excuse the charges against them he could not avoid. With regard to what the Villanueva weekly says or insinuates about our way of interpreting matters, we are going to transcribe also some lines of Hurtado de Corcuera and La Defensa can interpret them as it pleases, whether in its favor or for the benefit of Ciruela, it does not matter to us. Here they are: And because the 'rivalry between some persons and the ecclesiastical communitie which do not WEt to appear as vassals of Your Majesty has fulminated cOIf.plaints and revealed blunders and excesses ... divulging long and sinister accounts against the better adjusted procedure of the governor, its authors being without doubt the cause of the scandaZs that affect . . .

In order to give a proof of the arrogance of the religious corporations and their contempt of the civil authorities, he says with respect to an interdiction which had flimsy causes . . . "and so the interdiction remained until the Recollect Fathers of St. Augustine, when they celebrated the feast of San Nicolcis, attained whq,t neither the governor nor the whole town could attain in the celebration of the feast of Our Lady." Further he says: "The governor heard th.at some ecclesiastics tried to flee carrying with them a number of soldiers and sailors who received salaries from Your Majesty . . . in fact it happened that two friars and one clergyman left and carried with them more than 30 soldiers and sailors who had received more than 3,000 pesos as aid from the royal treasury . . . ."

Speaking about the Dominican Fr. Lucas Garcia, the governor of Formosa said in his letter: "He is fond of lawsuits and disputes going as far as to forbid the ringing of bells at night or the saying of 'Praise be the Most Holy Sacrament and the immaculate conception of Our Lady the Virgin Mary, conceived without original sin'; he does not want immaculate to be uttered together with 'Virgin' . . . ." Speaking about a clergyman that some soldiers wanted to detain by order of the governor, Hurtado de Corcuera says: " . . . . instantly many religious of St. Dominic came out to receive him so that they attacked the soldiers and crashed through the guard room and they put him in their convent .. . ." Further below : ". . . . a certain Juan Dominguez, being appointed pilot of the flagship . . . . it was learned that some r eligious had urged and persuaded him to flee with them by way of India. The governor seized him to protect him and issued an 0rder to all the ports not to let depart two religious who were going to escape and they were not satisfied with revealing this fulsomely and so he was excommunicated. But other religious escaped through another route, carrying with them a number of sailors and soldiers. " But, for what are we going to continue since all this can be interpreted as a proof of the vows of obedience of the friars? Does La Defensa want us to cite more paragraphs written by other authors? Does it want us to tell it about scandals and calamities that befell the Philippines due to the envy and ambitions of the religious communities in the Far East, for example, in Japan, Cambodia, China, the Moluccas, the Philippines, and others? As this is a long history whose publication will take up much time and space, in order to please La Defensa, we are going to publish it with historical data and documents provided the weekly of Villanueva y Geltru would buy from us one-

77 half of the edition, assuring it that we are going to do it only to please it because we no longer need to convince anybody else of the pernicious influence of the friars in this century. Europe has expelled them and we don't write for their unfortunate partisans remaining in some corners. They deserve the friars. As to the rest, laying aside data from past centuries, if the weekly wants other newer and more authentic ones, we shall also furnish them without mixing them with phrases that La Defensa uses with a certain satisfaction. We believe that without the need of churlishness, truth can be stated, supported with reasons. With respect to our mistakes in syntax of which La Defensa is so much enamoured, we shall tell it: May we only have to discuss syntax! May the social class that La Defensa defends have no other fault but mistakes in syntax! Then everything wou d be easy! When a fact is discussed, don't go about the bush and above all look out which bush is held, for this deviation can be interpreted as withdrawal or flight. Let us not entangle the question. Let La Defensa maintain its thesis that hatred of the friars will ruin the Philippines; that La Solidaridad maintains the opposite and maintains something more: It maintains that Spain must not and cannot cover with her beautiful flag certain rascalities to the prejudice of her sons overseas. Published in La SoIidaridad, Vol. I, pp. 62-63. 30 April 1889.

HOW TO DECEIVE THE NATIVE LAND

There is great endeavor, much earnest endeavor, to conceal the truth, to mislead public opinion on the means that are necessary to employ so that the Philippines may march toward progress without convulsions, withcut turbulence. The perusal of an editorial of La V oz de Espana of Manila, published in its issue for 27 March last, caused us deep pain. Among other superfluities, without reflection, and with scanty wisdom, the following is found in that editorial "How to Offend the Native Land": The only t ies that are properly social that unite this country with the Peninsula are the Catholic Religion and the traditional respects. Neither the administrative affinities, nor economic progress, nor the new legal reforms, nor even the diffusion of Spanish, nor much less the for e of arms, are bonds that produce between Filipino society and that which lives beyond the seas the unity necessary so that the moral organism that we know by the name Native Land may be considered perfectly rooted in this Archipelago. It is indispensable to 100k for something in the life, in the intimate life, of these races that joins powerfully and profoundly to the Metropolis the mass of the Philippine population; and without any great effort of ratiocL."1ation, it can be understood that any of those things not only lacks efficacy to produce so radical and profitable a result, but that many of them, either because of their own nature, or because of their reckless application, perchance are destined to produce the opposite effect.

As can be seen by the quotation, the Manila newspaper claims that the Philippines does not progress, because she ignores or at least she wants to ignore the efficacy of the means that the Metropolis or her governments employ so that she may enjoy liberty, human rights, modern culture. Certainly La Voz de Espana, far from being the 78

79 organ of the Mother Country, as it calls itself pompously, is the voice of the friars-the voice that resounds in its columns and is reflected in its columns. Because to say that "the only properly called social ties that unite the Philippines with the Peninsula are the Catholic Religion and the traditional respects" is to offend the stainless patriotism and the loyalty of the Filipinos who since Legazpi have been joined to Spain, not for reasons of religion nor of traditionalism but, at the beginning, for reasons of high political convenience, and later, for love, for affection for the Mother Country. To involve the integrity of the mother country in those Islands in the mediation of the religious orders, as the friar organ seeks, is to involve it in the influence of obscurantism, of fanaticism, of oppression, and of tyranny.; and certainly Spain did not plaht in those Islands the invincible standard of Castile so that they might be the exclusive patrimony and feudal dominion of the reactionary friars but rather to assimilate and equalize them with herself, moaning if she moans, unfortunate if she is unfortunate, enjoying progress, liberty, rights, social as well as political, when she enjoys these precious gifts, this inestimable legacy of the French Revolution, systematically anathematized by the friars to their misfortune. Returning to the article in question, where did the Manila newspaper get the idea that to attack the friar is to attack the prevailing religion in those Islands? Religion is one thing and the friar is another: The reactionary Carlist friar, son of the convents, is himself a mean egoist, tyrant and oppressor, enemy of all progress and lover of everything feudal, of everything absolute. To make the friar personify religion and the Mother Country is to personify the vicious, the absurd, the fanatical, and the worst is the disloyalty itself to the same Mother Country. In a certain pulpit of the church of a town in the Philippines, a friar, unworthy to be a Spaniard, hurled these or similar words: "Catholics

80 first before Spaniards," in order to incite to rebellion the plain Indios against the circular, which has nothing antiCatholic in it, issued by the Direcci6n General de Administraci6n Civil (General Office of Civil Administration). But those Islanders, far from heeding such anti-government incitements, demonstrated principally their indisputable Hispanism, unlike that bad patriot friar who delivered those words from a sacred pulpit. Does La V oz de Espana want another clear demonstration? The division of races, who keep it up if not the friars? To deny that the diffusion of the Spanish tongue in those Islands would not bind, would not link their inhabitants so that they might in fact be Spaniards is to lack common sense or to be snobbish which, for the sake of charity, we ought to ascribe to the newspaper La V oz de Espana, attorney ad litem of the religious communities. The Island of Negros is an eloquent testimony which proves that in order to be Catholic, it had not needed friars, that in order to remain loyal, faithful to Spain, it had no need for religious communities. The mission in that Bisayan island (after the expulsion of the Jesuits by the immortal Count of Aranda) was entrusted to poor Indio clergymen and in less than one century, they converted those virgin forests into rich Spanish towns and its inhabitants fervent devotees of Catholicism. After all if, as La V oz de Espana assures us, the religious orders are in fact the only ties that link the Islands of Magallanes to the Peninsula, what are governments for? What is the captain general for? What is the army for? What is the director for? All these are useless and more than useless, an additional burden on the general budget of the nation. It would be 路better to let the friars govern that Archipelago, playing the role of heads of barangay, civil guards, carabineers, etc., etc.

81 For if one binds, the other is superfluous. Either the friars or the civil administration et tertius non est ullus.* Before all things and above all, we call the attention of our rulers to this article in La Voz de Espana which, besides defending the friars, discredits national decorum, and throws down the plans of the Minister of Colonies concerning the diffusion of the Spanish language in those Islands, and indirectly dishonors the dignity and the punctiliousness of our civil representatives in those our distant lands. We shout very loudly that the friars at this historic moment are detrimental to the national interest in the Philippines, because they are an obstacle to the introduction of any kind of liberal reforms which are urgently and peremptorily needed. The Mother Country does not need coarse fine-drawers, like the friars, to Jnite that piece of Spanish territory, to bind Filipino hearts, to found Filipino aspirations on the destinies of Mother Spain. Neither obscurantism and fanaticism, nor oppression or superstitions ever bind nor have they ever bound peoples. On the other hand, liberty, rights, and love group distinct races around the same standard, one aspiration, one destiny. Finally, La Voz de Espana is wrong when it says that the unity of a territory in those Islands is supported by the monastic institutions. To say that the Filipinos love Spain because of the friars is a calumny. The Filipino does not need interested nurses to throw themselves into the arms of the Mother Country and to unbosom in her maternal lap her troubles, her complaints, and her afHictions. He is a wretched man who says that because the Filipino is anti-friar, he is a filibustero. What is La Voz de Espana trying to do in making this kind of denunciation in its coluinns: â&#x20AC;˘ And there is no third one. 003483-6

82 That certain propagandas cannot be beneficial to the country whether from political centers and associations in Madrid or through writings and speeches, or through orders that tend to diminish the influence of the parish priests in the towns and the consideration due every Spanish institution.

Does it want to muzzle us? A Voz de Espana so Carlist like it, capable of silencing us to prevent us from saying the truth and defend our dignity, has not been born yet. To deceive the native land as La Voz de Espana does, is the greatest crime of all crimes.

}

THE TRUTH FOR ALL

Two long articles entitled The Petitions and The Authorities in the Philippines * were published in a Manila newspaper last March to make it known that the principal citizens of the towns are infamous, slanderers, demoralized, litigious, traitors, with energy for evil, indifferent towards the good, who do not know what they do, nor do they do what they know; that all this is the defect of the race, that one must never pay attention to their complaints against their oppressors, who ought to enjoy immunity, etcetera; that the destinies of the people, in short, ought to be placed in the hands of three persons, chosen and appointed by these same impeccable persons and that these three should merely engage in making streets, etc., etc. This is the substance of so many enigmatic clauses, suggestions, and innue dos. That the sins of a few are attributed to the entire race is not a new thing for us. In order to villify a country, it is only necessary to generalize the bad in her, just as to exalt her, it is enough to remind her of the good examples. The system as it can be seen produces fruit$. Neither are we surprised that the mass of the Filipino people, eight million people who fed with their sweat thousands and thousands of their brothers in the Peninsula and shed their blood for Spain, whose language they do not speak, are slandered and insulted with impunity behind a pseudonym. In the Philippines every insult from top to bottom is permitted; reply is prohibited. It seems that Castilian chivalry and nobility were damaged in the long voyage. In the Peninsula, he who insults a paralytic and a dumb would be a â&#x20AC;˘ Published in La Solidaridad, Vol. II, pp. 72-73. 31 May 1889.

coward; in the Philippines .. In the Philippines it is another thing! Laying aside those insults that take shelter behind parapets and memoranda, A.G.D.G., we are going to analyze the background of such masked accusations. We agree that there is much immorality in the Philippines, much confusion, much intrigue, and much misgovernment. But we are not going to blame the people for it; we do not always hold it responsible for another's deficiency and our own. In a house, where the father of the family has unlimited authority, he is responsible for the state of things. The miseries of a people without freedom should not be imputed to the people but to their rulers. In order that one may be responsible, it is necessary that he is master of his actions, and the Filipino people are neither master of their actions nor of their thoughts. This will be bitter to certain ears, but since some want to unearth rags, let the rags of everyone be unearthed. Let us examine how the unfortunate principales of a town were and are made. Save honorable exceptions that there are, we admit that the majority of the so-called authorities, if they are not some poor devils overwhelmed by their office, they are despicable slaves, blind tools of some, cowardly adherents of others, humble and complacent with the whims of their superiors, deaf and tyrannical towards their inferiors and the poor people whose destinies are in their hands. Indeed, we admit that many of them remember least their country, their conscience, mankind, God, and their whole solicitude is to serve in order to command, to bribe in order to exploit, to humble themselves in order to humiliate others and satisfy their vile passions. But, the reason for this? Its origin? We are going to describe once more the internal political life of the' towns of the Philippines so that the government

85 of the Metropolis may be informed and put remedies if it believes itself strong enough to do so. Undoubtedly in every town "there are two parties in embrl{o. One the intelligent, independent, that lives by itself without the need for the support of powerful individuals or protectors, the one that has a thirst for justice and peace, the party full of reproaches for the excesses and tyrannies of certain classes, the party, in short, denounced by its enemies as filibustero for being composed of worthy men and from which will surely come the real filibusteros, if the fatal system followed until now continues. The other party is composed of vagabonds, intriguers, improperly called the party of the friars for obeying and serving them because it considers them a strong support, but towards whom it neither professes love nor respect and whose vile enemies it wUI 'become the day they become useless to it. A small group remains neutral and it is composed of the indifferent. Naturally, of thes two parties, the parish priest, who aspires to give orders to become strong and impose on the rulers, will choose the second for being the most docile, the most malleable, the most blind follower, the best to implement his ideas. Hence the parish priests in their secret reports extol the members of this party as the most loyal and depict the others as the most dangerous to the integrity of the mother country. And many believe it so. As a consequence, the servant, the sacristan, the complacent tale-bearet of the parish priest, thanks to the omnipotent influence of the master in governmental spheres, often occupies the first position in the town with the contempt of the intelligent class, a contempt that the new petty tyra.."1t pays with administrative charges, reports, etc;, aided by his master whom he also serves by serving his own passions. The system is to serve the master so that he will defend him when he is accused of exploiting the poor or he fails in his duties. The question is to have a good protector.

86 The natural consequence is hatred in the opposing party, a hatred that constitutes the desideratum of certain politicians who have no more knowledge nor more mischief than to create divisions and enmities in the towns, favoring this or that party, demoralizing them without suspecting that such weapons can be harmful to them later. He who sows wind will gather tempests, says a proverb. Filipino families that still preserve some modesty and are not contaminated shun to fill these debased and prostituted positions in town governments when left vacant. Educated families, the lovers of their countl'Y, closed themselves up in lugubrious silence . . . and sigh. We know rich proprietors who gave money and b1路ibed the heads of barangay so that they would not vote for them and elect them. Who is the one who has a little shame left who will hold that staff still moist with the sweat of a low and vile hand, that staff at one time emblem of power, now a sign of infamy and enslavement? In these towns generally the burden falls on a poor devil. However, few are those who like these withdraw into their futile stoicism and like Caesar, wraps himself up in his cloak and delivers himself to his assassins. In the majority of the towns there is a struggle. Some, in order not to see their enemies exalted and to expose themselves to their shots, try to place obstacles to prevent vexations; others, and these are the most numerous, carried by the bad example, without solid moral education, want to take part in the feast and say to themselves: "The social machine turns around moved by the blood of the unfortunate: We have a part in the universal tyranny, let us oppress so that we may not be oppressed." A few, very rare, perhaps the madmen, also fight, dreaming of doing good to the people, introducing improvements, justice, honesty, but if they triumph, they do not realize their dream, because either they are removed or they wake up in exile.

87 In this ignoble struggle all means, good or bad, are ~m足 ployed-bribes, gifts, slander, accusations, reports, etc. We know of ruined families who rose again thanks to two years of rule. On the other hand, others who were well-to-do, were ruined in litigation after having paid the voters in advance. And though commonly, the candidate of the people occupies the first place and in the second place the candidate of the friar, thanks to the influence and manipulation of the friar, his candidate wins, and the other can consider himself lucky if he is not banished. This is the case of Manaksa in Kabuyaw. In that way passions are inflamed, in that way resentments are roused, and this is one of the causes of the general hatred of the friar in the Philippines.

The author of the article in La Voz de Espana speaks of the petitions signed by the principaZes who have no knowledge of the matter. We are not going to contradict him, because we know very well and for sometime that many heads of barangay have signed, at the urging of the parish priest, documents and petitions in Spanish whose content was not even read to them. The excuse they gave us was that the parish priest threatened them. Neither do we excuse the cowardliness of such heads of barangay, nor do we applaud the friar's machinations. And if anyone doubts these assertions, may he tell us because we shall cite to him towns and persons who are still alive. Hence the eagerness of the friar that the Indio remain ignorant and blind. Now it will not be difficult that these blindness and ignorance would turn against him and the methods that he teaches are employed to hurt him. However, all the petitions directed against the friars differ from those the friars slip against their enemies in the sense that the former ask the government to clarify the facts while in the latter neither is the law asked to intervene nor is the accused permitted any defense.

88 The writer * of these lines once placed himself at the head of an anti-friar movement stirred by a question from the government. The reply, if it had to be truthful, was going to hurt friar interests. The friars had it answered according to their taste and convenience and not in accordance with truth, but considering that this was to sin against the truth and to fail in the duty of a good subject, the author wrote the reply in accordance with a detailed report, translated it into Tagalog, and read it before all the people and before the very emissaries of the friars so that they could transmit its content to their masters or contradict it if it was contrary to truth. Not even one protested, and all signed it voluntarily, including the friar adherents themselves, un able to refute the evidence. And at that, the author reminded them that by signing they were inviting all the rancour of the powerful What happened? The petition was presented; it passed through all the legal channels . . . and it was laid on the table. The friars wanted to take revenge and the people presented another petition asking for the intervention of the government since the government was the cause of the conflict . . . but the government kept silent, neither did it say yes nor no, it did not hold a hearing, it did not clarify the facts denounced; the government was afraid to fight for the truth and abandoned the people. And the whole petition dealt with agriculture, urbanization~ Mr. Writer of La Voz de Espana! In it the immaculate purity of the friars was not attacked; in its filth was not denounced, because the author of the petition never wanted to stain his pen with the filth with which certain habits are saturated! In it there was nothing else but the question of planting, lands, roads, schools, houses, etc. That petition was signed by all the principales, by the author with his full name, by women. proprietors, Chin~se, servants, laborers-by the whole town. The petition was read to everybody, to foes and friends alike, to the officials, to Spaniards, because .. See "The town of Calamba:'

we have the courage of our convictions and because we believed in the sincerity of the government and in its love of the welfare of the country. Nothing, nothing was done. From all this there remains the vengeance on the poor people, victim of their loyalty to the government and their good faith. Plaridel's La SobeTania Monacal 1 reprints in its appendix some imperfect copies of these representations. The governor of the province can say if all that we assert here is not the pure truth. This is in regard to our own experiences; we keep quiet about what is happening in other towns. La Voz de Espana wants the municipal governments to ask for the construction of buildings, roads, etc. Does the newspaper writer know for sure how such works are carried out? At the expense of the unhappy people, all gratis, with many vexations, and many beatings, and then of what use are they? In the town of Kalamba two school buildings of stone for boys and girls were built at the expense of the town and the gobeTnadoTcillo. 2 The children nevertheless do not come and the buildings now serve as barracks and court house. In the town of Los Banos a hospital was buil~ by laborers snatched from all the towns of the province, each laborer forced by the authorities being paid eight cuartos 3 daily, the ordinary daily wage being two pesetas or four reales fuertes. In addition, sales and charity bazaars were held to defray the cost of the buildings. The architect was a Franciscan brother. The hospital was erected, a palace for the captain general was constructed, agriculture and the towns suffered not a little, and now those lonely buildings are rotting like buildings cursed by so many tears, by the 1 Pla.ridel is an anagram of Marcelo H. del Pilar,Âˇ author of La. Sobenl1l.U& Monacal, an indictment of friar rule in the Philippines. Published at Barcelona in 1889. â&#x20AC;˘ The town's chief executive who also performed judicial duties. He's popularly addressed as Capitan. â&#x20AC;˘ They are equivalent to five centavos today. (1959)

cry of the poor that suffered for their construction. Why are the people who pay their taxes compelled to work gratis? Why do they pay taxes if they are not going to be allowed to live for their families? Do they pay their taxes so that they will be enslaved? Will the money of the taxpayer be used to hire petty tyrants and not to attend to the demands of s'ociety? What? Is the Spanish flag perchance the flag of the slave trade? Does the writer of the article want the people to close their lips to all the immoralities of the so-called ministers of God and of the authorities . . . .? We believe that the writer of the article is not a filibustero knowingly, but remember that when the lips are silent the hands work. Be careful with what La Voz de Manila asks. No, don't clo e the valves, don't drown human conscience, the cry of the people. Air, though a very weak and very compressible substance, explodes and bursts nevertheless when it is c mpressed 00 much. The laws that govern the world of matter are the same in the moral and political world. And we say loyally to the Spanish government: We shall say what we think, even though many be displeased. We want to be loyal to the Metropolis and to her high officials. There is a very mistaken idea about the Filipino people. The writers who have described them slandered them, because in depicting them they have taken as models their servants, that multitude of unfortunate devils without country, education, or home, who go to the great capital cities. They have described those ridiculous characters who swarm like parasites around the offices and the sidewalks. They do not know that the educated class, who seeing so much mud and poverty, shut themselves in isolation. Neither do they know the uncontaminated mass of the people in the provinces, as they neither know their spirit nor their language nor their sufferings.

91 Well now; in this unfortunate struggle between the friars who want ignorance and darkness like the bandit who lies in ambush at night and in mystery and the educated and noble classes of the country who want light, union, direct understanding with Spain, the impolitic conduct of the government, lending itself as an arm of the monastic corporations, hurts the sentiment of the country and the true interests of the Mother Country. The people are undeceived; they see that they are isolated; that the government does not protect them, that it is afraid of its enemy towards whom it is complaisant. The people doubt, hesitate, their love for Spain threatens to go out, their hope in justice weakens, they are tired of extending their supplicating hands. . .. Be careful. The people fight the friars; if the government puts itself on their side unconditionally, it becomes the enemy of the people, it admits that it is an enemy of their progI"ess, and then the government itself will have opened a ew and unfortunate era! To try to plunge the Filipinos into darkness and brutalize them is materially and morally impossible. Our enemies can preach from their pulpits, go to the extreme in all kinds of measures-imprisonment, banishment, censorship, prohibitions, investigations, searches, etc.-but they will not attain their objective. The educated Filipinos, the liberals, who increase every day thanks to persecutions, and we the Filipino youth in Europe who have dedicated our strength to the benefit of our country, we gua't"antee it. They could simulate another uprising, like that of Cavite, and cut off the throats of so many educated heads, but from the blood thus spilled will sprout more numerous and fresher shoots. Before the 路catastrophe of 1872 there were fewer thinkers, fewer anti-friars. They sacrificed inno~ent victims and now you have the youth, women, girls, embracing the same cause. Let the hecatomb be repeated and the executioners shall have sealed their own sentence.

No; be undeceived, those who are obfuscated. It is necessary to attend to the needs of the people, if it is desired to keep their love. The Filipinos can neither be blinded nor enslaved; therefore they must be given liberties and rights. There is no example whatever in history that says that a people in the process of enlightenment can be made to go backward. Decadence does not come until after apogee; a cascade does not go up, a fruit does not become a Hower again. Does the government want to be assured of the love of the Philippines? Give her liberty, treat her as she deserves. Does it want to lose her? Then continue the unjust repressions, close its ears to the clamors of the people, condemn them to slavery. To conclude we shall repeat: There is much demoralization among the Filipinos. The boasted ministers of God and propagators of light (! ) have not sowed nor do they sow Christian moral; they have not taught religion but rituals and superstitions. The people, that they want to call child, have had bad teachers, they have learned bad examples: Like teacher, like pupil. To blame are the government that allows it through weakness, the people through ignorance, and the good who fold their arms through selfishness and wrap themselves in desperate silence. This demoralization cannot be corrected by sealing the lips of the accusers such as La V oz de Espana desires, but by the government inquiring into the cause, persecuting criminals, and may he fall who should fall! Give liberties, so that no one may have a right to conspire, and deputies, so that the complaints and the grudges are not condensed in the bosom of the families and from there become the cause of future tempests. Treat the people well, teach them the sweetness of peace so that they may adore and maintain it. If you continue the system of banishments, imprisonments, and sudden assaults for nothing, if you will punish the people for your own faults, you will make them desperate, you take away from them

93 the horror of revolutions and disturbances, you harden them and excite them to fight. In the Philippines there is no filibusterismo yet, but there will assuredly be a terrible one if the hallooing continues: 1ÂŁ you want the dog of your neighbor to get mad, make it known that it is mad. What more filibusteTismo is there than the filibusterismo of despair?

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VICENTE BARRANTES' TEATRO TAGALO

BARCELONA,

15 June 1889

Most Excellent Vicente Barrantes Most Excellent Sir, They say that the most sensible man has to commit a folly at least while he lives on earth. I, Most Excellent Sir, .who neither boast of being sensible nor even of most excellent, can permit myself to commit one (I have already so many on my conscience) byaddressing to you the following lines. May God and honorable men forgive me for it! Your Excellency published last year four articles on "The Tagalog Theater" -in numbers 359, 360, 361, and 362 of La Ilustraci6n Artis ica of Barcelona. Although it is only now that I have come to learn of them, accept nevertheless my felicitation, for applause and praises, like money, gifts, and other exactions, never come late, as Your Excellency knows very well. And this is not the occasion to say that a asno muc!rto la cebada al rabo/ because while Your Excellency lives, neither I nor anybody can apply to you the proverb, much less take you for a dead ass. I have read the artirles from head to tail (not of the dead ass) and I am very much pleased to find Your Excellency up-to-date in many things. 1 am exceedingly delighted to note the good opinion that Your Excellency has of yourself and the poor one that you have of others, of us, above all, the incompetent and entirely inept Filipinos, because personal satisfaction is a proof of a clean conscience The original in Spanish appeared in La Solidaridad Vol. I, 96-S8 (15 June 1889) and 107-110 (30 June 1889). 1

In English:

Of what use is barley to a dead donkey?

95 and contempt of others is self-mastery, two things that I rejoice at finding in your.majestic and intelligent personality. For the same reason I fail to explain to myself the dissatisfaction of the other Filipinos who had been able to read your articles. Some say that the least Your Excellency occupies yourself with is the Tagalog theater, which Your Excellency could discover whether good or bad, as it exists, and that instead of doing that, Your Excellency breaks loose against the Indios, against the Spanish Filipinos, against Filipino society, mistaking or taking many effects fQr causes and many causes for effects. To this I reply that they are not right and yet they are my compatriots. Your Excellency in fact does not take up the Filipino theater, but indeed the theater and the Filipinos. It is not necessary for a civil governor or chief of the civil administration to fulfill religio:usly his 4uties; it is enough if he misgoverns or administers the country badly and his own interests well and afterwards be unciVil and , other things besides. Your Excellency and I are agreed that names are immaterial, at least in the Philippines, and in the case of titles, all resemble insecticide powder or hair tonic-whether or not it kills Beas, whether it makes the hair grow or fall, this is beside the point; the question is to make money. So then, that Your Excellency does not describe the Filipino theater but instead hurls menacing words to the Filipinos has nothing special. Would that Your Excellency had not occupied yourself with any other thing in your life, at least while you were holding high positions in the Philippines! Others note that Your Excellency must be loaded with bile and must have some great physical or moral incongruity to have so acrid a character _as you have. To this I reply that each one has what he has and as no one has created himself, at least physically, he does wrong in acquiring for that reason a bad temper and an evil heart. What is censurable is that one is not only satisfied with his own but covets besides another's. It is another's whatever is the

96 property of others, so long as by this word "others" is not understood either Indios or Filipinos, or inhabitants of the Philippines. .Your Excellency and I are agreed that such beings ( ?) are creatures neither divine nor human. Others, and this is the most serious, say Your Excellency neither knows the history of the Philippines nor understands Chinese and Japanese theaters and even less the Filipino which you pretend to treat, and that you have written these articles to display a certain dazzling knowledge and extol yourself and to denigrate and humble those unfortunate people, assuage your conscience and satisfy a certain cry of public opinion, as if to answer: One does not rob the brute, one who is not a man should not be treated as such. Homo homini ignoto lupus est/ said the Latins, but the proverb could not be applied because the Filipinos were not ignoti to Your Excellency. The question is to make them non homines in order to be able to be lupus. . As Your Excellency can expect, I, who am such a partisan of yours, had also to defend you against other accusations. For the present they say that Your Excellency from the very beginning slips on an historical question and they cite me this: "At the moment when Miguel Legazpi and Fr. Urdaneta establish on the banks of the Pasig a control more artificial than stable". (Chap. I, paragraph 1.) The stupid Filipinos are surprised that Fr. Urdaneta had been in Manila when history books say that he was sent from Cebu to Mexico, where he died, before Legazpi came to Luzon. These Filipino brutes add that the first time Urdaneta came in the Villalobos expedition neither did he descry from afar the coasts of Luzon, and then at the time he was not a friar but a soldier, spending almost all his time fighting in the Moluccas against the Portuguese. What does your Excellency say of the infamy of these ignorant Indios who pretend that history is more correct than Your Excellency? One has to be â&#x20AC;˘ Man is a wolf towards men unknown to him; figuratively, men prey on on(' :mot.her.

97 a Filipino brute, Most Excellent Sir, in order to harbor such a pretension. It is enough that Your Excellency, a man of superior race, say so for me to believe it against all historical citations, be tney true or not. The point is that it be said by one belonging to the race of demigods. And even supposing that they were right, what? Could not Your Excellency undo the past and through the art of sorcery make Fr. Urdaneta go to Manila, in spite of whatever they may say? Don't we hear of the ubiquity of St. Alphonse of Liguria and of other monks and saints? What God could do cannot the divine person of Your Excellency accomplish in a country of savages ? Well, I lmow so many things that Your Excellency did that surely neither God nor saint will dare or can do! Some who are more fastidious, without leaving chapter 1, paragraph 1, criticize Your Excellency's phrase which says: "As the history of the Archipelago properly begins with our conquest in the last years of the XVI century . . . " These fastidious people cannot accept that the year 1521 when Magellan came for the first time, be taken by Your Excellency as the last years of the century, that is, they cannot agree that the beginning is the end. And the inepts say: "Granting for argument's sake that the history of a country begins for another from the day when he has knowledge of it, undoubtedly the history of the Philippines ought to begin for Spain in the year 1521 when Pigafetta wrote his Primo viaggio int~rn~ al mondo in which he gives very detailed information about the various usages and customs in the Philippines and when Elcano and others on their return to Spain gave information about the country. But we have still older data, manuscripts of the XIV century about the Philippines, and history has to fall back .several centuries still. If Mr. Barrantes does not know more than what he knows, he should write with less presumption." To this I reply with my Achilles argument: It is enough that Your Excellency, a man of st:1pel'ior race, says it for me 003~8S-7

98 to believe it against all historical citations, be they true or not. The "monkeys" have nothing or ought not to reply! Speaking of monkeys, Le Matin of the 26 May 1889 contains a statement to prove the madness of Baron Raymond de Seilliere and his pretensions: "Compared with me", he said, "all men are monkeys. I know everything without having studied anything." But this does not apply to Your Excellency, however much resemblance one may like to see! Against all future observations, Your Excellency, as a man of superior race, had already written at the end of the famous chapter 1, paragraph 1, the following: "Such a study ought not either to be undertaken with hopes of increasing knowledge, but it is done because of the eagerness that afflicts modern men to investigate everything, though they are certain to be lost in a vacuum!" Above all "to be lost in a vacuum", as it happened to Your Excellency! This is a proof of the semI-divinity of Your Excellency. Only that after such a confession Your Excellency, in my humble opinion, ought to have thrown away your pen, because inter nos to be a nuisance in four chapters, to write seventy and more paragraphs, longer than the first and with more breaks and gaps, is truly to be unkind to the readers and above all to be more unkind to me, your devoted defender. Where do I get so many arguments? If your divinity will not help me, I shall have to give up my persistence. I concede, however, that if Your Excellency wanted to vent your anger and ill-humor on readers and defenders, you did very well in writing so many paragraphs, because you have attained your purpose. I tell you sotto voce: "That Your Excellency has caused all of us to burst!" But on with my task. Chapter 1, paragraph 2. They say, to my indignation, that Your Excellency, despite your fumes and abundant bile, has moments of excessive candor. And to prove their assertion, they reproduce what Your Excellency writes at

99 the beginning of paragraph 2: "From the combined documents and memoirs that the conquerors left us, it can be clearly inferred that they gave slight value to the land and its people, the Adelantado himself saying in his letter to the commander of the Portuguese navy in the Moluccas, Gonzalo Pereira, in the first days of his entry in Cebu, that 'they are not of such high quality that will invite the covetousness of anybody.' " And they believe that Your Excellency is more innocent than the very same Portuguese, believing literally the astute words of the great Legazpi! Of such little value were the people and the land that Legazpi concluded with the first, a treaty of defensive and offensive alliance, the Spanish soldiers fighting under the command of the Indio Tupas, his men helping them in their expedition to Manila, having taken from two provinces in one year alone 109,500 pesos in gold. I say that Your Excellency ought not to disregard this and other things as neither did the Portuguese co~ander that for the sake of this "wretched" country had a scuffie with the men of Legazpi after long diplomatic pourparlers; but the point is to demonstrate that the country and its inhabitants were or are not worth a straw and for that all means are proper, even silly ones. Reading the rest of the paragraph, they deduce that Your Excellency has not read the historians who say that the Filipinos had many industries before the arrival of the Spaniards and that they lost them little by little since they took possession of the country for reasons very sad and irritating to say. And they cite Morga, Colin, Chirino, and Gaspar de San Agustin himself, so anti-Indio as Your Excellency. Dr. Hans Meyer, who is no Indiophile, expresses the same opinion, seeing how diligent and industrialized still are the independent and non-Christian Filipinos, and he expresses the fear that they may become as lazy as the others once they are converted. Frankly, Most Excellent Sir, I have no answer to this except the usual one.

100 It is enough that Your Excellency, a man of superior race, says it, etc. God alone is God and Barrantes, superior race, is his prophet. I fear that I may lack answers to the seventy or so paragraphs that remain in which you let loose, to my torment and the joy of the stupid Filipinos, so many monumental errors, manifest so much ignorance, and show yourself so vulgar in your knowledge that less could not be asked from the most ignorant member of Spanish society in Manila, upon whom you look down with so much contempt! Inter nos, Your Excellency does not know a single thing about Filipino writing, nor have you studied it. Your Excellency does not know that weapons and copper objects have been found in the Philippines belonging to this age; Your Excellency knows nothing about the origin of the Filipinos and still you believe that their writing is that of the Malays! Like the ignorant populace who do not go deep into anything or read anything carefully but are satisfied with four axioms that they are told, Your Excellency believes that the civilization of China and Japan had exerted a great influence on the Philippines before the coming of the Spaniards. The Chinese came to the Islands only as mere traders but without ever leaving their crafts, without going into the interior, and without being able even to establish themselves as they had done since the Spaniards arrived. They had no political influence whatsoever. And as to the Japanese, though there are signs and traditions of Japanese origin that make us believe that some of them had come to the Philippines, nevertheless neither did they have political influence in the Philippines before the arrival of the Spaniards. But, what is the use of telling Your Excellency these things, seeing that you will not understand or believe them, because you have neither the background nor have you done preliminary studies ? Your Excellency says. .. "The Portuguese and Chinese whom Legazpi found brought in and others were already established in the country." This is reading history in your own way. What

101 Legazpi found were the depredations and barbarous cruelties coIlllllitted in the Bisayan group of islands by the Portuguese who passed themselves for Spaniards and hastily returned to the Moluccas in order to arouse the hatred of the Indios against the Spaniards; and about the Chinese, on account of a typhoon, a vessel of theirs was seized by the inhabitants of Mindoro. Legazpi freed it and invited the Chinese to increase their trade, promising them pr~ tection. "As to ceramics and clothes, some curious objects that have been found reveal Chinese or Japanese origin." Neither is this accurate, for the celebrated ancient jars that Morga already talked about and about which Jagor writes a fine ch~ter, though they are much appreciated by the Chinese or Japanese, they are not however made by them. I give up then defending Your Excellency as to the remainder, because] see that the effort is far above my ability. Your Excellency speaks of the Chinese and Japanese theaters and I note that you have not studied them and know them as well as the Filipino. Why has not Your Excellency gone out with an interpreter to study these dramatic performances once and several times as various inepts and lazy Filipinos have done, among them the "monkey" who writes this, in the theaters of China and Japan? Your Excellency would say that the demigodliness of your race did nvt permit you to make such studies and you contented yourself with what some travelers said. In this I grant that you are right, but I remind you that the demigods never talked to us about the Chinese and Japanese theaters, and in this regard Your Excellency sets a bad precedent. But why the inept Filipinos do not reflect or have in their socialliÂŁe anything of the Japanese or Chinese theater

102 (which could not get to the Philippines before the Spaniards, for Japanese drama never touched the Archipelago); why the Filipinos do not preserve anything of what they have seen, Your Excellency deduces they lack the spirit of assimilation. Frankly I am annihilated. Those who disrespectfully laugh at you argue: Does the Spanish race by chance lack the spirit of assimilation for the mere fact that its literary history in the first centuries of the Carthaginian occupation does not record remains of Greek grammar? Should it be deduced from this that the Spaniards are inept? The Filipinos lack the spirit of assimilation. Well, do not Your Excellency and others say that the Indios for their facility in "imitating" things are some "monkeys"? Did they not assimilate easily as Your Excellency recounts later Spanish dramatics, in spite of its little vigor, poor actors, and worse plays? What would you answer us if we would put this question to you: Your Excellency, suppose that a Roman proconsul, after exploiting and robbing the government and the Spaniards, then a Roman colony, upon his return to Italy, in order to escape the censure and the complaints of the exploited, should go about proclaiming that the Spaniards are brutes, inepts, not men, because they neither had writing, nor did they know how to adopt Greek, Phoenician, and Carthaginian literature, n or did they have tragedies or comedies, nor could they even imitate, even badly, the plays that Eunius, Plautus, and Terence wrote? Would the proconsul be right then to insult an entire people and justify his depredations? To these gentlemen I say, Most Excellent Sir, nego paritatem. 3 Your Excellency has nothing of the Roman proconsul, and if we, like the Spaniards of that time, do not reflect foreign dramaturgy, on the other hand we had our own writing, more or less imperfect, but writing after all, that we used, which neither the Celts nor the Gauls nor the Iberians nor even the CeltiberiaDs possessed. Great â&#x20AC;˘ I deny likewise.

103 proof that we are inept and stupid and incapable of civilization! Your Excellency itself says that the first theatrical representation that could be discovered in Spain, as the child of the new civilization, though it was in Provencal, dates from the XII century, that is, fourteen centuries after the golden age of Latin drama (which must have passed through Spain, for the Romans carried their customs, laws, language, and civilization everywhere, evidence of it being the ruins and mementoes found in Spain) and sixteen centuries after the era of Euripides and Aristophanes! And how many centuries ago did Spain bring her dramaturgy to the Philippines? Does not Your Excellency say, though inaccurately, that the first theatrical representation was in the time of Corcuera, 5 July 1637? And Your Excellency wants the stupid and inept Filipinos do in one century what the superior and intelligent Europeans could not accomplish in fourteen centuries? And nevertheless, Your Excellency says that in 1750 the rough Filipinos already performed in a comedy as actors. What European nation, after one century of Roman rule-why do I say after a century, after twelve centuries-has translated into national verses the Aeneid, some comedy of Plautus, or any other Latin or Greek play, as Your Excellency claims the Tagalogs and other Filipinos did with the Pasion and various books and comedies? Your Excellency says that the Pasi6n was translated into the principal dialects of the country in the xvn century, that is, a century after, but you have not read what CoHn says on page 54: "They are very fond of writing and reading. Hardly was there a man, or less a woman, who did not know it and use it even in devotional matters those who are already Christians. From the sermons they hear, the stories, lives of the saints, and prayers they compose religious poems, for there are such accomplished poets among them who translate with elegance into their language any Spanish comedy. They use many booklets and devotional books in their own tongue and written by their own

104 hand. This is affirmed in the manuscript history of Fr. Pedro Chirino to whom was entrusted in 1609 the examination of these books by the Provisor and Vicar General of this Archbishopric." This is what the Spanish Jesuit Colin says who spent many years in the Philippines and wrote her history about 1640 or so. We do not want to cite further, because it would be throwing it away. There are some which are so precious that they are truly pearls. All this indicates that the Filipinos are a people that cannot be civilized, and Your Excellency is of superior race. Everything that Your Excellency says about the corridos 4 could be true, but the point is that Your Excellency does not know which are the works that the Filipinos call corridose The Filipinos distinguish them from the awit, a n~atter that Your Excellency need not know either. The purpose is to slander a people and in order to slander them, knowledge is unnecessary. What you say about the Pasion is interesting, but Your Excellency could have told us from what original work was translated the version so much in vogue among the Filipinos, and then prove it. The fact that other similar or analogous works are found in other languages, does not mean to say that the later ones are translations of the former. Otherwise, three Gospels would be translations of that of St. Matthews, and so of other works. Your Excellency says: "Although there is but one step from the recitative and vocal music to stage representation, it seems unquestionable that the Pasion did not lead to it among the Indios . . . ", and afterwards he weakens on this principle with insulting reflections on the whole morality of a people. Certainly Your Excellency could have saved â&#x20AC;˘ In the corrido or korido, as it is written in the Filipino language, each verse has 8 syllables; in the awit, 12 syllables. Then the awit is read in a slow, singsong manner. As to their subject matter, there is no marked difference between the korido and the awit; both usually deal with tales of chivalry or lives of saints and martyrs.

105 the succeeding paragraphs if you had studied deeply the matter. Yes, Most Excellent Sir,. there are dramatic scenes in the Pasion; all the Filipinos would tell you so. When I was a child I saw the temptation on the mountain and the burial scenes represented on the stage in private houses. 5 But what happens to Your Excellency with regard to this is the same as with the Filipino comedies-you have not seen them, therefore there are none, therefore the stupid Filipinos ought to be insulted. Weare going to give more careful attention to Filipino art and Philippine literature when more serene days shine. Then we shall say which stage representation was purely indigenous, which was exotic, brought by the Spaniards, which was the product of this mixture, which were the most notable works, etc. In the meantime, Your Excellency may please excuse me if I do not now reveal these glories or little manifestations 0 the spirit of my country. Frankly, I do not want to see mentioned the name of Your Excellency in the history of the arts of my native land. However poor and crude they might be, however infantile, ridiculous, and puny Your Excellency may hold them, nevertheless they preserve for me much poetry and a certain aureole of purity that Your Excellency could not understand. The first songs, the first farces, the first drama, that I saw in my childhood and which lasted three nights, leaving an indelible remembrance in my mind, in spite of their crudity and absurdity, were in Tagalog. They are, Most Excellent Sir, like an intimate festival of a family, of a poor family. The name of Your Excellency which is of superior race would profane it and take away all its charm. 6 Mariano Ponce in his Folk-Lore Bulaqueno, published in La Oceania Espanola, Manila, says the following: "Until now, in the town of Baliwag, Province of Bulacan, people still observe the traditional custom of staging m the public square on Easter Sunday the tragedy titled The Beheading of Longinus attended not only by the townspeople but also by those of neighboring towns and provinces." (LIS Solid4ridad, Vol. I, p. 109, footnote.)

106 And we shall try to finish quickly. I shall leave aside many observations in your articles. I will overlook that of "the Malays of Colombo and Ceylon" that Your Excellency states in chapter 3, paragraph 3. I believe that Your Excellency does not refer to the Indians of Caucasian race, inhabitants of Ceylon, but to some other Malays who had accidentally gone there, unless Your Excellency wants to alter ethnography. Of course I know that being of superior race, you can do anything. In that case, you could have said also "the Malays of Madrid and Spain, or of London and England, of Paris and France", because it seems that for Your Excellency the capital of a country does not belong to her. But Your Excellency, being of superior race, can make the Singhalese Malays and of Colombo, capital of Ceylon, whatever you may want 01' fancy. They are all toadeaters and of dark color. Your Excellency will say that nt night all cats are drab; therefore all those of dark color are Malays. The chulos (rogues) of Madrid call them Chinese, however. Take note, Your Excellency, your fellow countrymen, the chulos. And skipping all, except the last one, for which not even I, your ardent defen1er, can forgive you, the conclusion, in which you say: " . . . because the carrillo G of Magdalena Street had dared to stage Don Juan Tenorio, a play that was in fashion among perverted people because a native actor of the Filipino theater was wont to behead him frequently . . . ." I say that I cannot forgive Your Excellency for it and I repeat it, in exchange for your fury and your antipathies, in exchange for the loss of all my good services and my work. . . . I cannot forgive you, no Most Excellent Sir, I cannot permit that Yow' Excellency convert into "a native actor of the Filipino theater" that actor of superior race, of the same race as Your Excellency. How? Your Excellency lowering thus aÂˇ demigod to the most unworthy â&#x20AC;˘ Ca.rrillo was a puppet show. the forerunner of the motion picture..

107 category of a native, only because he did not play well his role? Look out, Your Excellency, if that system is generalized, the Filipinos are going to be more numerous than the Chinese, I say, they are going to dominate the world, and perhaps, perhaps I may have for compatriots many Most Excellent Sirs and other titles besides, which would be a calamity. Your Excellency, the whole Manila public, all that society that Your Excellency says is apathetic and inert, the stupid Tagalogs of Luzon and I, another Tagalog and another stupid man, we know very well who is that actor . .. Be careful, Most Excellent Sir, someone may sue for damages! Abandon, Your Excellency, your intention of studying the bibliography of the Filipino theater, because I know which school teachers, which clerks have furnished you with the translation of some works. Be contented, Your Excellency, with generalities for thus you will commit yourself less; do not go dow to the bottom, lest what happened to Schiller's diver befall you. He was saved the first time but the second time he was drowned. This time Your Excellency found a defender; who knows if you will have the same luck later. And now by way of farewell, I have to tell you why you have inspired me with so many sympathies and I have appointed myself your defender. Seeing that after you have twice occupied high posts in my country and knowing many of the things that you have done and attempted to do, I was delighted that my homeland, my race, the whole Filipino society, everything that I love and revere, only deserve the contempt of Your Excellency and inspire you with hatred and aversion. This time I speak sincerely, Most Excellent Sir. The greatest insult from Your Excellency is for my country an honor, because, in spite of how miserable, ignorant, and unfortunate she is, it seems that she still retains one good quality. God reward Your Excellency for the insults and contempt with which you honor

108 the Philippines in general! Thunder, Your Excellency, slander, denigrate us, put us on the last step of the zoological ladder, nuthing matters to us. Stir up the ire of everybody against the Filipinos who protest against such insults, against the grandchildren of those who have shed their blood for Spain, for her flag, to extend her dominions in the Orient, to preserve her colonial empire against the Chinese, Japanese, Mohammedans, Dutch, Portuguese, and English, to help even the countries who are friends of Spain; accuse us of being ingrates and filibuste1'os only because we have a sense of honor and because we want to protest against shielded outrages. It does not matter! We shall continue on our path, we shall remain faithful to Spain, while those who guide her destinies have a spark of love for our country, while she has ministers who plan liberal reforms, while the toll of invectives does not erase from our memory the names of Legazpi, Salcedo, Carriedo, and above all the names of the Catholic kings who protected from afar the unfortunate Malays of the Philippines!

A PROFANATION

In the town of Calamba, Province of La Laguna, Philippines, two citizens, both prominent and highly respected and beloved of their fellow townsmen, died of cholera on 23 May last. The cholera attack was ~o rapid that they died in less than 20 hours. One of them was a brother-in-law of Rizal, author of Noli me tangere, and was called Mr. Mariano Herbosa, and the other, Mr. Isidoro Alcala, and both were senior deputy officials. Immediately the coadjutor, Fr. Domingo Afionuevo, enemy of Rizal and of his brother-in-law, telegraphed to Manila in these terms: Mariano Herbosa, Rizal's brothFr-in-law, has died. He had not confessed since his marriage llmtil t~e time of hi!> death.

The ecclesiastical governor replies to the parish priest ot Calamba in telegram number 6608: "Telegram received, the information being true, we deny him ecclesiastical burial.

In accordance with this, they buried Mr. Mariano Herbosa in a hill outside of the town and the other who died in the same way, but who was not a brother-in-law of Rizal, in the cemetery, costing his family more than 55 pesos, although the body did not pass through the church. No one has a right to complain just bec~use a body lies buried here or there, in a land belonging to the church, or in another that belongs to the estate of the Dominican fathers. Corpses will rot in any grave, there is no ground more honored than others, the ground of the cemetery is not the only one created by God, just as that of hills and mountains has not been m.oulded by the devil. The sun illuminates the entire earth, the rain waters the earth with109

110 out distinction nor preferences in accordance with different climates, the breeze caresses it equally, and nature does not make flowers grow more in the cemeteries than in other places, at least in the Philippines. On the other hand the family of the dead ought to be grateful to the priests for this revenge, for besides not costing it anything, it saved the corpse, who in life was a man of great talent and cleverness, from contact with the corpses or so many rough men and the insults of the grave-digg~rs who, when least expected, dig up remains still very fresh, and from paid prayers said without either faith or piety by the priest who officiates in a hurry, with a certain loathing mingled with laziness. Over the hill where the corpse rests 01路 rots, the breeze from the lake paSS2S, purifying the atmosphere. There the sun shines and rain does not inundate it as it happens in the cemetery of the town of Calamba. There his family and friends can visit him sure that they will not catch any fever, sure that they will not breathe any deleterious molecule. To God who has created all t~lings and all beings, without excepting the priests in the Philippines, to the Christian Religion that preaches love and not mean vengeance and gives more attention to the soul than to the body or matter, what does it matter to have a grave in a hill and one in a flooded cemetery? To man, to a philosopher, to a freethinker, to the modern spirit, what hus the ground in a cemetery exploited by a religious caste that is preferable to the ground in a hill that serves for a morning and hygienic stroll and which produces useful plants that nourish other creatures? Nothing. The incident in itself then has nothing bad or prejudicial and all the friends and members of the family of the deceased understood it thus. But those which should be offended are religion, justice, and the government since its duty is to govern and not to permit stupid and extravagant revenge.

111 The Catholic religion ought to regard itself as offended because it has served as a plaything and instrument of vile passions. It should consider itself humiliated for having as member a liar and impostor, like the one who sent the telegram saying that Mr . Mariano Herbosa, since he got married, had not gone to confession, which was untrue, and the one who said it lied like an ignoramus and a villain. First, he could not possibly know whether he had confessed or not during the period of twelve years, inasmuch as he had not followed him at every step. Neither was he the only priest to whom everybody must confess nor even if he were so, he could not write down the names of all the persons who confessed to him. We know for one that the deceased used to confess to the priests of the neighboring towns, like Kabuyao and Los Banos, and even to the Jesuit priests of Manila, 'flS he did in 1877, a very common custom in the Philippines, when townsmen and parish priests know each other too well. That he was not able to confess at the hour of his death was not surprising, for he was attacked by cholera, dying in less than 20 hours, and we are certain and we can assert that the very same priest who is persecuting him has a horror of this malady, so much so that during the epidemic of 1882, he always went about with his nose covered with a handkerchief, a habit that he kept in the chw'ch and even when he was on a visit in private houses. And moreover, do not many die without confession and for that reason they are buried elsewhere? What is the purpose besides of putting in the telegram "Rizal's brother-in-law", if his purpose is not mean, revengeful, and infamous? What has Holy Religion to do with kinship? What is the purpose of this insinuation in so sacred a thing as the things related to religion ought to be? Justice is insulted because it is an indecent slander to the memory of a person who had been a good son , a good husband. a good father, a good Catholic, and a good

112 Christian, of one who had loaned his home to destitute sick people to whom these very same priests had denied their aid, of a man who fed and who took care of poor mothers who suffered from loathsome though not shameful maladies t only for the love of humanity and for Christian piety. The Christian work that the deceased had performed without being obliged to do it had never been dreamed of by his persecutors. He belonged to a family of benefactors of the town church. The greater number of the images in gold and silver that adorn the altars of the church are donations of his family. Belonging to his family are the Holy Sepulcher, the Virgin of Aransazu, the Image of the Third Fall, Mary Magdalene) St. J ohn, Jesus of Nazareth, and others. Those andas * and silver carts were the family fortune and he took care of those images and he spent his time and money on them. And only for being "Rizal's brother-in-law" they deny him church bcrial! And, Rizal's family to whom he wus related was another benefactor of churches, almost with CiS many religious images and silver carts as the other! If we have to deny church burial to all those we believe have not confessed since they got married, grass will grow on the paths leading to cemeteries. Ask every honest man in Spain and the Philippines if they are better Catholics than Mr. Mariano Herbosa, if they hear Mass on holidays like he did. An adulterer ldlls his paramour and afterwards commits suicide and nevertheless for being the son of kings, he is buried in holy ground and a chapel is erected on the spot of the adultery, assassination, and of the suicide. A young man, a classmate of this writer, committed suicide and they buried him in the cemetery of Paco in Manila. But a good man dies, a respectable person, an heir of so many beneâ&#x20AC;˘ Andas are frames with shafts on which religioUs images are placed to be carried on men's shoulders. Sometimes wheels are attached to them and they are pulled by men or devotees of the saint.

113 factors of the church, nephew of a priest, educated by a priest, the protector of the poor and destitute, and for being Rizal's brother-in-law, they bury him in a field! To the Spanish people, to all honest Catholics, to all noble Spaniards, to the free and intelligent press of Spain, to the liberal and sensible government of Mr. Becerra, we denounce these injustices! We are sure that these incidents have not been known before by the civil authorities. General Weyler may not know it. In the Philippines there is no free press, but here in Spain where it exists as guardian of good sense, justice, and liberty, here we protest against this insult inflicted on mankind on the person of one of its members and to the Spanish nation on one of its subjects! Let it not be said that in the XIX century we have different ~ays of understanding justice! It is the turn of the government to assuage the offended sentiments of a peop[e, the grief of a widow, and to vindicate the memory of a father that ought to be venerated by his innocent orphans. It is the turn of the government to see if it is time to secularize the cemeteries, as it is done in Spain and other cultured countries in order to prevent this childish and posthumous revenge, so that the dead, those who have ceased to exist, may be respected. Unfortunately the evil is not new; it dates back to the remote past. Rizal had already denounced it in the first pages of Nali me tangere. His adversaries are only showing that he is right. Published in La Solidaridad, vol. I, pp. 137-139. 31 July 1889. This article was unsigned, but it was written by Rizal and sent to La Solidaridad accompanied with a short letter in Tagalog from Rizal to Mariano Ponce dated Paris, 22 July 1889â&#x20AC;˘ 003483--8

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NEW TRUTHS

With the title "Philippine Affairs" La Patna publishes in its issue for 4 July 1889, Madrid, a letter of Mr. Vicente Belloc Sanchez attacking the reforming tendencies of a Manila journalist who signs with the pseudonym of Abenhumeya. 1 We don't have the honor of knowing this correspondent of El Globo nor have we read the article Mr. Belloc impugns; but some assertions of this gentleman compel us to write and join the debate, not because Mr. "Abenhumeya" needs a defender (he can very well defend the principles he maintains) but because the subject is of very general interest and because it discloses and maintains- ideas that more than debatable have much of the appearance of being erroneous. It tries to inculcate: 1st, that the introduction of reforms into the Philippine Archipelago can ruin our peaceful and maternal rule and consequently it is necessary to preserve our rule and not to limit the present field of action of the religious orders; 2nd, that the friars there are good models of rulers, counselors, kind to their parishioners, hospitable, etc. etc., while there are Spaniards who are shameless, ungrateful, and even thieves of horses and carriages; 3rd, that we the Indios of the Philippines are nothing less than savages and that the friars in 25 years civilized us, made laws for us, etc., etc. It is true that before asserting these things, Mr. Belloc states his qualifications: He stayed twelve years in the 1 Jose Antonio Guillen, a Spaniard of long residence in the Philippines. He attacked Governor Emilio Terre!o and the friars, especially Fr. Payo, for the disaster of the cruiser Filipinas built at Hongkong. He died at Barcelona about the end of 1889.

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115 Philippines, he traveled through all the provinces inch by inch; he studied the country from the religious, moral, economic, and political points of view; he tried to delve into the character and manner of life of the Indio, etc. Mr. Belloc gives this and many other things in his favor and asks Mr. "Abenhumeya" what are his titles to decide with such absolute sureness affairs of so much transcendental importance. Mr. "Abenhumeya" will show his credentials at the right time to Mr. Belloc that he held positions in the judicial and financial branches of the government that justify his right to speak on things affecting the country. We, in conformity with this new rule, are going to state our titles before we attempt to discuss the ideas supported by Mr. Belloc. We stayed twenty-one years in the country and we have returned to it after an absence of six years and if we had not traveled through all the provinces inch by inch like Mr. Belloc, it was Because in our time we Indios needed passports to travel :from one province to another and we still have to be grateful if the civil guards would recognize them as valid. On the other hand the few provinces that we visited, we traveled through them by foot; we studied the country from every possible point of view and even from sad experiences. We did not try to understand the character of the Indio, because we are also Indios ourselves and because we were first educated among pure Indios, in the towns of Indios, afterwards in college among Indios, Spaniards, and mestizos, later among pure Spaniards, and afterwards among foreigners, always with our gaze fixed on our country. If these are enough for us to join the debate on things pertaining to our country, we shall go ahead, and we go to the first question: The introduction of reforms can ruin our peaceful and maternal rule and consequently the friars must not be disturbed in their delightful dominion.

116 If the writer of these lines were really a filibustero as his adversaries depict him, he would try to support the thesis of :Mr. Belloe, a thesis ,vhich had always been posed formerly whenever an attempt ,vas made to repress a little the excesses of the friars. I would wish that the government sleep, allowing itself to be led, to be discredited more and more, to continue under tutorship, like a big imbecile, and thus the Filipino people-whose thoughts he knows for being one of them-may one day rise up, burdened already with so much tyranny, and so much imbecility, and close its hand that it has for so long kept open, so that it may begin to brush away the weak government as well as the mischievous coxcombs. But no; our adversaries do not dispose of our political convictions and for that reason we are going to put to Mr. Belloc this question: On what is that peaceful qnd maternal rule based that It would fall like a castle of cards upon the mere introduction of reforms by the government? Is it because the Spanish Government has no other support there than ignorance, oppression, all the possible backwardness and all the abuses, in all its branches? Is it because that rule is like those skeletons that are found in some cemeteries that at the slightest touch are reduced to ashes for being extremely old? Is the peaceful rule assured and maintained by the friars like a soap-bubble, like a noli me! tangere? 2 What a grand rule that is then! And in three centuries the Spanish Government has done nothing to secure the love of the Filipinos, the friars have done nothing to make the Philippines love Spain so that upon the introduction of reforms everything will topple down? If what Mr. Belloc says were possible, I would have to admit that all that pretended and boasted power that the friars built up in the Philippines is nothing more than shadows, fog, phantoms that vanish with a little light, unless the friars admit that they have made that rule for themselveS) for their own J

Don't touch me.

117 use, and therefore they should not come around asking anyone for gratitude and calling themselves patriots and civilizers. But laying this aside, can Mr. Belloc tell us, can all the partisans of the friars and all who threaten the government tell us why introducing a reform, why making the religious orders comply strictly with their duty and each one work in his own sphere, all that edifice would sag and tumble down? This is always reiterated as a threat, but it is never shown why and many come to believe it, and the government with a patience superior to that of Job allows it to be said and shouted and does not comprehend its reach. That is to say that there to govern is to misgovern, that the whole organization is so corrupt, that disorder is its normal state, its second nature, in such a way that order is abnormal there and would only be a perturbing factor, like what happened to that good professor who, accGstomed to having lazy and turbulent st udents, had an access of ire on the day when his students knew their lesson and sat down quietly on their benches. That is to say in addition that the government is ignorant, impotent, despicable, and is supported only by dint of plasters, crutches, tricks, props, etc. Its most severe enemies cannot say worse things to discredit it. But, supposing that all these were true, that the government there governs only because the friars support it, supposing that the Filipino peopie were an enemy of the government and only live in peace with it because the friars keep them in submission., as Mr. Belloc claims ; admitting that the Spaniards irritate the Indio with excessive burdens and that the friars restrain the ill humor that often attacks the native due to the blunders of the administration ; admitting all these and even more, we ask: Is this sufficient reason to perpetuate the stat路us quo. for the government to refrain from correcting its blunders and to prepare itself for a more decent future? Why could not the government

118 emancipate itself from the tutelage of the friars? The renowned General Salamanca, 3 in spite of his fame and his sword, hides behind the friars at the very session of the Senate and in fear asks for their protection when he dreams of possible disturbances in the Philippines; well and very good, because valor is not the foremost quality necessary to a general but prudence; all that is very good, but a government ought to act in another way; it ought to know how to curb its fears, show more confidence, more dignity, and above all to think of the future. What is going to happen to it if it is contented with the eternal friar tutelage? The exploited people is getting educated and intelligent, in spite of the four convents,4 and when it opens its eyes and finds itself with an idiotic government that wraps itself in the folds of the cassocks, what is going to happen then? Is it not better to try now to mend the mistakes of three centuries of neglect, to win its sympathies as a mother tries to regain the affection of a son whose education and childhood have been entrusted to mercenary hands? Moreover, either the reforms are good or they are bad; if they are good, we cannot understand why they would imperil the paternal rule more than the abuses they correct; if they are bad, the government deserves the people's disaffection and the people would turn to the friars and recognize their most excellent kindness or it would get rid of both. But we don't believe nor do we want the Filipino people to believe that the government of the Metropolis is a suicide and that our first rulers are stupid. In conclusion: With the system followed by the partisans of the status quo, the people are slandered in the eyes of the government, being depicted as its enemy which. obeys 3 General Jose Salamanca, a Spanish senator, who started a debate on the floor of the Senate on account of a demonstration against the friars and Archbishop Payo at Manila on 1 March 1888. 4 The four religious corporations established in the Philippines: Dominican, Franciscan. Augustinian, and Recollect.

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it only thanks to the good words of the friars. The government loses prestige in the eyes of the foreigner, of the Filipino people, and of Spain, as a puppet government, a minor, a government that avails itself of tricks and frauds, at the mercy 0P some religious corporations, and it has to deceive the people to get money from it, in short, something like a company of charlatans disguised as executioners. Whether the friars there are angels, models, saints, and many Spaniards are thieves of carriages, horses, etc., we don't want to say anything. It can be true that the friars are so good that barbarous Spain and ignorant Europe do not want them. Some day we shall civilize the Old World with our religious communities. Neither do we want to say anything for the present about what the friars have done in the Philippines and what savages we were before they came. It is a subject we shall discuss exten ively in the future. It is enough to say that according to three religious, when the Spaniards arrived, all the Indios knew how to read and write in their own characters, they had their own traditions and legends, and now only 70 per cent of them know how to read and write. These religious are Fr. Chirino, Fr. Colin, and Fr. Font. Published in La SoUdaridad, Vol. I, pp. 130-132. 31 July 1889.

CRUELTY

It is an ungrateful task to intervene in a dispute and defend persons who are neither armless nor paralytic or whose pen is kept down or who do not need defenders. For that reason we hesitate to answer the article of Bachelor Manuel de Veras,l published in the satifical magazinp Manililla of Manila, 1 June 1889. Moreover, there are other reasons. The character of Manililla (a weekly, illustrated, comical, and humorous) explains the kind of attack and precludes very serious reply. The author, despite his apparent evil intention, his irritation, and his coarse jokes, does more harm to himself than to the illustrious Professor Ferdinand Blumentritt, and his attacks are personal rather than arguments and reasons. But there are certain considerations that oblige us to defend him or to simulate a defense, if one who does not feel really attacked can need defense. Mr. Blumentritt, because of his love for Spain and the Philippines, is now the target of some childish Spaniards and gross insults and it seems that it is the duty of Spaniards and Filipinos to defend him, at least for the purpose of protesting against those attacks and to prove that we know what is justice and what is gratitude. Because, if not, the worthy Austrian professor could curse the hour he began to advocate for the rights of Spain, to learn her language, to study her history, to wish the welfare of her colonies, devoting to that nation his time and his life, only to encounter later insults instead of considerations, ingrates instead of grateful men! No; under pain that Bachelor Manuel de Veras himself might laugh at our can dour for taking seriously his sallies 1

Pseudonym of Manuel Rincon, a Spaniard.

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121 against our learned Austrian professor, we are going to make a defense proportional to, the attack, for we prefer to be taken as naive rather than ingrates and ill-bred. There is a certain irritation against Blumentritt for dealing with Spanish affairs. Another writer from Manila already asked him who had given him candles fOT the funeTal. 2

While he defended the rights of Spain against foreign nations, against the Germans themselves, against Bismarck himself, while in his writings he tried to recover the glories of Spain and to excuse or explain the defects and faults of the rulers and the religious corporations, everything was excellent, they praised him and decorated him, all considered him learned, no one doubted his learning, no one asked him why he held a candle at the funeral, not even Bismarck despite his fame of tyrant and absolute. Ah! Happy days were those . . . .! Then, neither the Indios themselves, who were almost he only ones who were censured in his workS (thanks to the description that those who now and then call themselves their fatheTs OT theiT bTotheTs made of them) protested or complained but rather they looked upon him with sympathy for his disinterestedness and his learning and they excused some of his estimates or prejudices infused by the books he had studied. But, according as the professor studied the matter and came in contact with the oppressed and slandered race, his estimates also were modified. In order to judge a case, it was not always good to hear only one side, and then he understood that not all the injustice was on the side of the Indios, just as neither were virtues, reason, and justice a monopoly of the Spaniards. Then his love for Spain and the Philippines moved him to say the truth in order to put the Mother Country on the alert, to make her understand 2

Literal translation of a Spanish saying meaning "what right has he

to meddle in the affair?"

122 her interests and the abyss that was opening at her feet; and hence the ire of the gods! Ah! Gil BIas de Santillana! 3 Why do not his enemies discuss with him, why do they reply to his arguments and alleged data with mud and filth? And this word is not a figure of speech but it is the content of the article in which the Bachelor attacks him. He says at the end: For Blumentritt is a zero who is looking for a figure to give him courage, inasmuch as he alone does not have it. Thus, his friendship with the other zero is explained. And hence between the two, by placing Philippine unity ahead, they may have real courage. One and two zeros. Then. . .. The number one hundred.

If this end of the article will be examined, it will have nothing funny about it, for it is dirty, above all to tho')e who have traveled through Spain and know how their number cientos are. The author of the article has the modesty not to appropriate this funny joke and he attributes it to a person of very renounced merit, resident of the Philippines, etc., etc. Weare very sorry for the merit, for the Philippines, and for Manililla. One can be a person with many epithets and etceteras without being dirty and a magazine can be funny without being indecent. Besides, there is one thing. When one picks up rubbish to hurl against some one, there is; to begin with, the certainty that he himself will get soiled first and one does not know if the shot will hit the mark. And this is what has happened to the Bachelor Manuel de Veras. 3 G:~ Blas de Santillana, a novel by the French writer Alain-Rene Le Sage. Gil BIas, the hero, is a clever but weak and conceited fellow who. in relating his various adventures, does not always exhibit himself in the best light.

123 With respect to his criticism that Blumentritt?s bibliography listed as "books a series of newspaper articles," it proves that he dces not know the use of a bibliography, he has not seen bibliographical catalogs in which are included not only periodical articles that deal specially with one subject but even extraneous ones that incidentally deal with the subject, and he believes that the merit of a work consists in a greater or less number of pages or in the form of the writings. There are periodical articles that are more valuable than books, although the author of the article thinks otherwise. Moreover, Blumentritt, in putting in his bibliography periodical articles, so states and cites the periodical, the volume, etc. Now, we can agree that many of the books and articles that he cites, especially those published in Manila in the last years, are worthless. But a bibliographer ought not to reject them like a critic. One must admire him anCI we admire him more than anybody else, because we would never have been capable of doing what he does, despite all that we owe the Philippines. Now, to say this: "That it received a prize at the Exposition! How remarkable! Real merit, considering the profusion of rewards, consists in not having been awarded a prize." This does not concern Mr. Blumentritt. Perchance Mr. Manuel de Veras had not been awarded a prize, if he has presented something, but this is not the fault of the Austrian professor. They rewarded him and as at that time, it was not yet agreed that a reward means the opposite, it is not surprising that he had not been able to protest against the distinction with which they honored him. The fault lies with the Madrid government or Bachelor Manuel de Veras for not having made it known before. Let them settle it there! Published in La Solidaridad, Vol. 1, pp. 143-145. 15 August 1889.

DIFFERENCES

La PatTia in its issue for 14 August publishes an article entitled "Old Truths" in reply to "New Truths" that we published in La SolidaTidad. He refers to our person with sublime disdain and lays aside all our arguments and our questions to cling to our phrase "partisans of the status quo" which he ridicules, saying that we don't know Latin "for lack of grammatical concord in estatu quo," as it says. Bad hold, Lady La PatTi a, alias Ciruelas, l by your leave. Who taught you that the antecedent must agree in case with the relative? Who taught you Latin that you write estatu instead of statu? They have made you waste your time wretchedly, and if you are a friar who says Mass, you admit that you don't understand much of what the Missal says. We say "partisans of the status quo," "so that the status quo may be perpetuated", and we don't put statu quo nor estatu quo as you like, precisely because we studied a little Latin and we are vexed to place an ablative where there ought to be a genitive or nominative, and we prefer to displease La Patria rather than break a rule of grammar. We admit that this is not the usage in Spain, but indeed it is in other countries, like Germany where Latin is studied very well. Out of respect for our readers we don't decline status, statu; but when status is in a sentence as an ablative, we will say statu and not estatu as you like; example, La PatTia in regard to Latin, remains in statu quo ante lectionem. 1 Ciruelas literally, "plums"; colloquially and figuratively, a person who knows nothing.

124

125 Let us go to another story or hold. You say: "On the other hand, to praise the prudence of the governor generalrepresented by the defender of 'Abenhumeya' as hiding behind the friars-for which he censures the government is the most stupendous of inconsequences." But, where did you read this? I have to recite that of Pobre Geroncio, a mi ver Tu locura es singular Quien te mete a censurar Lo que no sabes leer? 2

You admit that this is either to deceive your readers, slandering shamelessly your adversary, or you do not understand what you read. When was General Salamanca governor general of the Philippines? 3 When were the passions, the fears, or the virtues of a private citizen identified with the rule of general conduct that a government must follow in its policy? We have a better and more lofty opinion of the government of the Mother Country, and we shall not yet knock asunder at the beginning the mistakes that individuals commit or may commit so long as La Patria does not show us that we must think otherwise. It shows then that there is no inconsequence on our part, rather a certain rashness and carelessness on yours in reading the articles you attack. Everything remains then in statu quo, not estatu quo. Also the questions that constitute the theme of our article remain in statu quo (not estatu quo). On what is the peaceful and paternal rule based that it would fall like a castle of cards shpuld the government merely introduce reforms? Free translation: "Poor Geroncio, in my opinion Your madness is singular; Who induced you to criticize What you don't know how to read? S There was one Juan Cerezo de Salamanca who was acting governor general of the Philippines from 1633 to 1635. 2

126 Why, by introducing reforms, why, by making the religious orders comply strictly with their duty and each one work in his own sphere, should all that edifice collapse and fall apart? We ask for order, we want the government to govern, the friar or the monk to stay in the convent and comply with the statutes of his order and not to govern and make the government follow him. "Give unto Caesar what is Caesar's". It seems to me that greater love for the government cannot be asked. Between the Filipinos who ask that the government govern and the friars who want a governed government the people can choose. Frankly it is humiliating for us, even if we are Igorots and Indios, to be governed by people repudiated in Europe for being !'epresentatives of obscurantism. Between the tail of the lion and the head of the mouse one still has a choice, but between being the lion's tail and the little tail 01 a rat, let the friar government choose; we abstain. As to the rest, we don't ask for the expulsion of the friars; we are far from doing to them what civilized Europe and Spain herself have done, shedding their blood and burning their convents. Our country is more hospitable and, though the friars want to erase from our memory the benefits that at one time they did us with their present policy of hate and repression, we shall not forget them, and we shall always remember that at one time when the Filipino people had to change beliefs, name, masters, and government, they were the ones who interposed between the wretched Indios and the encomende'l'os.4 We shall never forget this and without finding out whether their intervention was selfish or not. We shall always acknowledge it and shall only regret to see them now taking the place of those executioners. 4 Spaniards who held vast agricultural lands and entire towns by royal grant for services rendered to the Crown. They oppressed their tenants contrary to the monarchs' instructions to them to treat them fairly, establish schools, etc.

127

But between this gratitude that we acknowledge and the eternal ignorance to which they condemn us there is an abyss. Just to claim it in the name of the benefits received is absurd, it is to discredit all the past, it is to demolish the whole building that has been raised up. To fall into Charybdis fleeing from Scylla.s H the friars claim it, they deserve that our gratitude be converted into hatred. With regard to the idea of La Patria that "the significance of the friars in the Philippines ought to be very great when they constitute the axis of the polemic," we shall say that it is right. Their significance is so great that beside them all others are crushed and become small-government, country, religion, everything. To speak about the Philippines, it is necessary first to speak about the friar, for the friar is everywhere, from the government office to the suitcase of the poor, hidden in the corner of his hut. Well now, to make believe that the friars are attacked for supposing them to be an obstacle to bastard purposes is either too much Machiavellism or too much stupidity. And because men who think thus are not lacking and perhaps they defend them for that very fact, we hesitate whether to defend them in the future also or attack them furiously. Probably the best way is to leave the government alone to arrange with them and let time take care of deciding who is right. H we attack them, they will call us filibusteros; if we defend them, we are traitors to our convictions, and we believe that peace in the Philippines will be endangered. Let the sun come out where it can! We shall say then that at bottom (taking away that of estatu and of calling Mr. Salamanca governor general) we are also in accord with La Patria in asking for good reforms. II Between Scylla and Charybdis; that is, between two dangers, either of which is difficult to avoid without encountering the other. Scylla is a rock on the Italian coast opposite the whirlpool Charybdis off the Sicilian coast. The ancients personified Scylla and Charybdis as female monsters.

128 They must be good reforms so that the Philippines may march through a peaceful and progressive road and occupy the place she deserves, without shocks or violence. It is already a fatal and unavoidable law that nothing in the world remains stationary, but everything perfects itself and marches on, and colonies too are subject to this law. To try or to wish that they remain in a stationary state is worse than to pretend to stop the flow of a river, because the force of millions of men who think and feel cannot be inferior to the force of the waves. Thanking La Patria for its final recommendation to us not to incur in the exaggerations of American writers,S we shall tell it that on historical questions we are always guided by friar and national writers, only that in our estimates we limit ourselves to following the little that our conscience suggests to us. And to conclude, La Patria may note that its contempt of our magazine, alluding to it without mentioning its name, has not in the least offended us. We always mention the names of our adversaries or enemies, for we are not afraid that our readers may verify the accuracy of what we say or compare our principles to those of our adversaries. Let us fight staunchly. Without spite. 6 By "American writers" are meant Latin or South Americans; and those of the United States of America Spanish writers call "North American." Published in La SoHdaridad, Vol. I, pp. 166-168. 15 September 1889.

TO OUR DEAR MOTHER COUNTRY, SPAIN

When a people is gagged; when its dignity, honor, and all its lib ~ rties are trampled; when it no longer has any legal recourse against the tyranny of its oppressors; when its complaints, petitions, and groans are not attended to ; when it is not permitted even to weep; when even the last hope is wrested from its heart; then . . .! then . . .! then . . .! it has left no other remedy but to take down with delirious hand from the infernal altars the bloody and suicidal dagger of revolution! ! ! Caesar, we who are about to die salute you! PARIS,

10 Octobe'l' 1889

The Filipinos The above is printed in W. E. Hetana's V ida y esc1'itos del D,', Jose Rizal (Madrid, 1907) p. 182, Retana clai ms that it is the concluding paragraph of a procla mation w:-itte by Rizal and tha t a eopy of it was in the library of th e Compailla General de Tabacos de Filipinas at Bar celona, The proclamation reproduces a document written by Felipe Buencamino which justifies th e colonial government established in the Philippines and denies the advisabiliiy of the reforms demanded by the Filipino reformists, like repres ent ~t i o n in the Spanish Cortes, followed by "The History of Buencamino", and some considerations written in contemptuous tone, and concludes with the above paragraph. Retana claims that "its style and certain gram matical e rrOl'S CI \'e very much Rizal's", Muriano Po nce (1863- 1918), Rizal's collaborator and friend, disagrees with Retu!1a. He does not beli eve Rizal is it s author. 0084 ~3 - -- ~

129

THE PlmIPPINES A CENTURY HENCE

Following our custom of discussing frankly the most difficult and delicate questions relating to the Philippines, regardless of the consequences that our frankness might bring upon us, we are going to deal in the present article with her future. To foretell the destiny of a nation it is necessary to open the book that tells of her past. The past of the Philippines can be summarized briefly as follows: Soon after being incorporated in the crown of Spain she had to support with her blood and the vigor of her sons the wars and imperialistic ambitions of the Spanish nation. In these struggles, in this terrible crisis of peoples when they change government, laws, usages, customs, religion, and beliefs, the Philippines was depopulated, impoverished, and retarded, astounded by her metamorphosis, with no more confidence in her past, still without faith in her present, and Vlithout any flattering hope in the future. The former rulers who had endeavored only to inspire their subjects with fear, keep them in subjection, and accustom them to bondage, fell like the leaves of a dried tree; and the people who had no love for them and who had no notion of liberty, readily changed masters, hoping perhaps to gain something from the new order. Then began a new era. for the Filipinos; little by little they lost their old traditions, the mementos of their past; they gave up their writing, their songs, their poems, their laws in order to learn by rote other doctrines which they did not understand, another morality, another aesthetics 130

131 different from those inspired by their climate and their manner of thinking. Then they declined, degrading themselves in their own eyes; they became ashamed of what was their own; they began to admire and praise whatever was foreign and incomprehensible; their spirit was dismayed and it surrendered. Thus passed away years and centuries. Religious pomp, the rituals, songs, lights, images dressed in gold that appealed to the eyes, the cult in a mysterious language, the stories, the miracles, and the sermons hypnotized the spirit of the people, by nature already superstitious, though without succeeding to destroy it completely, despite the system that was followed with implacable tenacity. Having reached this low ebb of moral degradation, this dismay, this disgust of themselves, the inhabitants of these Islands were ready for the coup de grace calculated to destroy totally their will-power and their dormant minds, to convert them into Jrrutes and beasts of burden, a humankind without brains and without hearts. Then the race was openly insulted, denying that it possessed any virtue, any human quality, and there were even wriiers and priests who went further in alleging that the people of this country had no capacity not only for virtue but also for vice. This blow, which they thought was mortal, became precisely its salvation. There are dying men who recover thanks to some strong medicine administered to them. So many sufferings were topped with insults and the lethargic spirit again became alive. Sensibility, the quality par excellence of the Indio, was wounded; and if he had the patience to suffer and die at the feet of .a foreign Hag, he lost it when the one for whom he was dying paid him with insults and inanities. Then he examined himself little by little and realized his misfortune. Those who didn't expect this outcome, like despotic masters, considered every complaint and every protest an offense, and they punished

132 with death, drowned in blood, every cry of pain, and misdeeds after misdeeds were committed. The spirit of the people didn't allow itself to be thus intimidated, and though it had been awakened in a few hearts only, its flame, however, was spreading surely and fiercely thanks to the abuses and stupid tricks of certain classes to destroy noble and generous sentiments. Thus, when a flame puts on fire a dress, fear and confusion make it spread more and more, and every shake, every blow, is a blast of the bellows that serves to quicken it. Undoubtedly during all this period neither were there lacking generous and noble spirits among the ruling race who stood for the laws of justice and humanity, nor mean and cowardly mep. among the subject people who aided in the d~basement of their own nativeland. But both classes were exceptions and we speak in general terms . . This is a sketch of her past. Let's understand her present. And now, what will her future be? Will the Philippines remain as a Spanish colony, and in this case, what kind of colony? Will she become a Spanish province with or without autonomy? And in order to attain this status, what kind of sacrifices must she make? Will she eventually separate from the mother country, Spain, to live independently, to fall into the hands of other nations or to ally herself with other neighboring powers? It's impossible to answer these questions, for to all of them one can reply with a yes or no, according to the time one has in mind. If there's no permanent condition in nature, how much less there ought to be in the life (if peoples, beings endowed with mobility and movement! So that in order to reply to these questions it's necessary to fix a limited space of time, and with reference to it, attempt to foresee future happenings.

133 II

What will the Philippines be a century hence? Will it continue to be a Spanish colony? If this question l].ad been asked three centuries ago when, at the death of Legazpi, the Malayan Filipinos began little by little to be disillusioned, and finding the yoke burdensome, tried in vain to shake it off, without doubt the answer would have been easy. For those who were enthusiastic about the freedom of their native land, for those indomitable Kagayanes who were animated by the spirit of the Magalats, for the descendants of the heroic Gat * Pulintang and Gat Salakab of the Province of Batangas, independence was sure; it was only a question of mutual understanding and making a determined effort. However, for one disillusioned through sad ex~iences who saw everywhere disagreement and disorder, apathy and brutalization in the lower classes, dismay and disunion in the upper classes, there was only one answer and this was: Stretch out the hands to the chains, lower the neck to put it under the yoke, and accept the future with the resignation of a sick man who sees the leaves falling and has a premonition of a long winter among whose snows he can discern the brink of his grave. At that time disagreement was the cause of pessimism. Three centuries passed, the neck was getting accustomed to the yoke, and every new generation, born in chains, adapted itself better each time to the new conditions. Well now, is the Philippines in the same condition as three centuries ago? To the Spanish liberals the moral condition of the Philippines remains the same, that is, the Filipino Indios have not advanced. To the friars and their henchmen the people have been redeemed from savagery, that is, they â&#x20AC;˘ Gat was .a Tagalog title prefixed to the name of a man who belonged to the aristocracy.

134 have progressed. To many Filipinos, their moral, their spirit, and their customs have degenerated, as all the good qualities of a people degenerate when they fall into slavery, that is, when they have gone backward. Setting aside this appraisal in order not to depart from our objective, we are going to draw a brief parallel between the political situation then and that of the present to find out whether what was not possible at that time will now be possible or vice versa. Let us discard whatever adherence the Filipinos might have to Spain. Let us suppose for a moment that between the two peoples there exist only hatred and suspicion, as Spanish writers allege. Let us admit the premises cackled by many that three centuries of Spanish domination have not succeeded to make the seed of affection or gratitude germinate in the heart of the Indio. and let us see if the Spanish cause has gained ground or not in the Archipelago. Formerly, defending the Spanish standard in the Islands was a handful of soldiers. three or five hundred at most, many of whom were engaged in commerce and were scattered not only in the Archipelago but also in the neighboring countries, busy with the wars against the Muslims of the South, the English, and Dutch and incessantly disturbed by the Japanese, Chinese, and by this or that province or tribe at home. At that time the communication between Mexico and Spain was slow, infrequent, and difficult; freq uent and violent were the disturbances among the powers that ruled the Archipelago; the treasury was almost always empty, the life of the colonizers depending on one fragile ship, the carrier of Chinese trade; at that time the seas in those regions were infested with pirates, all enemies of the name Spaniard, the navy defending this being an improvised one, manned very often by untrained soldiers of fortune, if not by foreigners and enemies, as was

135 the armada of Gomez Perez Dasmarmas, * frustrated and captured by the Chinese rowers who assassinated him, putting an end to all his plans and ambitions. Nevertheless, despite such misfortune, the Spanish standard has remained aloft for more than three centuries and its power, though diminished, continues to govern the destinies of the Philippine Archipelago. On the other hand the present situation seems to be rosy and golden, we would say, a beautiful morning compared with the tempestuous and agitated night of the past. Now the material forces of the Spanish government have trebled; relatively the navy has improved; the civil as well as the military branches are better organized; the communication with the Metropolis is quicker and more dependable; she no longer has enemies outside; her possession is assured; and the subject country apparently has less spirit, less aspiration for indep~ndence, a w:ord that seems almost incomprehensible to her; at firs glance everything then augurs another three centuries Jat least of peaceful domination and tranquil lordship. However, over these material considerations soar invisible others of a moral character, much more transcendental and cogent. The peoples of the Orient in general and the Malayans in particular are notable for their sen:;;itiveness; in them predominates a nice sensibility of feeling. Even today, despite the contact with Western nations, whose ideals are distinct from theirs, we see the Malayan Filipinos sacrifice everything, liberty, comfort, welfare, name, on the altar of an aspiration, of a vanity, be it religious, scientific, or of any other character whatsoever, but at the slightest injUry to his amour propre, he forgets all his sacrifices and he never forgets the offence he believed he had received. â&#x20AC;˘ Governor general of the Philippines (1590-1593). killed while asleep by Chinese rowers of the galley on which he was embarked during his expedition to the Moluccas in lS93.

Thus the Filipinos have remain2d faithful to Spain for three centuries, giving up their liberty and independence, now fascinated by the hope of a promised heaven, now flattered by the friendship offered them by a great and noble nation, now also compelled to submission by the superiority in arms that for persons with a low opinion of themselves held a mysterious character, or now because the foreign invader, taking advantage of internal dissensions, played the role of a third party to divide and rule. Once under Spanish domination, the Philippines remained stable thanks to the adhesion of the towns, to the enmities between them and to the fact that the sensitive amour propre of the native had not yet been hurt. At that time the people saw their fellow nationals occupying the higher ranks in the army, Filipino masters of camp fighting beside :he heroes of Spain, sharing their laurels, and never deprived of either honor, fame, or consideration . Then for fidelity and adhesion to Spain, love of the Mother Country, the Indio could become an encomende-ro and even general in the army, as during the British invasion. They have not yet invented the insulting and ridiculous names with which later they disgraced the most diffi:!ult and painful posts held by native chiefs. Then it was not yet fashionable to insult and injure in print, in newspapers, in books with superior permission or ecclesiastical licence the people who paid, fought, and shed their blood for the honor of Spain, nor was it considered noble or a joke to insult an entire race, which is forbidden to reply and defend itself. And if there were hypochondriac priests who, in the leisure of their cloisters, had dared to write against the people, like the Augustinian Gaspar de San Agustin and the JesHit Velarde, their offensive writings never were published and much less were they honored with mitres or promoted to high posts. It is also true that the Indios of that time were not like those of today: Three centuries of brutalization and obscurantism must have exerted some influence on us.

137 The most beautiful divine wm:k III the hands of certain artisans can be converted in the end into a caricature. The friars of that time, desiring to secure their power over the people, sided with them and together they turned against the oppressive encom.enderos. Naturally the people who considered them better educRted and influential trusted them, followed their advice and listened to them even in their most bitter moments. If they wrote, they defended the rights of the Indios and they made their complaints reach the distant steps of the Spanish throne. And not a few friars among laymen and military men undertook perilous journeys as representatives of the count1路Y. Added to this was the strict residencia 1 to which were subjected all departing officials of the government from the captain general to the lowest which consoled a little and pacified the injured parties and satisfied, though only in form, all the discontented elements. All this 11as disalDpeared. T 1e mocking laughter like mortal poison penetrates the heart of the Indio who pays and suffers and it is more offensive when it is under protection. The same sore, the general outrage perpetrated against an entire race has erased the ancient enmities between the difl:E'rent provinces. The people no longer have confidence in their former protectors, now their exploiters and executioners. The masks have fallen off. They have realized that, that affection and piety of old resemble the affection of a wet-nurse who, unable to live elsewhere, desires their perpetual childhood, the eternal weakness of the infant, so that she can continue to receive her salary and live on him. They have seen that not only do they not nourish him so that he would grow but they 1 A government functionary was requh'ed to give an accounting of his official actions at the end of his term. Then all those who had grudges against him could present their charges. If the complainants were influential, they could prevent his return to Spain and imprison him in Fort Santiago.

138 poison him to thwart his growth, and at his slightest protest, they become furious! The old semblance of just~ce, the holy residencia, has been abandoned. The chaos begins in the conscience. The affection shown to a governor general like La Torre becomes a crime under the administration of his successor and it's enough for a citizen to lose his liberty and his home. If the order of a chief is obeyed, as in the recent question of the admission of corpses in churches, that is sufficient cause later to annoy and persecute by all means possible the obedient subject. Duties, taxes, and contributions increase without any corresponding increase in rights, privileges, and liberties or an assurance of the continuation of the few existing ones. A regime of continuous terrorism and anguish stirs up the minds of men, a regime worse than an era of disturbances, for the fears that the imagination creates are generally greater than the real ones. The country is poor; it is going through a great financial crisis, and everybody points with their fingers to the persons who are causing the evil, and yet no one dares to lay their hands on them! It is true that the Penal Code, like a drop of balsam on so much bitterness, has been promulgated; but of what use are all the codes in the world if because of confidential reports, trivial motives, anonymous traitors, any respectable citizen is banished, is exiled, without any trial? Of what use is that Penal Code, of what use is life, if there are no security of the home, faith in justice, and confidence in the tranquility of conscience? Of what use are all that scaffolding of names and all that pile of articles, if the cowardly accusation of a traitor can influence the timorous ears of the supreme autocrat more than all the cries of justice?

If this state of things continues; what will the Philippines be a century hence? The storage batteries are charging little by little, and if the prudence of the government does not provide an outlet

139 for the complaints that are accumulating, it's possible that one day the spark would fly out. This is not the place to speak of the success that such an unfortunate conflict might have; it depends upon fate, upon arms, and on a million circumstances that men cannot foresee; but even if all theadvantages were on the side of the government and consequently, the probabilities of victory, it would be a Pyrrhic victory, and a government should not want that. If those who guide the destinies of the Philippines should persist in their refusal to grant reforms, in making the country retrogress, in going to the extreme in its rigorous repression of the classes that suffer and think, they will succeed in making them gamble away the miseries of an insecure life, full of privations and bitterness, for the hope of obtaining something uncertain. What would be lost in the struggle? Almost nothing. The life of large discontented classes offers no great attraction that it should be preferred to a glorio~ death. uicide can well be attempted; but afterwards? l Would there not remain a stream of blood between victors and vanquished, and could not the latter with time and experience become equal in strength, as they are already numerically superior to their rulers? Who says no? All the petty insurrections that had broken out in the Philippines had been the work of a few fanatics and discontented military men who, in order to attain their ends, had to resort to deceit and trickery or avail themselves of the subordination of their subalterns. Thus they all fell. None of the insurrections was popular in character nor based on the necessity of the whole nation nor did it struggle for the laws of humanity or of justice. Thus the insurrections did not leave behind them indelible mementos; on the contrary, the people, their wounds healed, realizing that they have been deceived, applauded the downfall of those who had disturbed their peace! But, if the movement springs from the people themselves and adopts for its cause their sufferings?

140 Therefore, if the prudence and wise reforms of our mini~ters do not find competent and determined interpreters among the rulers beyond the seas and faithful continuators in those called upon by the frequent political crises to occupy so sensitive a post; if the complaints and needs of the Filipino people are eternally to be answered with the petition is denied, inspired by the classes that thrive on the backwardness of the subject; if all just claims are disregarded and considered subversive tendencies, denying to the country representation in the Cortes and the right to protest against all kinds of abuses which escape the snare of the laws; and if finally the system so effective in alienating the people's goodwill, spurring their apathy by means of insults and ingratitude, will be continued, we can assure that within a few years the present state of things will be modified completely and inevitably. Today there is a factor which did not exist before. The national spirit has awakened, and a common misfortune and a common abasement have united all the inhabitants of the Islands. It counts on a large enlightened class within and without the Archipelago, a class created and augmented more and more by the stupidities of certain rulers who compel the inhabitants to expatriate themselves, to seek education abroad-a class that perseveres and struggles thanks to the official pr ovocations and the system of persecution. This class whose number is increasing progressively is in constant communication with the rest of the Islands, and if today it constitutes the brains of th~ country, within a few yea'"s it will constitute its entire nervous system and demonstrate its existence in all its acts. Well now, in order to block the road to progress of a people, the government counts on various means: Brutalization of the masses through a caste loyal to the government, aristocratic as in the Dutch colonies, or theocratic as in the Philippines; the impoverishment of the country;

141 the gradual destruction of its inhabitants; and the fostering of the enmity between the races. The brutalization of the Malayan Filipinos has bâ&#x201A;Ź :!n shown to be impossible. Despite the black plague of friars in whose hands is the education of the youth, who waste miserably years and years in the classrooms, coming out of them tired, fatigued, and disgusted with books; despite the censorship that wants to close all roads to progress; despite all the pulpits, confessionals, books, novenae that inculcate hatred of all knowledge, not only scientific but even of the Castilian language; despite all that system, organized, perfected, and followed with tenacity by those who wish to keep the Islands in holy ignorance; there are Filipino writers, free thinkers, historiographers, chemists, physicians, artists, jurists, etc. Enlightenment is spreading and its persecution encourages it. No ; the divine flame of thought is inextinguishable among the Filipino people, and in some way or another it has to shine and make itself known. It is not possible to brutalize the inhabitants of the Philippines! Can poverty arrest their development? Perhaps, but it is a very dangerous measure. Experience show~ us everywhere and above all in the Philippines, that the well-to-do classes have always been the partisans of peace and order, because they live relatively better and might lose in case of civil disturbances. Wealth brings with it refinement and the spirit of preservation, while poverty inspires adventurous ideas, the desire to change things, little attachment to life, and the like. Machiavelli himself finds dangerous this method of subjecting a people, for he observes that the loss of well-being raises marc tenacious enemies than the loss of life. Moreover, when there are wealth and abundance, there is less discontent, there are less complaints, and the government, richer, has also more means to support itself. On the other ha::ld, a poor country

142 is like a house where poverty exists; and moreover, of what use has the Metropolis of an emaciated and poor colony? Neither is it possible to destroy gradually the entire population. The Filipino race, like all the Malayans, does not succumb to the foreigner as do the aborigines of Australia, the Polynesians, and Indians of the New World. Despite the numerous wars that the Filipinos had engaged in, despite the epidemics that visit them periodically, their number has trebled, like the Malayans of Java and the Moluccas. The Filipinos accept civilization and maintain contact with all peoples, and can live in all climes. Alcohol, the poison that exterminates the natives of the islands in the Pacific, has no sway in the Philippines; on the contrary, it seems that the Filipinos have become more sober, if their present condition is compared with that described by the old historians. The little wars with the inhabitants of the South consume only the soldiers, people whose loyalty to the Spanish flag, far from making them a danger, makes them precisely one of its strongest supports. There remains the fostering of hostility between the provinces themselves. This was possible before when communication between the islands was difficult and infrequent, when there were no steamships or telegraph, when the different provinces had their own regiments, and some of them were flattered by the grant of privileges and honors and some were supported against the stronger ones. But now that these privileges have been withdrawn, the regiments have been rearranged because of distrust, the people go from one island to another, naturally communication and exchange of ideas have increased, and realizing that they are all menaced with the same danger and their common sentiments are hurt, they become friends and they unite. It is true that their union is not as yet complete, but the measures of good government, the deportations, the oppression suffered by citizens in their towns, the mobility of government offi-

143 cials, the scarcity of schools, which brings together the youth of all the islands, who thus get to know each otherall these lead to national unity. The trips to Europe contribute also not a little towards unity, for abroad persons from the most distant provinces, from the sailors to the wealthy businessmen, seal their patriotic sentiments, and at the sight of modern liberties and the remembrance of their country's misfortunes they embr ace and call themselves brothers. In short, then, the advancement and moral progr ess of the Philippines is inevitable; it is fated. The Islands cannot remain in their present condition without petitioning the Metropolis for more liberties. Mutatis, mutandis. (With the necessary changes.) To new men, a new soci~l status. To wish them to remain in their swaddling clothes is to risk that the so-called infant turn against his nurse and flee, tearing away the old rags 1: at confine him . )

The Philippines, then, either will remain under Spain but with more rights and freedom, or will declare herself independent after staining herself and the Mother Country with her own blood. As no one should wish or hope for such an unfortunate rupture of relations, which would be bad for all and should only be the last argument in a most desperate case, let us examine the forms of peaceful evolution under which the Islands could remain under the Spanish flag without injuring in the least the rights, interests, or dignity of both countries. III If the Philippines has to remain under Spanish rule, she must be transformed politically as demanded by the course of her historical evolution and the needs of her inw habitants. 'We have proven this in the previous article .

144 This transformation, we also said, has to be violent and fatal if it should originate from the masses; peaceful and rich in results if from the upper classes. Some rulers have perceived this truth and, inspired by their patriotism, have tried to institute needed reforms to forestall events. Until the present, notwithstanding how many reforms have been ordered, they have produced limited results for the government as well as for the country, and in some instances they spoiled even those that promised success. It is because they are building on ground lacking in solidity. We said, and we are repeating it once more, and will always repeat it: All reforms of a palliative character are not only useless but even injurious when the government is confronted with evils that need a radical remedy. 1拢 we were not convinced of the integrity and uprightness of certain rulers, we would be tempted to say that all those partial reforms were only poultices and pomades of a physician who, not knowing how to cure 路 cancer or not daring to eradicate it, wishes to mitigate the sufferings of the patient or temporize with the pusillanimity of the timid and ignorant. All the reforms of our liberal ministers were, are, and will be good . . . if they were carried out. When we think of them, we are reminded of Sancho Panza's dietetic regimen on the Insula Barataria (Barataria Isle).* He sat at a sumptuous table "full of fruits and a large variety of dishes", but between the mouth of the unhappy man and each dish the doctor, Pedro Rezio, interposed his wand, saying, Absit! (Remove!) and they removed the food leaving Sancho more hungry than ever. It is true that the despotic Pedro Rezio gave reasons which it seemed Cervantes intended for the government of the * Sancho Panza is the squire of Don Quijote de 1a Mancha, also the title of a Spanish romance by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra ridiculing books of chivalry. Sancho Panza is a peasant, crude and ignorant, but shrewd.

145 colonies: "One should not eat, Governor, unless it is the usage and custom on other islands where there are governors", etc. He found fault with every dish, some are hot, others moist, etc. , exactly like our Pedro Rezios here and overseas. Damned the good that the art of his cook did to S,mcho ~ In the case of our country, t:le reforms play the role of the dishes; the Philippines is Sancho, and the role of the quack j!; played by il1cmy persons who are interested in leaving th e d ~s he s untouched so that they themselves would enjoy them perhaps. It turns out ihat the exceedingly patient Sancho, or the Philippines, misses his freedom, detesting all governments, and ends by l'ebellir.g against his false physician. In the same way, while the Philippines has no free press, no voice in the let{!::ila~iv e body to inform the Spanish government and the n at ~O!l wh ether the decrees are being duly eniorced or not, are ~ eneficial or not to the country, all the skill of the minister or the colonies will meet the same fate as the dishes on the Ins'ttla Barataria. The mi!lis ~er thea who would wish his reforms to be real reforms should begin by declaring freedom of the press in the Philipp!ncs and creating Filipino deputies. A free press in the Philippines is necessary because rarely do the complaints ther e reach the Peninsula, very rarely, and if they do reach it, they are so masked, so mysterious, that no newspaper would dare publish them, and if they are published at all, they are published late and badly. The government that administers the country from a very far distance has more need of a free press, even IIiore than the go 'ernment in the Metropolis, if it wishes to be straight and decent. The government in the country can still dispense with the press (if it can) because it is on the spot, because it has eyes and ears, and because it sees at close hand wlu t it is ruling and administering. But the government that rules from afar, absolutely needs that the 003483-10

146 truth and the facts reach it through all possible means so that it can appreciate and judge them better, and this necessity becomes imperative when it concerns a country like the Philippines whose inhabitants speak and complain in a language unknown to the authorities. To govern in another way will also be called "to govern", as it is necessary to give it a name, but that is to govern badly; it is like judging by listening to only one of the parties; it is to steer a ship without taking into account its conditions, the condition of the sea, the reefs, the shoals, the direction of the wind, the currents, etc. It is to administer a house thinking only of giving it lustre and importance without finding out what is in the safe, without considering the servants and the family. But routine is common to many governments and routine says that the freedom of the press is a danger. Let us see what history says. Uprisings and revolutions have always taken place in countries under tyrannical governments, under those where the mind and the human heart al'~ compelled to keep silent. If the great Napoleon had not muzzled the press, perhaps it would have warned him of the danger into which he was falling and it might have made him understand that the people were tired and the land needed peace. Perhaps his genius, instead of being spent in external aggrandizement, falling back on itself, might have worked for the consolidation of his power and succeeded. In the history of Spain itself many revolutions occurred when the press was muzzled. What colony, having a free preS3 and enjoying liberties, has become indep2ndent? Is it preferable to govern in the dark or to govern with understanding? Some one may reply that a free preS3 would endanger the rulers' prestige, that pillar of spurious governments. We will answer him that the prestige of the nation is preferable to that of some individuals. A nation wins respect not by covering up abuses, but by punishing them

147 and condemning them. Besides, to that prestige happens what Napoleon said of great men and their valets. We who suffer and know all the stories and oppression of those false gods do not need a free press to understand them; long ago they have lost their prestige. The government needs a free press, the government that still dreams of prestige, that builds on mined ground. We say the same thing about Filipino deputies. What danger does the government see in them? One of three things: They turn out seditious, trimmers, or as they should be. Supposing that we became absurdly pessimistic and admitted the insult, great for the Philippines but greater still for Spain, that all the Filipino deputies are separatists and all entertain revolutionary ideas, isn't there the majority, Spanish and patriotic, isn't there the clear-sightedness of the rulers to oppos their proposals and combat them? And isn't this better than to let discontent ferment and spread in the privacy of the home, in tHe huts, and in the countrysides? It is true tha~ the Spanish people never deny their blood if patriotism demands it; but would not the fight for principles in the parliament be preferable to the exchange of bullets on swampy ground, 3,000 leagues away from the motherland, in impenetrable forests, under a burning sun or in torrential rains? The pacific struggle of ideas, besides serving as a thermometer for the government, has the advantage of being cheaper and more glorious, because the Spanish parliament abounds precisely in champions of the word, invincible in the field of speeches. Moreover, they say that the Filipinos are indolent and mild; what then has the government to fear? Does it not influence elections? Frankly it is giving the rebels too much honor to fear them in the Cortes of the nation. If they turn out trimmers, which is to be expected and probably they have to be, so much the better for the government, and so much the worse for the voters. They are

148 a few more votl!S in favor of the government which can laugh all it pleases at the rebels, if there are any. If they turn out as they should be, worthy, honorable, and loyal to their mission, they will doubtless annoy the ignorant and incompetent minister with their questions, but they will help him govern, and they will be an addition to the honorable persons among the representatives of the nation. Well now; if the real handicap of the Filipino deputies is their Igorot smell which makes the veteran general Mr. Salamanca feel so uneasy in plain Senate, Mr. Sinibaldo de Mas, who has seen the Igorots closely and has wished to live with them, can affirm that they will smell at the worst like gunpowder, and Mr. Salamanca undoubtedly is not afraid of that smell. And if it is only this, the Filipinos who in their country have the habit of taking a bath every day, once they become deputies can abandon such a dirty custom, at least during the legislative session, in order not to molest with the odor of the bath the delicate olfactory sense of the Salamancas. It is useless to refute certain impediments some fine writers have put forth, such as the more or less brown color of the skin and the more or less large-no~ed faces. In the matter of aesthetics each race has its own idea. China, for example, which has 414 million inhabitants and possesses a very ancient civilization, finds all Europeans ugly, calling them Fan-Kuai or red devils. Her aesthetics has 100 million more followers than European aesthetics. Besides, if we have to discuss this, we would have to accept the inferiority of the Latins, especially of the Spaniards, with respect to the Saxons who are much fairer. And so long as the Spanish Cortes is not an assembly of Adonises, Antinouses, boys, and other similar angels; so long as one goes there to legislate and not to socratize or wander through imaginary hemispheres, we believe that the govern-

149 ment should not be deterred by those obstacles. Right has no skin nor has reason noses. We see, then, no valid reason why the Philippines should not have deputies. With their creation many discontented persons will be mollified, and instead of imputing the evils in the country to the government, as it happens today, they will bear them better, because at least they can complain, and because, having their own sons among the lawmakers, makes them in a certain way responsible for their acts. We do not know if we are serving well the real interests of our country by asking for deputies. We know that the lack of enlightenment, the pusillanimity, the selfishness of many of our compatriots, and the audacity, the astuteness, and the powerful means at the command of those who want obscurantism to I?revail there can convert the reform into an obnoxious instrument. But we wish to be loyal to the government and we point out to it the road that seems to us best so that its efforts would not come to naught, so that the discontented elements would disappear. If after such a just as well as necessary measure is implemented, the Filipino people are so foolish and pusillanimous that they would turn against their own interests, then let them bear the responsibilities and suffer all the consequences. Every country meets the fate that she deserves, and the government can say that it has fulfilled its duty. These are the two fundamental reforms which, well interpreted and implemented, can dispel all the clouds, attest the affection of Spain, and make fruitful all subsequent ones. These are the reforms sine quibus non.Âˇ The fear that from them would come independence is puerile. The free press will let the government know the throbs of public opinion, and the deputies, if they are the best among the sons of the Philippines, as they should be, will be its hostages. â&#x20AC;˘ These are the ind1spenaable reforms.

150 There being no motive for discontent, with what will the masses be stirred up? In a similar way, the obstacle that others find in the defective education of the majority of the Filipinos is in路 admissible. Besides, not being as defective as alleged, there is no plausible reason whatsoever to deprive the ignorant and the helpless (through his own fault or another's) of a representative who can watch over him so that he would not be trampled. He's precisely the one who needs it most. Nobody ceases to be a man, no one loses his rights to civilization for being solely more or less civilized. Inasmuch as the Filipino is considered a competent citizen when he is asked to pay taxes and to defend the Mother Country with his life, why should he be denied competence when it comes to conceding him a right? Moreover, why should he be responsible for his ignorance? Everyone, friend and foe alike, admits that every Filipino even before the arrival of the Spaniards knew how to read and write. Today we see that the most humble families make enormous sacrifices so that their children can obtain a little education, even going to the extent of letting them become Servants in order to learn Spanish at least. How can we expect the people to be enlightened in their present condition when we see that many educational decrees the government issues encounter Pedro Rezios who prevent their implementation because they are in control of education? If the Filipino then is sufficiently intelligent to pay taxes, he should also be so to elect a representative who can watch over him and his interests with the product of which he serves the government of the country. To reason out in another way is a one-sided argument. The laws and acts of the authorities being watched over, the word Justice will cease to be a colonial irony. The English are respected in tlteir possessions because of their strict and expeditious administration of justice, in such a way that the people place full confidence in the judges.

151 Justice is the foremost virtue of civilized nations; it subdues the most barbarous nations. Injustice excites the weakest to rebellion. The government posts should be filled through competitive examination, and the examination results should be made public so that discontent would not arise and there would be encouragement. Thus if the Indio does not shake off his indolence, he can not complain if all the positions are filled by Castilas (Spaniards). We suppose that Spaniards are not afraid to take part in this competition; thus they can demonstrate their superiority through the superiority of their intelligence. Although this is not done in the Metropolis, it should be practised in the colonies, inasmuch as true prestige should be sought in moral endowments, because colonizers should be or seem to be 'at least, just, intelligent, and upright, just as man feigns virtues when he is in contact with strangers. Positions thus gained are not su~ject to arbitrary dismissal and this method of selecting government employees creates employees and officials who are apt and know their duties. The posts occupied by the Indios, instead of endangering Spanish rule, will serve only to strengthen it; for, what interest would they have to change what is secure and stable for the uncertain and problematical? The Indio, besides, is a lover of quietude and prefers a modest present to a brilliant future. The various Filipino functionaries who are still holding office attest it; they are the most sluggish conservatives. We can add other particular reforms referring to commerce, agriculture, security of the individual and property, education, and others, but we are going to discuss them separately in other articles. At present we are satisfied with the present projects, lest someone say we are asking too much. Some may criticize us for being utopians, but what's utopia? Utopia was a country imagined by Thomas Moore

152 where there were universal suffrage, religious toleration, an almost complete abolition of the death penalty, etc. When the little novel was published, these things were considered impossible dreams, that is, utopian. Nonetheless, civilization has left far behind the land of Utopia; human will and conscience have realized miracles, have abolished slavery and the death penalty for adultery-impossible things even in that very same Utopia! The French colonies have representatives; in the British Parliament they have also discussed the representation of the Crown colonies, for others already enjoy a certain autonomy and the press there is also free; only in Spain, who in the XVI century was the model colonizing power, is colonial representation delayed. Cuba and Puerto Rico, whose population is not even a third of that of the Philippines and have not made sacrifices for Spain as the Philippines has, have many deputies. At the beginning, the Philippines had hers who dealt with the kings and popes about the needs of the country. She had them in the critical moments when Spain was groaning under the Napoleonic yoke and she did not take advantage of the misfortune of the Metropolis as the other colonies did but even drew closer to Spain, thus giving proofs of her loyalty; she remained loyal many years afterwards. . .. What crime has the Philippines committed that she should thus be deprived of her rights? In short, the Philippines will remain Spanish if she enters the path of rightful and civilized life, if the rights of her people are respected, if they are granted others they should have, if the liberal policy of the government is carried out without shackles or meanness, without subterfuges or false interpretations. On the other hand, if it is desired to consider the Islands a lode to be exploited, a means to satisfy ambitions, to free the Metropolis of taXes, exhausting the goose that lays the golden eggs and lending 'a .deaf ear to all the cries 6f

153 reason, then, however great is the loyalty of the Filipinos, they cannot prevent that the fatal hnvs of History be fulfilled. The colonies established to serve the political OT commercial policy of a Metropolis all en d by becoming independent, said Bachelet; berore Bach,=let said so, it had already been said by all Phoenician, Carthag~nian, Greek, Roman, English, Portuguese, and Spanish colonies. Close doubtless are the ties that bind us to Spain. Two peoples cannot live in continuous contact for three centuries sharing a common fate, shedding their blood on the same battlefields, believing in the same faith, worshipping the same God, exchanging cornman ideas, without develo?ing between them bonds stronger than those imposed by arms and fear. Inevitably mutual sacrifices and benefits have brought mutual affection. As Machiavclh, who had a deep knowledge of the human heart, said: La natura d'oumini, e COSt obbligarsi per le benefici'i che essi fanno, come per quelli che essi recevono. (It is human to be bound by benefits given as well as those received.) All this and still more are true; but it is pure sentimentalism, for on the bitter field of politics stark necessity and interests prevail. No matter how much the Filipinos owe Spain they cannot be compelled to renounce their right to redemption , to let the liberal and enlightened among them roam as exiles from their native land, to let the most common aspirations smother in its atmosphere. to tolerate that the peaceful citizen live in continuous anguish and the fate of the people depend on the caprice of only one man. Spain can not justify even in the name of God himself that six million men be brutalized, exploited, and oppressed, denying them light, the innate human rights and afterwards heap upon them conteP'") f : and insults. No, there is no gratitude that can excuse i~ , there is no sufficient gunpowder in the world that can justify the attacks against the liberty of the individual, against the sanctity of the home, against the laws, against peace and honor, attacks which are committed daily in the Philippines.

154 There is no God that will applaud the sacrifice of our dearest affections, of our families, the sacrilege and transgressions which are committed by those who have the name of God on their lips. No one can demand from the Filipino people the impossible. The noble Spanish people so devoted to their liberties and rights, cannot tell the Filipino people to renounce theirs; the people that delight in the glories of their past cannot ask of another, educated by them, to accept the vilification and dishonor of their name! We who are now fighting on the legal and peaceful ground of discussions understand it thus, and with our sight fixed on our ideals, we shall not c~ase to advocate for our cause, without going beyond the limits of the law; but, if violence will silence us or we have the bad luck of falling (which is possible, for we are not immortal), then we would not know what road will be followed by the numerous shoots of better sap who will rush headlong toÂˇ take the places that we shall leave vacant. If what we desire is not realized . . . Before that unfortunate eventuality, it is necessary that fear should not deter us, that instead of closing our eyes, we should look straight ahead to see what the future has in store for us. And for that purpose, after throwing a handful of earth in tribute to Cerberus* let us enter freely the abyss to probe its terrible mysteries. j

IV History does not record in its annals any enduring rule of one people over another, who belong to different races, with distinct usages and customs, with adverse or divergent ideals. One of the two has had to yield or succumb. Either the foreigner was overthrown, as it happened to the Carthaâ&#x20AC;˘ In Greek and Roman mythology a three-headed dog guarding the entrance to Hades, the abode of the dead and colloquially, Hell.

155 gjnians, the Arabs, and the French in Spain, or the native people had to succumb or withdraw, as in the case of the inhabitants of the New World, Australia, New Zealand, and others. One of the longest foreign rules was that of the Arabs in Spain which lasted seven centuries. But, despite the fact that the conquering people lived in the midst of the vanquished; despite the division of the small states of the Peninsula that emerged little by little like tiny islands in the center of the great Saracen flood; despite the knightly spirit, the gallantry, and religious tolerance of the caliphs, they were finally driven out after bloody and tenacious battles which built the Spanish nation and created the Spain of the XV and XVI centuries. The existence of a foreign body in another endowed with strength and activity is against all natural and moral laws. Science tea hes us that either it is assimilated, it destroys the organ~sm, it is eliminated, or it is encysted. The encystment of a conquering people is impossible, whenever it means complete isolation, absolute inertia, adynamia of the victorious element. Encystment here signifies the tomb of the foreign invader. Well then; applying these considetations to the Philip. pines, we are obliged to conclude, deducing from everything we have been saying, that if her people are not assimilated by the Spanish nation, if the rulers do not take possession of the spirit of her inhabitants, if equitable laws and sincere and liberal reforms do not make them forget that they belong to distinct races, or if both peoples do not fuse to form one homogenous social and political mass, which is not troubled by opposing tendencies and antagonistic feelings and interests, the Philippines one day will declare herself inevitably and unmistakably independent. Neither Spanish patriotism nor the appeal of all the little tyrants in the colonies, nor the love for Spain of all the Filipinos, nor the doubtful dismemberment of the Islands and internal strife

156 can go against this law of destiny. Necessity is the strongest god the world knows, and necessity is the result of physical laws put into action by moral forces. We said, and statistics prove it, that it is impossible to destroy the Filipino race. And though it might be possible, what interest could Spain have in the destruction of the inhabitants of a land that she could not occupy or cultivate, whose climate is to a certain degree dismal? Of what use would the Philippines be to her WitllOut the Filipinos? Precisely, considering her system of colonization and the transient character of the Spaniards who go to the colonies, a colony is more useful to her and more valuable the more inhabitants and riches it possesses. Moreover, in order to destroy six million Malayans, even supposing that they are still in their infancy and they never can learn how to fight and defend themselves, Spain would need to sacrifice a fow路th of her population. Vie wish to remind the partisa.'1s of colonial exploitation of this fact. But nothing like this can happen. What is imminent is that if Spain would deny the Filipinos education and the liberties essential to human life, they would seek their education abroad behind the back of Spain, the Mother Country, and will secure in some way or another certain advantages in their country. The result: the resistance of near-sighted and rickety politicians is not only useless but injurious, for what could be a motive for gratitude and love is converted into resentment and hatred. Hatred and resentment on one side, distrust and indignation on the other, will finally end in a violent and terrible collision, especially when there are elements interested in the d~sturbance of public order so that they can gain something out of it, so that they can show their great power, so that they can hurl lamentations, so that they can recriminate and activate violent measures, and the like. Expected to triumph is the government, and generally (and that is the custom) it goes to the extreme in meting out punishment,

157 either to give a terriLle warning, to make a show of severity or in order to take revenge on the vanquished for the moments of terror and anguish that the danger had caused it. Inevitable accessory of these catastrophes is the pile of injustices committed against innocent and peaceful people. Personal revenge, denunciations, infamous accusations, covetousness, the opportune moment for a calumny, the hurried and expeditious proceeding of the military tribunal, the pretext of the integrity of the Mother Country and reason of State which covers and answers for everything even for scrupulous consciences, that unfortunately are now rare, and above all the dread, the cowardice, that takes hold of the vanquished-all these things augment the severity of the victor and the number of victims. The result is that a stream of blood is interposed between the two peoples; that the wounded and resentful, instead of diminishing, increase, for to the families and friends of the guilty who always 1>elieve the punishment excessive and the judge unfair, one has to add the families and friends of the innocent who see no advantage in living and acting submissively and peacefully. Consider, moreover, that if the prescribed measures are already dangerous in a country with a homogenous population, the danger becomes a hundredfold when the government is run by a race different from that of the governed. In the first case, an injustice can still be attributed to a single man, to a ruler motivated by personal passions, and with the tyrant dead, the offended is reconciled with the government of his nation. But in countries ruled by a foreign nation, the most justly severe measure is interpreted as injustice and oppression, because it is ordered by a foreigner who has no sympathy with or is an enemy of the country. The offense not only offends the offended but his entire race, because it is not generally considered personal, and resentment naturally extends to the whole governing nation and does not die with the offender.

158 For this reason, the colonizing powers should be endowed with immense prudence and exquisite tact; and the fact that the government of the colonies in general and the ministry of the colonies in particular are considered schools for apprenticeship contribute notably towards the fulfilment of the great law that colonies declare themselves independent sooner or later. Thus from that precipice peoples hurl themselves headlong while they bathe in blood and are soaked in gall and tears. If the colony has vitality, it learns to fight and improve itself in the struggle, while the Mother Country, whose survival in the colony depends on the peacefulness and submission of the subjects, weakens each time, and though she makes heroic efforts, at last, as her defenders are inferior in number and she has only a fictitious life, she ends by dying. She is like a rich sybarite who, ~ccustomed to be served by numerous servants who work and plant for him, the day when his slaves refuse to obey him, as he cannot live by himself, has to die. Vengeance, injustice, and distrust on one hand and on the other the sentiment of patriotism and of liberty, which will be awakened by these continuous struggles, insurrections, and uprisings, will end by spreading the movement and one of the two peoples has to succumb. The laxness will be brief since it would be equivalent to a much more cruel slavery than death for the people and to a loss of prestige disgraceful to the ruler. One of the two peoples has to succumb. Spain, on account of the size of her population, the condition of her army and navy, her distance from the Islands, her little knowledge of the colony, and for fighting against a people whose love and goodwill have been alienated, has by force to yield, if she does not wish to risk, not only her other possessions and her future in Africa, but also her own independencf:! in Europe. All this at the cost of much blood, many crimes, after mortal combats, assassinations,

159 conflagration, executions, hunger, destitution, and so forth. The Spaniard is brave and patriotic and sacrifices everything in favorable moments for the good of the Motherland; he has the boldness and determination of his bull. The Filipino does not love his country less, and though he is more calm, peaceful, and not easily excited, once started, he does not stop, and for him every fight means the death of one of the fighters; he preserves all the meekness and all the tenacity and fury of the carabao. Climate influences equally bipeds and quadrupeds. The terrible lessons and the harsh teachings that these strifes have given the Filipinos have served to improve and strengthen his morale. Spain of the XV century was not the Spain of the vm century. With their harsh experience, instead of engaging in the internal strife of some islands with others, as it is generally feared, the Filipinos will stretch out their hands mutually, like the ship-wrecked when they reach an\ island after. a dreadful stormy night. Let them not say that what h ppened to the American repuhhcs will happen to us. Thkse won their independence easily and their peoples were animated by a spirit different from that of the Filipinos. Besides, the danger of falling again into the hands of other powers, of the English or the Germans, for example, will compel them to be sensible and prudent. The absence of the preponderance of one race over the others will dissuade them from entertaining the mad ambition to dominate; and as the tendency of oppressed countries, once they have shaken off the foreign yoke, is to adopt,a freer government, like a lad who comes out of school, like the oscillation of the pendulum, by the law of reaction, the Islands will adopt probably a federal republic . . . If the Philippines obtain her independence at the end of heroic and tenacious struggles, she can be sure that neither England nor France, and less Holland, will dare to pick up what Spain has not been able to keep. Africa,

160 within a few years, will completely absorb the attention of the Europeans, and there is no sensible nation that, in order to get a handful of poor and war-stricken islands, would neglect the immense territory that the Black Continent offers-virgin, unexploited, and scarcely defended. England already has enough colonies in the East and will not expose herself to lose the balance of power. She will not sacrifice her Indian Empire for the poor Philippine Archipelago; if she cherished this ambition, she would not have returned Manila in 1763;* she would have retained any point in the Philippines to expand little by little from there. Besides, why should the merchant John Bull allow himself to be killed for the Philippines when England after all is no longer the Mistress of the Orient,-when she has Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and others? Probably England will favor Philippine indcpâ&#x201A;Ź:ndence, for an independent Philippines will open her ports to her and grant her more commercial privileges. Moreover, in the United Kingdom there is a prevailing opinion that she has already too many colonies which are detrimental to and weakens much the Metropolis. For the same reasons Germany will not want to run a risk, because her forces would be unbalanced and a war in distant countries will endanger her position in Europe. So we see that her policy in the Pacific as well as in Africa is limited to the easy acquisition of territories whi-ch do not belong to anybody. Germany avoids all foreign entanglements. France has much to do and sees more future in Tonkin and China. Besides, France is not eager to acquire colonies. She loves glory but the glory and the laurels that grow on the battlefields of Europe; the echo of the battlefields of the Far East does not satisfy her thirst for renown because it is already lusterless when it reaches her. She has besides other duties at home as well as on the Continent. â&#x20AC;˘ Rizal refers to the Treaty of Paris, 10 February 1763, ending the war between England and Spain and the British oc::cupauon of ManUa

161 Holland is sensible and will be contented to hold the Moluccas and Java. Sumatra offers her a better future than the Philippines, whose seas and coasts are of bad omen for the Dutch expeditions. Holland goes about cautiously in Sumatra and Borneo for fear of losing them all. China will consider herself lucky if she succeeds in maintaining her unity and is not dismembered or divided by the European powers engaged in colonizing on the Asiatic continent. The same happens to Japan. On her north is Russia who covets and spies on her; on her south is England who has even introduced English as an official language in her country. She is moreover under such a European diplomatic pressure that she cannot think of colonial expansion until she can get rid of it, which will not be easy to achieve. It is true she is over-populated, but Korea attracts her more than the Philippines, and it is easier to take besides. Perhaps the great American Jrepublic with interests in the Pacific and without a share in the partition of Africa may one day think of acquiring possessions beyond the seas. It is not impossible, for example is contagious, greed and ambition being the vices of the strong, and Harrison expressed himself in this sense over the question of Samoa; but neither is the Panama Canal open nor do her states have a plethora of inhabitants, and in case she openly embarks on colonial expansion, the European powers may not leave the way open to her, as they know very well that appetite is whetted by the first morsels. North America would be a bothersome rival once she enters the field. It is moreover against her traditions. Very probably the Philippines will defend with indescribable ardOl' the liberty she has bought at the cost of so much blood and sacrifice. With the new men that will spring from her bosom and the remembrance of the past, she will perhaps enter openly the wide road of progress and all will 00348S-

162 work jointly to strengthen the Mother Country at home as well as abroad with the same enthusiasm with which a young man returns to cultivate his father's farmland so long devastated and abandoned due to the negligence of those who had alienated it. Then the mines-gold, iron, copper, lead, coal, and others--will be worked again, which will help solve the problem of poverty. Perhaps the people will revive their maritime and commercial activities for which the islanders have a natural aptitude, and free once more, like the bird that leaves his cage, like the flower that returns to the open air, she will recover her good old qualities which she is losing little by little and again become a lover of peace, gay, lively, smiling, hospitable, and fearless. This and other things besides can happen within one hundred years more or less. But the most logical augury, the prophecy based on better probabilities can fail due to insignificant and remote reasons. An octopus which clung to Mark Anthony's ship changed the face of the world; a cross on Calvary and a Just man nailed on it changed the morality of half of mankind, and nevertheless, before Chris~, how many just men did not perish iniquitously and how many crosses were not raised on that hill? The death of the Just sanctified His work or made His teaching incontrovertible. A crag on the battlefield of Waterloo buried all the glories of two luminous decades, the whole Napoleonic world, and liberated Europe. On what fortuitous circumstances will depend the destiny of the Philippines? However, it is unwise to trust in the fortuitous; there is an imperceptible and incomprehensible logic at times in historical events. It is to be desired that peoples as well as governments adjust themselves to it. So we repeat and we shall always repeat, while there is time, that it is better to anticipate the wishes of a people rather than to yield to force; the first wins sympathy and

163 love; the second, contempt and indignation. Inasmuch as it is necessary to give to six million Filipinos their rights so that they would be Spaniards in fact, let the government grant them freely and spontaneously without insulting reservations, without irritating distrust. We will not tire repeating this while there remains a spark of hope; we prefer this disagreeable task to have to say one day to the Mother Country: "Spain, we have spent our youth serving your interests in our country, we have appealed to you, we have consumed all the light of our intellect, all the ardor and enthusiasm of our heart working for the good of what was yours, entreating you for a loving glance, for a liberal policy to insure the peace of our country and your rule over these devoted but unfortunate Islands! Spain, you have remained deaf, and wrapped in your pride, you have pursued your fateful way and you have accused us of being traitors, solely becau e we love our country, because we tell you the truth and we hate all kinds of injustice. What do you want us to tell our unhappy country when she asks us about the result of our efforts? Have we to tell her that, as for her sake we have lost everything-youth, future , illusions, tranquility, family-as in her service we have exhausted all the resources of hope, all the disappointments of our eagerness, she takes the remainder that is useless to us, the blood of ow' veins, and the strength that remains in our arms? Spain! Have we to say one day to the Philippines that you are deaf to her ills and that if she wants to be saved she should redeem herself alone?" The author wrote these articles in Spain, hence the use of "there" in referring to the Philippines, Published in La So lid aridad, Vol. I, 173-180 (30 Sept. 1889); 202-207 (31 Oct. 1889); 239-243 (15 Dec. 1889); 15-18 (1 Feb. 1890). -t.

','

TOLAPATIUA

We are going to answer briefly La. Patria's article of 26 September which came to our attention with a little delay. Frankly we would have preferred to keep silent, for the lady has thrown us so many compliments that we thought we ought to behave gallantly, leaving her with the last word and her wheedling; but for fear of being discourteous by not replying to her question, we are going to write a few lines, wishing to terminate this discussion that is beating about the bush, fleeing from the principal question. La Patria

* says

And with regard to the rule about the agreement between the relative and the antecedent, it rests unconditionally from the moment the teacher says that we find ourselves in the statu. in gender, number, and case.

If the quo does not have to agree in case with statu, with what word must it agree? Let us see. Tell us frankly that you are joking for we cannot believe that you are so ignorant or so impenitent with regard to grammatical questions known by all children who have attended school for a few days. Upon reading our article you must have consulted some grammar to see who is right or wrong, and it must have clarified to you the matter. Should I follow your jokes I would say to you, assuming the airs of a Latin teacher and with ferule in hand, that if quo is ablative, it is not because it agrees with statu, in case, but because the verb omitted in the â&#x20AC;˘ La P4tri4 was a short-livGd newspaper of the friars in the Phfiippines published at Madrid.

164

165 sentence requires it, est, sunt, eTat, etceteTa, as the subject demands. But this knowledge is so common and infantile that it is out of place in a political discussion which deals with reforms for the Philippines. The question is to know why the Philippines would be lost by the mere introduction of good reforms. What have the friars done there that afterwards every measure of good government becomes bad and prejudicial? What is that boasted power of the friars that with one gust it falls to pieces? We shall discuss with La Patria with pleasure and in detail all things related to the social condition in the Philippines, for we have the columns of our periodical for that purpose. But permit us to tell you that we have no duty or obligation to teach you the rules of the sentences of the relative. Non est hic locus.* With regard to Latin the colleague is free to believe what he wants. For the same reason and because in our periodical we do not want to discuss personalities, we do not answer the abundant endearing expressions that La Patria direct to us. Besides, our adversary does not sign his name but hides himself carefully. We are only sorry not to be able to pay our anonymous adversary other equally pretty compliments, though jokingly, because frankly, the agreement of the relative with the antecedent that he pretends to modify amazes us and does not permit so much. If La PatTi a wants to be a serious periodical and to discuss, let it go to the point and not to go about the bush, losing time and wasting ink. Lis jacet in statu quo eTat. The question is still where it was. â&#x20AC;˘ This is not the place. Published in La Solidaridad, Vol. I, 216-217. 15 November 1889.

â&#x20AC;˘

INCONSEQUENCES

El Pueblo Sobera'no 1 in its issue for 9 November surprised us beyond measure with a furibund article, to say the least, in which it attacks very personally the painter Luna for believing him to be the author of an article that displeased it.

As Painter Luna was not the "Taga-Ilog" who wrote the offending article that aroused the ire of El Pueblo Soberano, as the said gentleman can settle directly with the one who has so unjustly offended and slandered him, choosing the way that seems best to him, we shall lay aside these personal questions and we are going to discuss some assertions of the impressionable colleague or the rash author who so easily believed in his suppositions, drawing from them unwarranted inferences. 1 A Barcelona newspapel\'. Its editor, Celso Mir Deas, published an article attacking viciously the Filipino painter Juan Luna, believing him to be the author of Impresiones Madrileiias de un Filipino which appeared in La Solidaridad for 31 October 1889 under the by-line of Taga-nog. Its true author was the painter's brother, Antonio Luna, whose nom de plume was Taga-nog. Mir Deas refused to heed Luna's demand for an explanation and instead continued his attacks in the press. From Madrid Luna went to Barcelona ::lccking him and finding him at the Cafe de la Pajarera, he spat on his face, at the same time throwing him his card, which signified a challenge to a duel. The duel never took place because of Mir Deas' i:owardice. As an .aftermath. of this incident Mir Deas denounced Mariano Pon~ to the Barcelona police for possessing pamphlets without imprint. The police searched Ponce's house finding there some pamphlets-Rizal's Por Telef01tO and La vision deL Fr. Rodriguez and Fr. Rodriguez' Cueationea de sumo in teres. It was denounced in the newspapers that at Barcelona bad been discovered a center of conspiracy to overthrow Spanish sovereignty in the Philippines. The case ended with the energetic protests of the Filipinos at Madrid and Barcelona supported by some liberal Spanish newspapers. (See Antonio Luna's letters to Rizal dated Madrid, 16 Nov. 1889, Barcelona. 26 Nov. 1889, and Madrid. 10 Dec. 1889 and the supplement to No. 21 of L4 SolV'!'wad.)

166

167

The colleague does well in saying in his note that be was aiming at one person alone . It would have been very lamentable had he imputed to an entire race the crimes or guilt that he has forged in his mind. We, on the other hand, in answering his article, neither do we want to aim at personalities nor do we want to particularize, much less to throw in the face of a whole race 01' an entire partythat takes pride in being republican and has for its mottoe::; equality and justice-the despotic and tyrannical pretensions natural to the parties that El Pueblo Sobel-ano 15 used to combat. No; neither do we throw in the face of the author of the article the troublesome words that in a moment of bad humor he put on paper. They are unworthy of a cultured press and we consider them children of the same rashness that supposed one thing and took it for the truth. What we want to discuss with the colleague, if he wants to discuss, and if 11' s impressionability does . not deprive him of cold blood, nor of his reasoning, is whether or not the citizen of any country has the right to express his impressions of another country whose sons since antiquity have written about their country whatever their whims dictated, or rather, if a Filipino can write his impressions of Spain in the same or similar way as the Spaniards write about the Philippines. 1ÂŁ El Pueblo Soberano, which is inspired by Rousseau, Mirabeau, Lamartine, and Zorrilla, says no, then condemn Taga-TIog; but then it condemns itself, because it disowns itself and its principles of liberty, equality, and justice. 1ÂŁ it says yes, then it should not say anything against Taga-TIog. rather it should condemn the excesses of its article. The proof that Taga-nog has done nothing more than to imitate his teachers is that the same colleague begins his article copying Canamaque's insults. And before Caiiama-

168 que,2 there were Gaspar de San Agustin, Mas, Ban"antes, and others, and before them Quioquiap 3 and company who related all kinds of absurdities about the Filipinos. And not for that reason have we unchained insults against our slanderers, neither have we attacked their persons nor under the name of Quioquiap have we wished to recognize very worthy and respectable persons and less have we unleashed against them improper language and insults charging them of being ungrateful to our country. But even without this, even removing such bad examples and worse precedents, even supposing that nobody has a right to return to others what they have received from them, given gratuitously (if this does not offend the dignity of our colleague), that we Filipinos were born to endure all the outrages and the Spaniards to tell them to us, the question was to see whether Taga-Ilog had lied in order to show him his absurdities, to have the right to say: "Only we Spaniards can be truthful in the descriptions of voyages." But instead of doing it that way, the author of the article considers Taga-llog right, praising in a certain way the manners of the chulos 4 and even supporting them. He admits fully what Taga-Ilog says about the ignorance in Spain about Philippine geography and he only throws in his face the ignorance about the country in the Philippines itself, which is also true; but the Filipinos should not be blamed for it as they are not the ones who have colleges, neither are they the teachers, nor do they make the plan of study, nor can they travel, nor make maps, and so forth. It is lucky if in the schools there they teach children what a map is; excepting the rosary, the rod, the books on miracles, the novenas, the rattan whip, reading and writ2 Francisco Caiiamaque, Spanish writer and deputy in the Cortes who spoke ill of the Filipinos. 8 Nom de plume of Pablo Feced, Spanish author and newspaperman, notorious for his anti-Filipino writings. f ChuloB is Spanish slang for rascals.

169 ing Spanish, but without learning the language or understanding it, all the geography that is taught is reduced to the tiny piece of ground where they have to kneel down or stretch themselves to be Hogged. Not 'Jnly the writer of the article but all those of his party may see if with these means one can learn about the geography of an路 archipelago between whose islands and provinces travelers encounter so many obstacles and inconveniences. As to what our colleague says about our "mothers who have children" we shall answer him: '拢hat our mothers, without the promptings of the writer of the article, weep and weep a thousand times for not being able to give us any other thing except the unfortunate country where we were born. Were it possible, they would have given birth in other countries where the words humanity, justice, and equality are not -empty words, where rights and duties are common to all, where the law does not have two balances. Our mothers ought to emigrate from our country, cross the ~as, and, if the cannot, drown themselves and drown the fruits of their wombs. 5 As to "our mothers who have no children", like the Mothers of Charity, the Holy Mother Church and others more metaphorical, those are like our Reverend Fathers who neither have children. Both have no reason to weep. Thus shall we all be shockingly notorious. With regard to what our colleague says that "we have stained our pages with the filthy writing of a bad Filipino and a bad Spaniard", we shall calm him by saying that it is not that bad. So long as there are wr~ters who give an example to others of how to ridicule other countries and so long as it is not demonstrated that Taga-Ilog had lied, the pages of La Solidaridad will be considered clean, for until now it has not been said that truth can stain. If it is shown that Taga-llog lied, he will retract. G In his apostrophe to Maria Clara, the fiction character in his novel. Rizal expresses this same idea. See El Filibusterismo, Maucei, Barcelona. 1911. Vol. II, 51-52.

170 We are grateful to the colleague nevertheless for the regret he manifests for this supposed stain and in proof of our gratitude, we shall tell him that we regret also (and even more than the colleague can imagine) that a magazine belonging to a party with lofty aspirations, that dreams of realizing great ideals, that symbolizes equality in the form of government and legislation, in dealing with th" Filipinos, denies completely all its beliefs to adopt the language of the most unjust and cruel despotism, based on error, as if to drive to despair the faithful inhabitants of the Archipelago, as if to say to them: "Ah! Do not hope for justice, do not expect that your rights would be recognized, do not expect pity; we shall never be your brothers! We want liberty, justice, equality indeed, but we want them for ourselves only. We fight for the laws of mankind, but only for European mankind. Our gaze does not reach farther; you who are of the yellow or brown race, manage as you can! All parties, even the most liberal, are despotic toward the colonies! If you want justice, fight for it.

â&#x20AC;˘

TEARS AND LAUGHTER

I do not miss my childhood nor my adolescence, full of golden dreams, they say! I do not sigh for my Motherland, the magic garden of the sirens of the Orient! A child and an adolescent when I was in her bosom, I saw the sun only through my tears; I did not breathe its breeze without a sigh. Someone has compared his childhood to a stem full. of roses and buds; I too compare mine to a stem, but a stem full of thorns only. And notwithstanding, I lived in my native land, in my home, in the midst of the family. Scarcely did I know my ego. I had teachers, many of whom tcmght me all their knowledge. Their knowledge was confined to some simple maxims, like these: Spare the rod and spoil the cHild; children are born bad; and others. By dint of spanking they compelled us to learn by heart books in a language we did not understand; in this language they taught us prayers and they made us pray whole hours-and we were very sleepy-before the images which must be tired of seeing our tearful faces. Then college. Many times the professor, forgetting the lesson, would discourse on our race and our country; and we, trembling before his omnipotence, cowardly swallowed our tears and kept silent. Later, at the university, despite the fact that the professors did not understand themselves, I understood better the world I was in; there were privileges for some and laws for others, and certainly not according to merit. Endowed with physical vigor and thirst for life, one

has to drag himself out of a narrow prison when he sees Pl1l,lished in La Soli,j.m-irl4rl, Vol. I. 226-228. 30 Novemher 1889.

171

172 an open field, a vast horizon in the distance, when he hears the vibration high above, when he feels the heart throbbing, and believes he has a right to cherish beautiful ambitions. Putting on the vizor, I took part in literary contests 1 and unfortunately I won; I heard the sound of sincere and enthusiastic al>plause; but, we revealed ourself, and the applause was transformed into coldness, into mockery, into insult, and the defeated one was honored instead! Victim of a brutal aggression,2 I demanded justice, believing in it, and I was answered with threats . . . . Note, however, that this time, the guilty was not promoted. I do not miss my childhood nor my adolescene! I loved my native country and I fled from her; binding me to the world are only some beings and a home and I abandoned them without bidding them goodbye! 3 My country's breeze keeps my sighs; in her springs are drops of my teC'.rs; on the leaves of her canes, palms, and trees I have written my complaints and my remembrances. She offers me a sweet death and nevertheless, far from all that I love, in a foreign !and, among unknown and indifferent people, I do not weep for her, and her outstretched arms frighten me. My eyes are dry and I laugh! I laugh when I think of her miseries, when I hear the complaints of my brothers, when I see the dark fog that covers her horizon! I laugh when I see my people brutalized and deceived with great theories and dazzling words, 1 Rizal alludes to himself when he won the first prize in the literary contest held by the Liceo Artlstico-Literario de Manila in 1880. His winning entry is Camejo de los Dioses, an allegorical drama. 2 Rizal w~s hit by a civil guard one night when he failed to salute him, not having noticed his presence on account of the darkness. 8 Rizal alludes to his first departure for Spain on 3 May 1882 to continue his studies. See his diary, "Calamba to Barcelona", in Reminilcences AM 'l'ra:uels of Jose Rizal, Centennial Edition, Manila 1981.

173 when I hear the demand for freedom and reason for one, shackles and routine for another, humane laws, fraternity, rights for others, and exceptions for others. Instead of irritating me, instead of arousing my anger, I raise my eyes to heaven and I pray. Blessed art Thou, God of freemen. God of Clement W, Torquemada, England, Russia, Bismarck, La Epoca, and of La Union!' God of Krupp, Thou art the friend of those who have many cannon, guns, torpedoes, and money; Thou always help the strongest, in order not to quarrel with him, and Thou give the reason to the one who has the strongest clutches. Thou created the lion, tiger, fox, and Sagasta 5 who levies taxes on eight million people and denies them representation in the Cortes. I thank Thee for so many good things that Thou have created, for the kindness Thou shower on me alone, favoring the existence of so many calamities to make me laugh, in the same way Thou have created big and numberless celestial bodies so that the earth can see little lights when the sky is cloudy, so that our military officers would have something to put on their sleeves, after having killed our brothers! Permit me, Thou who can forestall everything, Thou whose earthquakes, typhoons, and locusts help the others to impoverish us, permit me to address to Thee my entreaty. Thou who said that to enter heaven one must be poor, Thou who promised to look after those who thirst for justice, keep for our welfare Sagasta and all the Conservatives, those who deny us the Penal Code, the friars of the four corporations and those who with time may go there, the civil guards, carabineers, and government employees! Do not forget to send us every fortnightly the worst left-overs in Spain, like the rascals, the dissolute, the hypocrites, the lazy, the ignorant, 4 La Ep0C6 and La U1U6n. were Manila newspapers. â&#x20AC;˘ Praxedea Mateo Sagasta (1827-1903). liberal, was appointed prime rniniater in 1885 by Queen Regent Marfa Cristina of Spain.

174 and the hungry; make a bureau of all of them, put a tax on anything, place at every street corner a censorship office and twenty spies; forbid us to read, write, and speak; turn us blind, deaf, and mute; and leave us only enough strength to applaud and to work. And if still Thou consider us not poor enough and hungry enough for justice to deserve heaven, then convert all of us into ministers of the Crown or presidents of the Council so that we shall be at once eternally damned. Amen!

INGRATITUDE

El. Dia in its issue for 29 December of

last year publishes under "Correspondence from the Philippines" the following: Accompanied by various Dominican n-iars, some of whom are professors of his children, and the others, parish priests of some towns of the Province of La路 Laguna, Governor General Weyler visited that province. According to a lengthy article published by the newspapers, His Excellency was received with great demonstrations of rejoicing and visited the school and townhall To the speeches of welcome the official replied saying, among other things, that the towns should not alww themselves to be deluded by the vain promises of ungrateful sons. In order to understand this well, it must be added that Mr. Rizal is a native of that province. He is the author of the novel Noli me tangere which combats the friars and bad administration in general. Besides, it was said around Manila that there was great ill-feeling between the friars and the Indios, particularly the relatives of Mr. Rizal, who pay canon to the large and rich estate that the Dominicans own there . . . .

We thank the correspondent of El Dia for the explanation and for the impartiality with which he had judged our work. Likewise we are grateful to His Excellency, the Most Excellent Governor and Captain General of the Philippines, for alluding to us in his address, thus conferring on us a high honor in the eyes of our fellow countrymen. And now we are going to talk about ourself with the permission of our readers. It is nothing less than a Captain General of the Philippines who calls us ungTa.teful sons and it would be more than a discourtesy, it would be 175

176 almost jilibusterism,o, not to take notice of that accusation that emanates from such sublime heights. Let it be understood that we are not answering Mr. Weyler but His Excellency, the omnipotent viceroy of the Philippine Islands. Unlike VeuiUot who let pass the bishop to get hold of the man, we let the man pass and we take off our hat and humble ourself before L~e bishop, or rather the Captain General. His Excellency calls us ungrateful sons. His Excellency says it, and though infallibility is an attribute only recently discovered in popes, 1 we also have to attribute it to His Excellency, because he is more than five popes to us inhabitants of the Phflippines. We wish to know from what fathers or mothers did we get the ugly vice of ingratitude. As the fathers a d mothers could be real or metaphorical, we 1'1nd ourself under the obligation to examine our conscience and our acts in relation to the 1\lother Country, our country, all the friars and non-friars in the Philippines, all the mothers, and others, all the persons, in short, who there take part in the maternal gO'!Jernment, more or less resembling the parents of a certain story of Petrault. 2 And as they are so many (as many or more than the saints in the calendar), we do not begin our "I, sinner", for fear that we may never finish and the grandchildren may have to continue it~ in case the maternal government would pp.rmit us to have them. If His Excellency class us as ungrateful sons with respect to the province where we saw the first friars and the first civil guards, His Excellency is right: We are ungrateful, most ungrateful, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa! On the fine sand of the shores of the lake of the Bay we have passed long hours of our childhood thinking and dreaming of what might be yonder, on the other side of 1 The doctrine of papal infallibility was promulgated in 1870 by the Vatican Council, 1869-1870, summoned by Pope Pius IX (1846-1878) . :: Charles Perrault (1623--1703) , French fairy tale writer.

177 the waves. In our town :I we saw almost daily the lieutenant of the civil guard, the Alcalde when he visited it, drubbing or wounding the unarmed and peaceful citizen who did not take off his hat and saluted from afar. In our town we saw the unbridled force, violence, and other excesses committed by those who were in charge of watching over publi~ peace, and outside, banditry, the highwaymen, against whom our authorities were impotent. Within we had tyranny, and outside, captivity. And I asked myself then if in the countries on the other side of the lake life was the same. if there the r\U"al man on mere suspicion was racked with harsh and cruel lashes, if there the home was not respected, if in order to live in peace it was necessary to bribe the tyrants, who came from Manila as well as from the provincial capital, Santa Cruz, a name that filled me with te~ror knowing that in it there was a large jail, called Bilibid. I knew through what I had seen and heard that when a CItizen of the town went to the provincial capital, it was to go to Bilibid, if he did not carry money to appease justice. All this and many more things I learned in my province and I have been ungrateful to it because I have not done anything to improve its situation! His Excellency speaks of the promises of ungrateful sons. Probably His Excellency does not know what those promises are. Towards the end of the year 1887 when we were in our hometown in the Province of La Laguna, there was received a communication from the Department of Public Finance asking the people about the products of the Estate. The Dominican Fathers, owners of the Estate, wanted the question to be answered not according to truth but according to their interests and concealing in a certain way from the government the large rents that they collected yearly from the land~, whose canon rose up arbitrarily and unjustly. We opposed this wicked trick and with US was the a His native town of Calamba, or Kalamba, Province of Laguna. 003483-12

178 whole town. Consequently the question was answered in detail giving data, citing fioaures, expounding all the facts, and the people asked for the intervention of the government 60 that there might be stability in the contracts with the Estate and the tenants would not be subject to the whims or bad humor of the lay brother of the Estate. Naturally the Dominican Fathers, who had a right to tear government intervention, threatened first all those who had signed and afterwards, seeing that their threats were futile, promised to lower the tributes, which had been arbitrarily and excessively increased, if the signer.; would withdraw their signatures. 4 We then said that we wanted a formal contract, sanctioned and authorized hy the government, so that the owners of the Estate, once the danger had passed away, would not flout the people. The friars, seeing the firmness and the confidence of the people in the loyalty of the government, redoubled their threats, saying that they would win in the litigation as they had more money while the people were poor. Again we raised our voice to the government asking for its intervention and begging it not to abandon the people in a conflict stirred up by it, but to send a commission to examine at close hand the state of things and decide who was right. We sent this petition through the provincial governor, Mr. Ordax, \Uld we tried to calm the excitement of the people, asking them to trust in the fairness of the rulers. Well, nothing came out of it. The government kept quiet, it did not dare intervene, it did not inquire into the truth of the matter, it did not reply either to the petition of all the citizens nor to their just complaints. . .. We have promised the people that the government would attend to their complaints and we told them to have confidence; none of what we pTomised was fulfilled. His Excellency is right in saying to the Province of La Laguna not to believe in the â&#x20AC;˘ See "The Town of Calamba".

179 promises of ungrateful sons! But he has done wrong in deceiving the people! I admit that I have been ungrateful promising them a thing that I ought not to believe in; but at that time Mr. Terrero governed the Philippines, and Mr. Terrero did not visit the towns in the company of the friars! These were the promises of ungrateful sons! We challenge all the excellencies in the world to tell us if we had promised anything else. Provilices of the Philippines, now His Excellency tells you not to believe in such promises! W~ don't believe that in calling us ungrateful sons, His Excellency had wished to allude to our !"',atural parents. Here we admit also that we have been unfortunate, because in venturing to tell the truth to the powerful and in attempting !o fight for justice, we forgot that we were in the Philippines where not only the sins of the parents devolve upon their children but also the sins of the children devolve upon their parents. s Our enemies, who undoubtedly have no parents, not daring' to satiate their ire on us, take revenge on members of our family. Frankly we had a better opinion of them: We believed we were among men and lived in the XIX century. We are ungrateful sons of our country, because we have not done for her all that we could do. We say so seriously. And with respect to the Mother Country,6 we also accept the qualification of ungrateful sons, if by ingratitude is meant to say the truth so that the abuses of her other sons might be corrected, so that she might prepare for the future, and so that she may not be responsible for the numerous abuses that others commit in her name. We believed we acted well; we speak loyally; we believed that our Mother Country was a nation that loved truth and not a tyrant that abhorred it. Only thus do we accept the qualification of ungrateful. Otherwise, no. G The persecution of Ri.zal's parents and brothers was one example. 'SpaiD.

180 Well now; if the reverend fathers of St. Dominic at whose university 1 we studied metaphysics one year, consider us ungrateful because we dare tell them the truth face to face, we shall answer them: That, if in exchange for the education they give us they want to require us to renege the truth, the voice of our conscience, to silence the cries of that something that God has put in us and which we call sentiment of justice, in order to sacrifice the interests of our country, of our fellowmen and of our brothers, to the interests of their wealthy order, we curse and we disown their teaching, and they must never expect from us the least gratitude. Education with such bastard purposes is not education; i t is corruption, it is prostitution of the most noble that we have in ourselves, and certainly no one can ask us to be grateful for the debasement of our dignity. We shall answer them that the teachers who educate ~"iliplno youth ought to consider themselves th2 nurses or the preceptors that a mother pays to rear her child. So long as their interests are not in conflict with truth and the family interests, the child ought to love them and side with them. Between the interests of the fl-iars and those of our country, we are for those of the latter. Any other behavior would be infamous and the mere fact of desiring our infamy is enough to discredit and annihilate all the sacrifices those who call themselves our preceptors might have made for us. In individual and doubtful matters we shall never forget the good that we have received from them. Our country feeds them and enriches them in order that they may educate us. They and we, then, must first look after her interests. To do otherwise is treason. And enough for now. 7 The Universidad de Santo Tomas, Manila, of the Dominican Order, owner of vast properties in the Philippines. Published in LA Solidaridad, VoL II, 7-9. 15 January 1890.

REPLY TO BARR ANTES' CRITICISM OF THE NOLl ME TANGERE To the Most Excellent Vicente Barrantes * Most Exeellent Sir, The honor that you confer upon me by dealing wi th my person and Noli me tangere in the Seccion liispano-Ultramarina in La Espana Moderna, January 1890, volume XIII, as well as certain insinuations and attacks you direct now to me, now to the ideas expressed in my book, give me a right to answer you, at least to defend myself and put things in their proper place. Far from being offended by the tone of your article, sometimes acrimonious, but always patronizing, though it degenerates into the.. language of the master, I consider myself up to a certain point obliged, for frankly, I expected a cruder and more virulent (though perhaps less malicious) attack, cc.nsidering the literacy past that exists between Your Excellency and me, and accustomed as I am to read the unbosoming of the journalists of my country. Your doctrinal tone and your advices move me and I find them natural in one who, like Your Excellency, is a member of the RfÂˇales Academias Espanola y de la Historia, two peaks from which poor writers like me ought to look â&#x20AC;˘ Vicente Barrantes, member of the Real Academia de la Lengua and other learned S:Jcieties, held high positions in the Philippine government. lIe was th e aUlhs r of La i;!~tJ-u.cci671. plimaria en Filipinas (1869}, Guerm.t p:raticas de Filipinas, etc. (1878), El teatro tagalo (1890), and others. In Spain h e was r egarded as a lQarned man, but in the Philippines his name is eXE'ct'ated, for his writings are pronouncedly anti-Filipino, biassed, and superficial. This letter in Spanish is in l'pistolario Riz4liM, II, 294-303.

181

182 like pigmies Or ants, who, in order to write, have yet to do it in a borrowed language. The whole thesis and synthesis of pages 177-181 are reduced to this: That I have incurred in contradictions, that I am "a storehouse of contradictions", because in one part of my Noli me tangere, the captain general said to . my protagonist that he was "the first man with whom I talk: in this country" and because I, Rizal, in La. Solidarida.d ask for reforms for my fellow countrymen. And for this Your Excellency calls me "a novelist of his sins, a storehouse, etc.". Your Excellency says that my style is exceedingly bad. Be it known that these epithets are not my fabrication. God save me from engaging in being a novelist of the sins of Your Excellency! Your confessor should take care of that! H Your Excellency, who throws in my face that I have cited only one proper name, speaking of outrageous friars, has not been able to find in my writings more contradictions than this one, in truth I can be considered twice fortunate-first, for being more consistent than the Bible, the Gospels, the popes, and all mortals; and second for seeing the miracle of the bread and the fishes corrected and augmented. Your Excellency establishes a storehouse of what you call contradictions. H, instead of choosing to be a literary man, Your Excellency makes yourself a shopclerk or manufacturer, holy God, how commodities would abound! But let us examine this "terrible" contradiction. Your Excellency writes (page 177): " ... Quioquiap himself does not have such a poor opinion of the Filipinos as you have, nor would he dare to put in the mouth of the captain general those sanguinary words addressed to the protagonist of Noli me tangere: 'Mr. Ibarra, you are the first man I talk to in this country.' You don't even consider your compatriots men, Mr. Riza1! A Spaniard or even a

183 Christian, I repeat, would not commit cuch a tremendous injustice.." (It seems that the best Christian is less than the last Spaniard, Mr. Barrantes?) And I say: Neither an Indio, nor even a Tagalog,l would draw such a tremendous deduction! Because, in order to make a "syllogism of four legs", as the Dominicans say, and deduce a universal conclusion from a secondary premise, it is necessary to suppose, first, that the captain general and I are equal (I would not be bound by the consequences); second, that the captain general spoke with all the Filipinos before speaking with Mr. Ibarra; third, that in every conversation His Excellency knew thoroughly his interlocutor; and fourth, that His Excellency never exaggerates. I don't know, :Most Excellent Sir, if the academicians ambarum domorum S have already laid down as law that the ideas expressed by the characters in a novel have to be precisely the wrIter's own convictions and not what are suitable to them considering their circumstances, beliefs, habits, education, and passions. The blessed Fr. Jose Rodriguez abounds with the ideas of Your Excellency or vice versa (the order of factors does not alter the product); but until now the said friar is not yet an academician, so far as I know, though he might be, two do not make a majority in the learned corporations and even if they did, their law would have no retroactive effect. It can very well be that Your Excellency might have acquired this literary conviction from your frequent contact with the friars as proven by certain tricks of yours, certain phrases like those "to reprimand me, a novelist of my sins", and others, which smack of the convent and seem to be of the very same Fr. Jose Rodriguez. Until now, unable to give 11n Rizal's time the name "Tagalog" was often used to mean ''FilipjDoÂˇ. â&#x20AC;˘ Of both houses.

184 freedom to my country, I give it to my characters and I let my captain general say what he wants without bothering about reciprocity. I had learned besides from the authors of rhetoric and poetics what they call mixed laws in which diverse characters and the author himself intervene. In the narration are attributed to the character what they say and to the author what he says. To Caesar what is Caesar's! But this is too much to ask. I shall be satisfied if they would tell me whether or not my characters have life and a character of their own, if they act and speak according to their circumstances and different manners of thinking and they lay aside my own convictions. But, transeat, let us adopt for a moment the RodriguezBarrantes Law. I am the spirit, I am the captain general himself; I have spoken with "all" the Filipinos; I have understood them and I have even spoken with the last Ibarra; I did not fina a single man. Good! To what literary law will you resort now, YoJ Excellency, in order to nullify the correctiveI that Ibarra applies to "my" incontrovertible words? Because if Your Excellency had read the following lines, you would not have committed "this tremendous injustice that neither a Spaniard nor even a Christian, would commit, nor would you have written so many pages resembling the digressions of those who write on what does not exist. In fact Ibarra replies in the following lines: Your Excellency has seen only those who crawl in the city; had you visited the slandered hovels of our towns, Your Excellency would have been able to see true men, if to be a man it is f:'nough to have a generous heart and simple customs.

Who speaks now for Ibarra, Most Excellent Sir? Would it be perchance Your Excellency? And then, what happens to the RodrÂŁguez-Barrantes Law? And then, 'why does Your Excellency say afterwards that Ibarra and Rizal are the same? Either we are or we are not~ I eln not like to

185

attribute to bad faith Your Excellency's way of citing. Accuse me of injustice and keep silent on the reply that is precisely in the next line! That is called in plain langU;Jge to deceive the public, ~'lost Excellent Sir. Your Excellency has been civil governor and director of administration in my country for many years. Your Excellency is a consummate literary man, you have a grand style and irreproachable pen. Your Excellency is a member of royal and learned academies and you never contradict yourself. Your Excellency is tich in years, experience and honors and you belong to a superior and privileged race. I am a pariah, a poor expatriate, a bad literary writer with the worst style, a "storehouse of contradictions", an inexperienced young man, and of an enslaved race, and despite all that I am going to dare give you an advice in exchange for what you give me paternally. \Vhen one has the titles and aspirations of Your Excellency, one must write with more gooA faith and more sincerity. One must not grasp at the tricks of the polemists of the cafes, for as Your Excellency itself says "learning is not the best emblem or the exclusive attribute of man but virtues and moral endowments". What Your Excellency says of man can be applied to the critic and historian. For the same reason I find highly censurable the assertion that you attribute to me on page 179 in which you say that I call "carpenters" the modest artists of Santa Cruz and Paete. By what reason, Most Excellent Sir? How could Your Excellency see in the phrase carpinterias de Paete in my Noli me tangere the shops of sculpture of Santa Cruz? Does Your Excellency think that the district of Santa Cruz is inside the carpentry shop of that town of my province? Your Excellency in another article places Colombo apparently outside of Ceylon and now you yield to the opposite vice-you put towns inside others like the boxes of the jugglers. To what system do you adhere?

186 Come now, Your Excellency has done it to discredit me in the eyes of my compatriots, or is it because Your Excellency does not know how to read and now you want to pose as defender of the Indios who remember so many things about Your Excellency? Thus cited also Fr. Rodrfguez and following that system, the Holy Ghost itself can come down to write and I assure you that it will come out stripped to honor. That is why Your Excellency doubts my love for truth, because in some things I do not agree with Your Excellency. Your Excellency, it is evident, disposes of the truth at your pleasure and monopolizes it! But returning to the cruel words of my general, I shall admit that they are cruel, very cruel, indeed, but they are not false, considering the personality of the speaker. Your Excellency speaks with greater cruelty even on page 180 and you are a Spaniard and a Christian and you already had before your eyes the satire of my general. Your Excellency says: In truth, in truth, I have looked indefatigably with the very same lantern of Diogenes throughout the Archipelago and with better sense of smell, undoubtedly on account of my experience, than the aforesaid general, who found only 'one man' and he was you, because Ibarra and Rizal are the same, the same.

Let us conclude. Did Your Excellency find him? Did Your Excellency find more men? If Your Excellency found what you were looking for, why talk to us of the "indefatigability" of the very same lantern of Diogenes (popularly, the lantern of the civil guard); and if you did not find him, why talk to us of your sense of smell superior to that of my general, who was not indefatigable, nor did he go around the Archipelago looking for his man, nor did have a lantern even of the Middle Ages? Would Your Excellency want me to have taken you for the model of my captain general? Why talk to us about sanguinary words? Your Excellency, who in all your writings breathes the harshest hatred of my

187 race and my country; Your Excellency who has always enjoyed seeing us suffer; Your Excellency now poses as a defender of the Indios? To what extent has our misfortune gone when we have to be defended by the very same ones who have insulted us? Who is the one who contradicts himself? Does Your Excellency call me a "storehouse of contradictions" because I have in my memory a good supply of your contradictions? It is strange that a captain general who spends the three years of his term of office in an atmosphere of conceit and flattery, surrounded by friars and interested persons, does not know the inhabitants of the country, when Your Excellency itself, despite your many airs, does not know them, Your Excellency whom the friars do not court but who courts them? Aild tell me, who is the sensible man who will like to place himself within reach of a captain general of the Philippines and talk to him freely and frankly when he knows that dysentery or the bad digestion of His Ex~ cellency can upset the tranquility of his home? And consider that in the Philippines dysentery and bad digestion are the order of the day among certain classes. 1 know of a brother-in-law of mine who is now banished for the second time, without he and the governor general ever having seen each other, without trial, without knowing what crime he is accused of, except that he is my brother-in-law. 1 myself, "the man", the Ibarra of Your Excellency (1 know not why, for I am neither rich nor a mestizo, nor an orphan, nor do the qualities of Ibarra coincide with mine) the two times that I presented myself at Malacafiang have been to my regret. The first in 1880 because 1 was knocked down and wounded one dark night by a civil guard because I passed before a bundle and I did not salute, and the bundle turned out to be the lieutenant commander of the military post. 1 was wounded treacherously in the back without

188 any exchange of words. I went to Malacafiang but I did not see His Excellency Primo de Rivera' nor did I get justice either . . . and the second time, in 1887, because I was summoned by Mr. Terrero 5 to answer the accusations and charges against me on account of my book. Now then~ how many thousands and thousands of men more worthy and more honorable than Ibarra and I have seen even the end of the hair or the bald pate of His Excellency? And Your Excellency who takes pride in knowing the Archipelago, with how many Filipinos have you spoken? How many have unbosomed themselves to you? Does Your Excellency know the spirit of the country? If you did, you would not say that I am "a spirit twisted by a German education", for the spirit that breathes in me I have had since a child before leaving the Philippines, before I had learned a word of German. My spirit is "twisted" because I have been reared among injustices and abuses, because since a child I have seen many suffer stupidly and because I too have suffered. ,My "twisted spirit" is the product of that constant vision of moral ideals succumbing before the powerful reality of abuses, arbitrariness, hypocrisies, farces, violence, and other vile passions. And twisted like my spirit is that of hundreds of thousands of Filipinos who have not yet left their miserable homes, who do not speak any other language but their own, and if they would write or express their thoughts, they would leave my Noli me tangere very puny indeed and with their volumes there would be enough to raise pyramids for the corpses of all the tyrants . . . . Yes, Your Excellency is right; Noli me tangere is a satire and not an apology. Yes, I have depicted the social sores of "my homeland"; in it are "pessimism and darkness" and it is because I see much infamy in my country; there the wretched equal in number the imbeciles. I confess 'Fernando Primo de Rivera, governor general, 188G-1883 and 1897-1898. 6 Emilio Terrero y Perinat, governor general. 4 April 1885-4 June 1888.

189 that I found a keen delight in bringing out so much shame and blushes, but in doing the painting with the blood of my heart, I wanted to correct them and save the others. Quioquiap, with whom Your Excellency compares me, undoubtedly to humiliate me and make me hateful in the eyes of my countrymen, has depicted native customs in order to insult and humiliate an entire race, in order to mock it and laugh at its misfortune, generalizing the bad and the abject without exceptions, drawing, like Your Excellency, universal conclusions from secondary and remote premises. But I have depicted the good beside the bad, I have depicted an Elias and a Tasio, because the Elias and the Tasios exist, exist, and exist, however much it may displease Your Excellency. Only that Your Excellency and your partisans, fearing that the few good men I have portrayed may serve as an example to the bad and r.edeem them, Shout that it is false, poetic, exaggerated, ideal, impossible, improbable; what more do I know? And you only acknowledge the bad so that the people may stoop down and be hUmiliated, for being incapable of rising, you want every one around you to go down in order that you may appear great and exalted. There is indeed much corruption over there, may be more than anywhere else, but it is because to the soil's own rubbish has been added the dross of birds of passage and the corpses that the sea deposits on the beach. And because of the existence of this corruption, I have written my Noli me tangere, I ask for reforms so that the little good that there is may be saved and the bad may be redeemed. If my country were a republic like that of Plato, neither would I have written nor would the Noli me tangere achieve the success that it had nor would reforms be needed, because, for what do the healthy want medicine? But Your Excellency wants to catch me in an error with your device on page 179 claiming that the men who need liberal reforms that I ask in Filipinas dentro de cien anas

190 (The Philippines a Century Hence) are not in Noli me tangere. I see now that Your Excellency has not read my entire book and I am not sorry because I had not written it for Your Excellency. But since you want to be a CE!nsOl':, and an infallible censor at that, you should have read it whole in order not to waste time asking stupid questions. Your Excellency asks slothfully: "Why have you kept silent so long a time? "Vhat a better occasion than a novel to announce to the world your wonders 1" The greatest wonder here is the boldness of Your Excellency who imagine one thing, take it for truth, and draw from it whatever conclusions may occur to you. Well, indeed, Most Excellent Sir, those of whom I speak in my Filipinas dentro de cien aiios are announced on pages 290 and 291 and I do not quote them here because that would be wasting time and paper. Everybody can read it. That movement that has reached the corners of the provincesfor even the philosopher Tasio has observed it ten or twelve years ago, the period covered by my novel-has produced the men of today, but Your Excellency calls this consequence, even the chronology of events, a contradiction. Your Excellency has also called the natives of Ceylon Malayans, you have placed Santa Cruz in Paete, and Colombo I do not know where. May you profit from that procedure! Your Excellency cites the names of Anacleto del Rosario, lsabelo de los Reyes, and Arellano. You could cite more if you knew better the country and its men and you did not begrudge us much our little national glories. I could cite to you in addition a Leon Guerrero, a Zamora, a Joaquin Garrido, a Jose Luna, a Regino Garcia, Pardo de Tavera, Benedicto Luna, Vicente Garcia, del Pilar, Mariano Sevilla, Pedro Serrano, and many others; but here it is not a question of making a catalogue of men who are worthy, there are and that is enough. Your Excellency asks about historiographers, freethinkers, and philosophers. Of the first, though they are not of the Real Academia de la Historia,

191 there are, like Isabelo de los Reyes who, though he has not written Guerras PiTaticClB, has, on the other hand, great merit for the conscientiousness of his works. As to giving Your Excellency the names of the freethinkers and philosophers, God save me from falling into the trap! "Rather!" as the English say, not even the name of the province! We know enough of how the unhappy Mr. Francisco Rodriguez was persecuted and slandered while living and after death, because of his fame as a freethinker! Your Excellency, pretending to be innocent, asks me for the work of the philosophers. And the prior censorship? Have it suppressed, Your Excellency, and I promise you that the first copies will be dedicated to you. Find out also the number of copies sold of the works of Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo, CantU, Sue, Dumas, Lamartine, Thiers, Aiguals de hco, and others and by the consumption you will have an idea of the number of consumers. Your thesis is reduced to this: I am a storehouse of contradictions, because Your Excellency fancies me thus and because you see contradiction in everything. Does Your Excellency use spectacles with the quality of contradiction or Your Excellency has the spirit of contradiction in your nature? Does Your Excellency by chance persists in your opinion that the characters of a novel must all conform to the convictions of the author? Then indeed I acknowledge the "storehouse of contradictions" and still more. But that Poetica of Fr. Rodriguez should have been published before, Most Excellent Sir! I am glad that Your Excellency place Quioquiap many cubits above me. Put him in the moon and in Heaven too. I will never aspire to have his style; I keep mine which is very bad, as Your Excellency says, Academicus Vincentius Barrantes dixit, e-rgo ita e!st.' But however bad â&#x20AC;˘ Academician Vicente Barrantes bas said It, therefore it Is sa.

192 it might be, it is not as bad as the abuses it combats, and I can say with Lista: 7

De mi libre M usa jamas el eco adormeci6 a tiranos ni viZ lisonja emponzoiio su aZiento

It has never corrupted an administration nor has it served to cover up frauds, oppress 01- exploit an over-confident people. Bad and all, it has served what I liked and if it is not the conic, nickel-plated, and polished bullet that an academician can shoot but only a rough pebble picked from the brook, on the other hand it has hit the mark, hitting on the head that double-faced Goliath that in the Philippines is called jrailismo 9 and bad government. It is just that it should kick about violently; I do not deny its right to do so. The wound is there, death is there, what does the missile matter to me? Unable to deny the veracity of the facts, let them crurg to the style, to the bark. A dog bites the stone that wounds it. For the rest, if I do have detractors, I do not lack panegyrists--one compensates for the other. It would be madness to ask the offended powerful to re'vard he who told him bitter truths. I consider myself very lucky that I am still alive. Only the demi-gods ask that their hands that slap be kissed. What I would have felt indeed is to hear, instead of curses and roarings in the ranks of the enemy, applause and compliments, for then it would be a proof that the shot had come out of the butt end of the musket. And as I did not write for myself nor to be admitted to the porter's lodge of the Academy, but only to denounce abuses and unmask hypocrites, my purpose baving been achieved, what do the Alberto Lista y Aragon (1775-1848), Spanish poet and mathematiclan. â&#x20AC;˘ Free translation: The echo of my free Muse Never lulled tyrants to sleep Nor vile adulation poisoned her breath â&#x20AC;˘.. â&#x20AC;˘ That is, friar doings.

193 rest matter to me? My book, moreover, has not been judged nor can it be judged because its effects are still felt. When the men that it fustigates and the abuses that it combats shall have disappeared from the politics of my homeland; when there shall come a generation that will not countenance the crimes or immoralities of the present; when Spain shall put an end to these struggles by means of sincere and liberal reforms; in short, when all of us shall have disappeared and with us our self-esteem, our vanities, and our little passions, then Spaniards and Filipinos shall be able to judge it tranquilly and impartially, without enthusiasm or rancour.

JOSE Published in La Solidaridad, 15 Feb. 1890. 008488-18

RIZAL

NAMELESS

We don't know how to describe the incident which we are going to report to honorable Spaniards and in particular to the Ministry of Colonies. Towards the end of the year 1887, on account of an inquiry of the government, a conflict arose between the tenants of the Hacienda de Calamba, (Calamba Estate) and its owners, the Reverend Dominican Fathers. The tenants, threatened by the Dominicans; resorted to a petition to the government asking for its intervention and for its representative to examine the truth of the facts that the ten::ll1ts had stated. 1 Innumerable were the complaints, the acts acknowledged, and the arbitrariness committed, and the petition was signed by almost all the townspeople. We have before us copies of both documents. Well then; if the papers before us do not lie, it seems that the petition was laid on the table so that the then governor general, Mr. Terrero 2 who was already tired of certain tyrannies, would not see it and act as he should. The fact was that it was not acted upon until five months later when the vice governor became acting governor general. Instead of sending his delegate, as the petitioners asked, to the town of Calamba, the acting governor general sent there a confidential person, the Provincial of the Dominicans no less, that is, the accused party, in order to report on the truth of the case. We have a copy of this original paper dated 8 May 1888. I See "The Town of Calamba", p. 37 â&#x20AC;˘ Governor General Emilio Terrero y Perinat

194

(1885-1888).

195 Naturally, as the general was not the confessor of His Reverence, the latter was not under obligation to say, Peccavi (I have sinned). He reported what was convenient to the Dominicans and naturally that official decided to disregard the petition, describing as false the facts that the tenants of Calamba reported to the Government, asking their clarification and verification. We have also a copy of this no less original decision, dated 30 May 1888 and addressed also to His Reverence who replied immediately on 4 June thanking the governor for such a satisfactory communication, as His Reverence himself calls it. Frankly, we don't know if this manner of administering justice-the judge asking the advice of the accused and not listening to the voice that clamors for the clarification of the truth-we don't know if this is practiced in some savage country. It will not be impossible inasmuch as we see it used by a general belonging to a nation which is such a lover of progress and justice as Spain is. What indeed we can say is that in the Philippines, before the coming of the Spaniards, before anyone had thought of being baptized and civilized, before the light of truth shone on that country, when the friars did not have there yet an inch of land, when the tilled and worked land still belonged to the one who had made it fruitful and had consecrated it with the sweat of his brow, the administration of justice was done in a different way. The justice and lieutenant governor of the Philippines, Dr. Antonio de Morga, wrote in 1609 in the Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas (chapter VIII): When some natives had litigations or differences with others over land or business or over personal injuries and damages, they appointed elders of the same community (that is, of the same barangay) to hear the case, the parties being present, and there must be brought proofs and witnesses. Guided by what they found they afterwards judge the case in accordance with the procedure used by their ancestors in such cases, and their decision was respected and executed without protest or delay.

196 Thus the uncivilized Filipinos administered justice. Without doubt it is bitter, Mr. Minister of Colonies, to complain and complain every day to a liberal government, without succeeding to be heard. This is very bitter to the one complaining, but it is much more bitter still not only for the Philippines but also for Spain, to consider that after three centuries and a half that the Spanish flag has been flying over there, after so many sacrifices, after so much blood shed and so much gold spent, the Filipinos had thus gone backward in the administration of justice, the foundation of society and of governments; and Spain, the colonial power, had been able to give her that only, despite her Civil Code. If our ancestors would return to life! Is the Government of the Philippines already so impotent before certain co porations 3 that it does not only content itself to close its eyes to many abuses but goes as far as to be guided by and t ask for the opinion of the accused? Has the judge gone to that extent? If he disregarded the petition of the tenants because the accused called the allegations false, why were not the slanderers prosecuted? Why were they not brought to court? Why wasn't the accused-judge converted into judge-accuser? This is easier and more decent than the other way. Was he afraid to hear the voice of the unfortunate tenants? Frankly, we don't know how to describe this procedure. We ought not to call it Spanish-Filipino, though the frequency of similar incidents almost justifies it; but it is not right that the stain fall on either Spain or the Philippines. Neither one nor the other, though they are involved, ought to be collectively responsible for this procedure. We report this to the Minister of Colonies, the honorable Spaniards, and the townspeople of Calamba. That is, religious corporations. Published in La Solidaridad. Vol. II, 43-44.

28 Febn.lary 1890.

THE PHILIPPINES AT THE SPANISH CONGRESS

The session of 6 March can be marked with a diamond in the political history of the Philippines. A deputy, Mr. Francisco Calvo Munoz, doing justice to that country and honoring the title of Spanish deputy, has asked with conviction and feeling the representation of the Archipelago in the Cortes. We do not wish to diminish his merit by extolling him. We shall only say that he has complied with his duty and his conscience. The Congress received favorably the words of the deputy. It understood the justice of the petition and its approval wants to say that the Mother Country owes the Philippines a reparation. The Minister of Colonies replied that he held the same ideas and declared his vehement desire to demand from the Parliament the representation of that country. Nay: The Minister criticized the bill of Mr. Calvo Munoz as not liberal enough for it asked only for three deputies at the moment when universal suffrage was being asked for Spain. The Filipino people can believe in the sincerity of the words of the minister, because, although many of his bills and reforms are not approved and those which are carried out are not satisfactorily implemented, the cause of that ought to be attributed to the great opposition that they encounter on their path. Let us wait a little more, inasmuch as we have already learned to wait. The skeptics over there ought not to see in the excuse of Mr. Becerrainvoking timeliness-nor in his declarations in favor of assimilation, any of those banal subterfuges to which we are accustomed there whenever we ask for something like the question of the school of arts and trades of which 197

198 the Augustinian fathers took charge . . . so that it would not materialize, for example. Neither is it the excuse of a timorous man who thereby pretends to give a decent appearance to his ignorance, his indecision , or his incapacity. A man like Mr. Becerra ought not to have more t.han one word, the expression of his idea, and one will, that of hi'> conviction. The Minister spoke of timeliness and said that that was not the right time to pose the question. Though when asked whether or not we Indios had intelligence, he admitted that it was certain that we had it in the eyes and in the hands, though he regretted greatly the poverty and the ignorance that prevailed there, saying "that it is not certainly through their fault , nor are very enlightened persons lacking there" . We Indios nevertheless, are grateful to him for the l'l\otives that have impelled him to consider premature the amendment of Mr. Calvo Munoz. And we thank him because, though in certain parts of his speech he has expressed himself with much reticence and sufficient obscurity, we suspect that he was not guided by any unjust or offensive thought but only by the prudence of the legislator who did not want to see the fruit of his labors to be spoiled by sowing in an unprepared ground. We can believe that Mr. Becerra fears that in the present circumstances, when municipalities do not as yet exist in the Philippines nor are the duties of a citizen known , parliamentary representation can be an evil , because certain elements can take hold of it and use it contrary to the purposes for which it has been created. For this good intention , we Indios overlook his remarks about our manual and visual intelligence and we thank him from the bottom of our heart. However, we are not entirely in accord with the fears of the ministers. Certainly, and very certainly, we said more than once that there is much ignorance in the country and the partisans of the people's backwardness have plenty

199 of money and power. But this does not prevent us from saying that it is imperative to save the country from her poverty and ignorance--"for which she is not to blame"-while she is not yet totally brutalized. Mr. Becerra has said that "it is Christian-like to defend the disinherited poor, because the rich and the powerful being able to defend themselves do not need other defenders". Well then, the only remedy is to give them representation in the Cortes with restricted suffrage, not as much as proposed by Mr. Calvo Munoz, nor so extensive as universal suffrage. It is true that in a country where the only rostrum allowed is the confessional, to grant universal suffrage is to make the reactionaries triumph; but if fOJ.路 the present we restrict voting (speaking of the Indios), and it is granted not only to the ex-gobernadorcillos, lieutenants and heads of barangay, we believe that the reform will not be a failure. Ignorance is found only among certain classes, who, because of their Jrnfortunate condition, are at the mercy of everybody and are the object of all kinds of tyrannies. These unfortunates, as they have to live on what they earn daily, are obliged to draw near to the best tree so that it can protect them against all calamities and to be able to continue vegetating, and this tree in the Philippines is the friar. The people know unfortunately that the real king is the friar who disposes of the government and of the rulers and naturally they fear him more than the others. But recent experiences are gradually undeceiving them, and soon, if their ills are not remedied, they will have to seek protection in themselves: The voice of the laws does not reach" there nor the borders of the towns. For this reason we ask for the freedom of the press so that through it public opinion may be enlightened and guarded against certain intrigues. We don't believe that the Minister would fear it. Since Cuba has had it, she

200 has not rebelled; the British colonies have it as well as the French. A free press is the inseparable companion, rather, the one that opens the road to parliamentary representation. Both things are complementary. There are numerous very serious and very intelligent persons among the Indios and we say it however unbecoming for us to do so. Only that the Indio in general and the Indio in the provinces in particular, closes up before a stranger, and even before a Spaniard, with a certain reserve that flighty minds rarely penetrate. We have been greatly slandered. Travelers who undergo hardships and displeasures for hitting upon a population that regard with disapproval their pretensions and airs of conquerors; writers who want to show off their wit and smartness in their books and to cause a sensation, darken the background and depict the Indio all black and ridiculous. Friars who are interested in making beli~ve that there are only children there (Philippines) who need their protection; government employees who want to exculpate stupidities or abuses; sheep of Panurge 1 who say and believe what others have told them without taking the trouble of finding out the truth about the matter-all these personages have slandered the country, and as they always use the argument that "they have been there", there is no possible reply. The 'm ajority do not know anyone but their servant and it is lucky if the two understand each other. The writer of these lines, who perhaps is not unworthy to place himself beside the last shoemaker who has a vote and elects his deputy, has found in the Philippines, not only in Manila, but also in the provinces, men of vast knowledge and of such good sense that one would not suspect. The Minister of Colonies said very well that there were not lacking there "very intelligent persons". 1 Panurge, a rogue, is a character in Rabelais' Pantagruel. Pantagruel, is the giant son of Gargantua.

201 Perhaps there are more than he suspects, only they do not nor can they reveal themselves. One who did so would be foolish, for in a country where jealousy and arbitrariness are at the service of retrogression, to give signs of intelligence is to make gold tinkle in the pocket when one is in the cave of robbers. Each one keeps in his shirt what he k..'10WS and chows buyo.! The most imbecile has more probability of living in peace. We believe then that it is time to give the Philippines representation in the Cortes and freedom of the press. With these two reforms, carried out wisely by a minister and a go\<ernor who do not allow themselves to be influenced by anybody, all other refoms that may later be presented will succeed; under their protection, they will prosper. Whereas now that the country has neither organ of public opinion n r voice in the legislature, when a reform is ordered, it cannot be known here whether it is implemented or not, if the governor general, in order to please So and So, suspends it, mutilates it or interprets it in his own way. A free press would watch over its implementation and the deputies could defend it in the Cortes. With these two reforms we believe firmly that the pessimists and the discontented will disappear from the moment they are furnished with a medium to inform them. It is already something to be able to complain when one feels outraged. We believe that Mr. Becerra has as much impatience as the most impatient among the Filipinos to fulfill his promise. We hope so for we would like to see confidence reborn in the minds of our fellow countrymen, cowered long ago by the state of things. They are face to face to a powerful enemy, far from the aid of the laws, and they do not have a voice to defend them. They know that at any moment an uprising can break out, "simulated or I

A leaf of betel (Piper betle L.) with a little lime and a piece of betel

nut (Arec4 c4t-echu).

202 purchased" which undoubtedly will be smothered in the blood of innocents or the enemies of the powerful, and they know that by then they have no one to protect them. It would be a miracle if, throwing themselves into the arms of despair, they do not then try to sell their lives dearly. And everybody knows how easy it is to simulate such uprIsmgs. We have already seen some and even in Barcelona domiciliary secu'ch was attempted, only it did not succeed, because it seems that it needed the atmosphere of the Philippines. 3 A "purchased uprising" at this time might affect certain reforms and as in such moments one hardly can reason cold-bloodedly, fear may make us recoil and undo what has been done. We remind Mr. Becerra of his motto: "Do not leave for tomorrow what should be done today." See footnote on page 200. Published in La Solidaridad, Vol. II. 69-71. 31 March 1890.

LET US BE JUST

In its preceding issue La Solidaridad published a letter that various Filipinos of Manila had addressed to La Opinion on the occasion of a homicide committed on the Island of Negros. It seems that this periodical in an article entitled "Plain Justice" asked for the proclamation of martial law in Negros. The letter of various Filipinos protesting against this absurd petition is written with so much timidity and so Im uch respect . . . that the periodical, without doubt, for an excess of misunderstood patriotism ... for an exaggerated zeal and in a moment of weakness ... did not want to publish it. The assassin or murderer seems to be a laborer, father of a family, without a bad record. He was not impelled by vile motive but rathel\, after committing"the act, he presented himself to the authorities, giving information about how he assassinated his master, a landowner. And in view of this deed, of the conduct of this man, two newspapers ask that martial law be declared. The others claiming to be liberal and just, reject the military procedure and ask that the full weight of the law fall upon the guilty, that inexorable penalty be meted out to the delinquent, and so forth. And this is not the first time that the full severity of the law is asked to be applied to the poor rural workers of the Philippines when the victims unfortunately belong to the European race! Some months ago a husband surprised a friar staining his honor. The irate husband wounded and maltreated him and the newspapers also then asked that the guilty assassin be rigorously punished, that the full force of the law be applied to him, etc. Published in La Solidaridad, 15 April 1890.

203

204 It is sad to record these desires for the morality of those consciences! The existence of such desires is a sad omen for the assimilation of the Philippines! What will a man who reflects and judges infer in view of these moral ailments? Would these men who ask for such vengeance act differently if their own dignity had been offended or their honor stained?

How can abysses be closed up, how can ties be formed when such absurd formulas are seen, when justice has two balances, when the law has complacency for some and fury for others? All the wise maxims of the world, all the eloquent aspirations of generous souls who would like to make that people a Spanish people, if they encounter such obstacles, will vanish like smoke! Ah! The prior censorship in Manila must have fi libustero tendencies, or it must be very near-sigh ed not to see the scope of such cries! Why? What is t~e purpose of invoking the full rigor of the law against a man, who is deeply wronged , for the assassination of a landowner, or of a friar? Is not that telling the entire people not to believe in justice? Is it perchance the first time that an assassination is committed? Do not thousands and thousands of persons in all the countries of the globe die daily under conditions a thousand and thousand times more serious, with more aggravating circumstances than in the cases before us? Who guarantees to us that the landowner had not maltreated or offended deeply the aggressor? Why, instead of saying, let the court investigate well and weigh the motives and the causes that led to the perpetration of the deed, all go out shouting, "Plain justice! Martial law !" When, in Europe, among a people who have all the means of being educated and improving their morality, in a society where class abuses and oppression can be easily denounced . where the poor find protection, where all are equal before the law, where the criminal is much more responsible,

205 inasmuch as he is governed by laws that he knows and to whose making he has given his assent, when in Europe, we say, the jury proceeds with the utmost caution and acquits most of the time those who commit horrible and cruel murders, always seeking in the wretchedness of man some attenuating, saving circumstance, should no excuse be found to declare the criminal not responsible, we see in Catholic Philippines, in a country which had exchanged her past and her independence for the law of Christ, for that religion of love and charity, man armed with all kinds of vengeance, hurling all kinds of imprecations against the unfortunate who, perhaps, rightly examined, had no other crime than that of not being a God, that is, who is not infinite in his sufferings! And in the Philippines, those who today want to show themselves severe and inflexible, what moral have they taught us, what examples have they given us, what have they done to enlighten our mind, prevent abuses, make the poor trust in the law and in the justice of the courts? Nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing when it is a powerful man who has sinned! Is this not wishing to excite the most peaceful people in the world to rebellion? That it is a landowner who punishes excessively a laborer? That it is a friar whom a husband surprises? Do they personify perchance all the morality on earth that their death should be avenged with martial laws and Draconian penalties? Let those who still have love for their dignity, love for their home and their family speak; let those who still feel in their breast a remnant of impartiality speak. If we are to think of the disastrous effects that such crazy manifestations have produced in the breast of the poor Filipinos, we have to infer that there are there tendencies that want to nullify the attempts of those who want the Hispanization of that country. While the sensibility of the people is wounded and excited in this way, while racial

206

antagonisms are fostered through hate and vengeance, the enlightened minds, those who dream of the Hispanization of the Archipelago, that one day might be the life of Spain, like a solicitous daughter in the Mother's old age, will spend their lives weaving Penelope's cloth! And it is marvellous to consider how ignorance and routine persist in their minds, dragging down the peoples who have entrusted their destinies to them. There is I no doubt that those clamors for martial law and plain justice pass there for being the most patriotic when a prudent policy, a policy of attraction, wise and far-sighted, counsels a conduct that probably the prior censorship there would prohibit to be mentioned even. Quos Jupiter vult perdere I, . . . . In short, as Professor Blumentritt rightly says: Habent sua tata, non solum libelli, sed etiam regna. 2 Finally, that unfortunate man will be hanged as after the murder, he presented himself to the court. Perhaps martial law may be proclaimed' the strictness may go to the extreme. Perhaps they may also hang the husband of whom we spoke so that the strictness of the law, public vengeance, the weight of justice. etc, etc., etc. But the executioner should be careful in performing his sad mission; he might also execute the law, justice, the love of the Philippines for Spain dying in the mind of the people. Now various Filipinos protest despite the condition in which they are found; tomorrow it will be the whole people and who knows if it will already be too late. The military men should be careful about their martial laws; sometimes they sentence themselves, because the cessation of the organs of the body is not the only death ; there is another, death before public opinion, before conscience, before posterity. Without the autos de te of the Inquisition, the 1 Those whom Jupiter wants to destroy, he first makes mad. â&#x20AC;˘ Not only books have their destinies but also reigns. 3 Auto-de-fe is the sentence given by the Inquisition which is execution, especially burning.

207

religious corporations would not have died in Europe. Those tortures and those burnings tore away and burned all that was fair, great, and beautiful that the convents did in the past. The ambitions of some popes killed the papacy, and Louis XV by ordering that the criminal who wounded him slightly be quartered, prepared the scaffold of Louis XVI. The powers-that-be should be careful that in believing that they remedy a present evil, they sin against justice and humanity! There is a God in history! If the nations whose might was founded on force have not been able to abuse it as well as the weakness of the vanquished or subjects with impunity, but rather laying aside the eternal moral law had to succumb in their turn by the same means, what have we to say to the powers that have to rely on esteem, respect, and prestige? Physical superiority is nothing before moral superiority, and men, like all am,mals, have to respect this and submit to it. Colonial powers, above all those who do not dispose of armies and navies to guard every shrub or prevent the passage of the waves, must need above all to display this moral superiority before the subject peoples, otherwise we can predict their proximate end. And there is nothing that wins man more than the idea of justice, serene, without hatred or fury, as there is nothing like injustice to arouse his indignation. And a government commits suicide and loses prestige before the entire people when these ravings become too exacting with the luckless and when, obeying the fears of the moment that shine through closes its eyes to the deeds of the powerful. Perhaps they will say to us that they ask for the law of retaliation. If this law governed all, however barbarous and stupid it might be, the oppressed would have some comfort. But the penalty of lex talionis is asked in a loud voice there only for the poor, because the poor have neither

208

newspapers nor defenders; but should it be applied with all its blind stupidity, half of mankind would go to prison and to the scaffold the other half. No, let justice act, but without incitements to cruelty, without martial laws, without barbarism nor clemency. Let it perform its mission quietly, carefully, serenely, like one that is conscious of its power and of its august ministry. It must not go down to the level of vengeance. Examine impartially the facts and when it has to mete out a penalty, be very careful and incline more towards benevolence, for aside from the fact that man is weak, there is the high political consideration of not allowing any racial animosity to show, inasmuch as the one who has to judge the criminal is of the same color as the deceased. And more than elsewhere, judges ought to consider that in the Philippines climate produces effects on passions. A state of anemia, due to the heat, produces an unbalanced condition which is manifested by nervous irritability. The hamok, or momentary obfuscation, is a phenomenon observed among the Malay race, sometimes provoked by hunger, heat, etc. Add to this what various Filipinos who have protested there observe: The Indio, the personification of suffering, will only kill when all his patience has been exhausted and nothing remains to him but despair. And we know Spaniards who criticized this excessive patience and who interpreted this endurance of suffering as lack of dignity. Be very careful then!

....

PHILIPPINE AFFAIRS

We have read very strange ideas in Philippine newspapers which in many instances seem to us to have a certain ironic flavor or bitter sarcasm that has slipped despite the vigilant and jealous prior censorship. In 1888, on the occasion of the pardon of a man condemned to death, the Philippine press had the curious idea that the people should be eternally grateful for that pardon as if the entire population lived on the neck of that criminal who escaped the garrotte, or as if society had received a great benefit because the life of a bad member had been preserved. The criminal had suffered all the moral torments, for the commutation of his sentence to life imprisonment came dramatically or farcically only a second before his execution, so that the criminal suffered moral execution and besides, life imprisonment. It is not strange that he became mad; it was an excessive good luck for one man alone. And then the Manila press with a terrible irony, with cruel sarcasm. hurls dithyrambs about the immense, eternal gratitude of the Filipino people, of the criminal, etc. The prior censorship let it pass. Regarding this, as if their appetite had been aroused, the press speaks of a banquet offered by the prisoners to the officialdom as a very holy and beautiful thing. . . . The prior censorship seemed to be absent-minded. Aliquando bona dormitat censura. 1 We could cite very many more strokes in which the nicety of sarcasm exceeds all foresight. Their perusal would only Published in La SolidaTidad, Vol. II, 82- 84. 30 April 1890. Even the good censor sometimes nods.

209 0034R!l-

210 produce in us the following reflections: That he who wants to censor too much, censors nothing. Penance is in the sin itself. We, then, were already accustomed to the genial sallies of the journalists beyond the sea, and we adopted towards them the policy of nihil admirari; 2 so that when we picked up casually a newspaper to breathe in the odor of the Pasig and local flavor, we first took a good dose of security and we winked our eyes as if to say to ourself: You will see how well they mock the censor! And indeed they do mock the censor. There is nothing like oppression to make the mind work; the greater the pressure the greater the explosion! But despite our nihil admirari, despite our philosophical considerations, despite being accustomed to the knavery of the press, of our own country, the following incident stupefied us: A laborer killed his landlor~ and immediately he presented himself to the court, reporting the crime he had committed. As the deed took place at Log, the Civil Guard was given charge of conducting the criminal to Bakolod, capital of the Island of Negros. They shot him twice on the way, alleging that In an access of madness, he tried to flee. He who had voluntarily presented himself to the court! See how illogical! Desiring to flee after having presented himself spontaneously! In truth he deserved to be shot, for the Civil Guard cannot tolerate illogical men. But here is how El Porvenir de Visayas, comments on the incident: It was confirmed.

On the 23 we received a letter from Negros in which the information was confirmed that the Civil Guard was compelled to fire on the murderer of Mr. Felipe Vidaurrazaga in order to prevent him from escaping. o Or,

nil admirari (Horace). To wonder at nothing.

211 We repeat today what we said yesterday: There are providential actions that justify that certain punishments ought to be immediate not only because they are deserved but because of the wholesome example they produce. Once more the Civil Guard has fulfilled its duty!!!

La Oceania and La Opinion have been very mischievous in wishing to compromise El Porvenir de Visayas if not with the censor, at least with moral sense by reprinting the item we copy here. El Porvenir de Visayas is a cruel newspaper and if we did not know that there are no true filibusteros there, we would say that its editor is one, consciously or unconsciously. What a sarcasm for the worthy Corps of Civil Guard to be told that it has complied with its duty by removing from the judicial power a criminal whom it was charged to deliver to its hands! Voltaire could not have said more if there had existed civil guards in his time! Give to the last porter in Europe or to a Chinese porter (if you are in the Philippines) a vase, a mirror, or any work of art; pay him well so that he may take it to your house, and if he breaks it on his way, tell him afterwards, in an elated voice: "You have complied with your duty magnificently!" If the porter has any spark of honesty, he would break your head or his own; if he is stupid, he would smile very much satisfied. Here El Porvenir de Visayas has fooled the whole worthy civil guard. Because the last policeman of the last country in the world, the last cuadrillero;7 the last gendarme without half a finger-width of forehead, knows very well how to insure a criminal. For that purpose the soldiers of the civil guard have their pockets full of strings with which they tie elbow to elbow not only criminals but even those who have no other crime but to have good chickens or fat capons; for that purpose they have handcuffs, shackles, etc., etc. To pretend that the criminal had tried to escape in an access of madness is to â&#x20AC;˘ Rural guard.

212 be madder than the criminal himself and the one who alleges it as an excuse deserves another civil guard. Because, if my porter tells me: . "Sir, as the mirror that you gave me in an access of madness was tending towards the ground, in order to prevent it from escaping my hands, I broke. it to pieces! "Bravo, man, bravo! Once more you have fulfilled your duty!" Because the desire to escape on the part of a criminal is so natural, like gravitation to the center of the earth. If it were not so, for what is a guard or a porter? They should have told the murderer: "Take these twenty pesos and go to Bakolod and let us see if they hang you there." And who knows? He might have arrived there more safely, because as we saw, he presented himself alone to the court. N9thing. The Civil Guard has once more complied with its duty! We are sorry for the comment, for we have known very scrupulous men in that corps. Well now; to call the action providential is no longer an insult to the perter, I say, to the civil guard, but to the laws and the courts. The criminal was its prize. He escapes from his guards. Bravo! I mocked you!!! Providence!!! Following the example of the porter and the mirror, if I intended this as a present to a friend or a relative and upon learning that my civil guard has broken it, I would exclaim clapping my hands: Providence! There are certain providential acts that justify that certain gifts ought to be broken, etc., etc. Eh? Surely my relative or friend will take me for El Porvenir de Visayas. But if the mirror belongs to our relative or friend and it is his property, the criminal belongs to the court. Then he shall have the right to take us to court for slander or insult, because to attribute its loss to Providence, is to call Providence purely and delicately a thief or something of the kind. And here El Porvenir de Visayas has also

213 fooled the laws, the administration of justice, the judges, and the courts of the Philippines. Yes indeed; censorship permits these things to be said, to call providential an act that impairs the force of the law. It permits to be said that the courts are not worth a straw and that the civil guard may be treated scoffingly when through incapacity or barbarity, it fails in its duties or does not accomplish the mission entrusted to it. It permits this to be called wholesome when it is the most pernicious; for, if criminals have to be treated in this way, there will not be any more criminal who will present himself or allow himself to be caught henceforth, like our candid laborer. As the law has neither force nor prestige, as the courts no longer inspire anyone with confidence, as the civil guards neither know how to guard criminals, considering one who commits an offence a desperado, a ferocious beast, and in order to pive he will be obliged to multiply his exploit . Lasciate ogni speranza! 4 And as there shall always be criminals, because there shall always be injustice, passions, oppressors, oppressed, despots and wretched men, it turns out that the wholesome example will be very wholesome in increasing the delinquents qualitatively and quantitatively. However, from all this regrettable incident, it seems that it can be inferred, like the mephitic exhalation of a heap of garbage, the desire not to do justice but to kill the criminal; something sanguinary, inhuman, base, something ferocious. But we are sure that those newspapers expressed themselves thus out of pure irony. Indeed, there are cruel sarcasms; there are ironies in the Philippines that are not suspected in Europe! The Tacitus, Voltaires, Byrons, and Heines abound there unknowingly. 4 Or, Lasciate ogni spel'anz(( , ,poi ch'entmte. (Abandon all hope ye who enter here,) From Dante, La Di1Jinq, Comedia, ZanichQIli, Bologna, 1944, ~to III, stanza 3.

214 And we say to the Civil Guard: If that man whom you ought to deliver safe and sound to the court of justice and whom you have shot on the way, is a maniac, hysterical, like many who are seen in Europe, who are presented as the presumed criminals in famous crimes, what responsibility must you have before God since you have none before your fellow men? In London we saw in the case of Jack, the disemboweller, more than ten men present themselves as the famous murderer. If the policemen in charge of their custody hnd complied toith their duty, as you did with your ov'n . . . but , not here in Europe, the policeman never complies with his duty. here there is no Providence; the criminals arrive safe and sound, the police defends them sometimes at great personal risk against the ire of the indignant and exasperated multitude. No, here where there are more criminals, where horrible crimes are committed, parr' cides, barbarous, cruel , and well meditated murders; h re where the criminal has better means of escaping because of the excessive number of inhabitants, because domicile searches do not exist, because of the way houses are built, because of the ease of means of communication, because of the frontiers, because of the size of the continent, here never has a criminal been known to have been killed because in an access of madness he had tried to escape! Ah! We don't know if the Philippines has her equal in the uncivilized world; we can't say so definitely, but indeed we maintain that the irony of her journalists knows no rivals. And we shall conclude giving a warning. The Civil Guard of the Philippines is called a Worthy Corps, because in the Peninsula this body is really so, as it is also differently formed and its members are better chosen. The Inquisition was also called Holy and those who composed it believed that under the protection of this name, they could dare everything, that they could abuse everything. But no; posterity has judged it, has execrated it;

215 the epithet of Holy did not save it, and its name now means everything that is odious, cruel, inhuman, horrible. God and man have condemned it. Neither will the name "worthy" be of any avail to you if you continue abusing your immunity, if under the protection of your privileges, you oppress the unfortunate, you break their bones with the butts of guns, or you shoot them as for sport, in obedience to passions and vengeance. The day will come, sooner or later, when the people, more intelligent and bettE7r educated, shaU awaken from their ignorance and discover the long wake of blood and tears that marked your path in the past, and then, horrified and by a natural reaction, will condemn you to abomination as the European peoples have condemned their executioners in the past cent~ies. Perhaps its resentment might reduce you to the most ignoble level of society, like the utensils in a house necessary to clean it of all filth, the most abject and lowest, and you will wander shamefully, avoiding the centers of light, exiled from respectable society, like those upon whom weigh the curse of so many victims, burnt, tortured and buried during centuries of th~ religious intolerance of the Inquisition and ambitious theocracy, unfortunate heirs of mockery and contempt, compelled to disguise themselves and to slip away unperceived in order not to rouse vengeance with the odor of the corpses of their victims. Then the people who have forgotten the great learned men who fled with truly apostolic monks and men, only to remember the Torquemadas 5 and Alexander VI's 6 will also forget all the good services that the worthy corps had rendered and will remember only its tyrannies and cruelties and perhaps confuse with the tyrants the rest to whom the mother country is indebted. But, in the meantime, fulfill your duty! G Tomas de Torquemada (1420-1498), Spanish inquisitor. â&#x20AC;˘ ~ope (1492-1503): His ~ame was Rodrigo Lanzol y Bo:ja of the BJrgia famIly, noted for hls word mess and the father of Lucl'ezla Borgia. Published in La $olidaridad, Vol. II, 93- 95. 30 April 1890.

MORE ON THE NEGROS AFFAIR

In the preceding issue, commenting on the article in El Porvenir de Visayas on the shooting of a prisoner by the civil guards in charge of escorting him, we said that it was a sarcasm to the Corps and the administration of justice, and we could have also added to Providence whom the newsman identified with Remington guns in describing it as truly providential. Well then, a person who claims to know the reporters of that newspaper wants to assure us that there was no such sarcasm but only a pure and simple, naked expression of the conviotions and ideas that its reporters profess. We protest against the accusation that depicts under a very poor light not only the m ral sense of the newsmen of those regions but also the common sense and the most rudimentary theories of reasoning. In fact, how can the most incapable of the most incapable among men (and we no longer speak of the El Porvenir de Visayas) maintain without sarcasm or mockery that the civil guard had fulfilled his duty when precisely he has done the reverse? El Porvenir de Visayas should know how to read, and must have undoubtedly read everything that the Cartilla del Guardia Civi.l says in chapter IX (part I) pages 34, 35, 36, 37, concerning the Conveyance of Prisoners which says thus: ARTICLE 1. If the duties of the Civil Guard hitherto stated ought to compel him to live with extreme and continuous vigilance, none demands from him so much greater circumspection and care than the conveyance of prisoneTs; for to this service should be closely joined the sacred ftdfillrnent of his duties, the security of the prisoners, and the consideration and kindness with which they ought to be treated.

216

217 ART. 2. Every prisoner who is placed under the Civil Guard ought to be considered sufficientLy safe and will be guarded without any fail until his destination assigned by the laws; in the same way that he ought to believe that he will be justly free from insults or abuses from anyone, whatever his category may be, and from the excesses that at times are wont to be committed against prisoners. ART. 3. The civil gtULrd is the first agent of justice, and rather than tolerate that the least violence or outrage be committed against the prisoners he may escort, he ought to perish. He shoruld never permit anyone to insult them before or after suffering the penalty imposed upon them by law. ART. 4. The escape of a prisoner will be a very grave charge against the civil guard; and he ought to keep in mind that besides requiring, for the good of the service, the complete security of those entrusted to his care, for this offence, a penalty may be imposed upon him equal to what ought to have been imposed upon the escaped prisoner, according t'o the seriousness of the crime of which he was accused. ART. 5. He should not engage in any kind of conversation with the prisoners of both s xes whom he is escorting nor permit any intimacy whatever. ART. 6. If he has to pass through forests, ravines, and craggy terrain, he must redouble his vigilance and tie together the prisoners, if it were necessary, to prevent escape that they frequently attempt taking advantage of places of this nature. ART. 7. Sick prisoners conveyed on beasts of bu rden will be guarded without ever trusting in the circumstance of their illness, always making them aU march together at a comfortable pace. ART. 8. He will avoid, under the pretext of colic, acckient, or other illness, that there be any distance between the prisoners he is escorting; because they can very well have the idea that through a feigned illness, they can succeed to flout the vigilance of their guards and escape. ART. 9. Whenever a prisoner by his category, office that he might have held or any other circumstance, is entitled to courtesy, the civil guard will fulfill his duty by giving him what he deserves, complying with the laws in this regard. ART. 10. If any of the prisoners should ask for permission to do some personal necessity, a guard will accompany him, making all the others stop until he returns.

218 ART. 11. The one in command of the force he is escorting in the category of prisoners-some military men-will take care that on the first day of each month they draw up their service records which will be attested by the corresponding official, taking care besides of forwarding the said documents to the chiefs on detail of the Corps to which they belong so that they may be credited their salaries. ART. 12. In the towns where they have to spend the night, the civil guard escorting a prisoner or prisoners ought to deliver him or them to the gobernado)'cilZo I J taking the corresponding receipt which he must return the next day when he takes the prisoners, which he will do at the moment he resumes the journey. ART. 13. By no means should the guard either eat or drink with the prisoners he is escorting, nor buy anything at their request. ART. 14. The service of the conveyance of prisoners must be regulated in such a way that the marches may be comm,ensurate with tll e condition 0 th e pl'isoneTs who are being esco1'ted and they will be forced 0 ly if there is an express order to do so. ART. 15. When the prisoners reached their destination , they will be delivered to the competent authority who will issue the corresponding receipt.

As the readers can see, there is nothing in all this chapter, written in the true spirit of humanitarianism and morality, even a half phrase authorizing the civil guard to shoot a criminal who, in an access of fury, attempts to escape. Consequently. to suppose that El Porvenir de Visayas had spoken seriously in saying that the civil guard had complied with his duty, when he had done nothing more than fail in it, is to consider him openly and frankly an imbecile who reasons with the sole of his shoes, an opinion that we are far from attributing to El Porvenir de Visayas however much the future of those islands may seem very unfortunate. But let us leave aside the jeers of the newspaper and let us [,nalyze the incident by itself. , Mayor of the town.

219 Is it possible that a prisoner, guarded and manacled by a soldier, can escape in such a way that his guard cannot prevent him? The most furious prisoner, the most robust, the most agile, once manacled (and in the manner that the civil guards know how to do it, who for any excuse tie elbow with elbow the most inoffensive and decrepit persons) cannot evade his guardian however little careful and perspicacious he might be. As the conveyance took place in the daytime, the guard could perceive the intentions of the prisoner to untie ot loosen his ligatures. Moreover, it is a well observed fact that without the freedom of the upper members, movement and running would be very difficult and the most agile runner without the counterbalance of his arIps loses one-third of his speed. We have seen chains or ros'a,ries of prisoners escorted by soldiers of the civil guard, thirty or twentYl, of all ages and constitutions, go through towns and solitary roads, we have seen them lashed with rods and beaten with the butts of muskets so that they may walk faster, and in wishing to hasten their step, the lack of freedom of their arms made them fall to the ground from which they rose with great difficulty, in spite of all the blows and lashing that they received. Well now; if among thirty men no one had succeeded to escape, notwithstanding that there were only two guards, how could one prisoner alone, who was carefully guarded, attempt an escape that would compel the civil guard to fire at him? Because it must be supposed that the one escorting him (if he is alone, and not two) will not be a lame man and if he were, he must not lose sight of him and will hold in his hand the end of the cord with which he is tied. The articles in the regulation for the conveyance of prisoners specify in detail all the circumstances and all the eventualities, as our readers must have seen, that only an excessive carelessness, a complete but punishable disregard of them, can encourage a prisoner

220 to escape. And neither the prisoner nor human justice is responsible for this but the guard who forgets his trust. But even supposing that the civil guard had been careless and for an instant loses sight of him, the movement of the criminal will be enough to attract his attention and stop the fugitive after' a few steps, and if it were not so, his prudence and his kindness will suggest to him a shot in the air to frighten him, which unfortunately is not done in these cases but rather some seem to entice the prisoner to escape, and letting him run ten or twelve steps, they shoot him with their rifle or revolver. This is absolutely barbarous and surpasses everything that can be imagined, that, not only does it remind us of African customs, but what is more of a contrary meaning. No one authorizes a jockey to kill a horse that escapes him and the life of a horse cannot be 'm ore sacred than that of a man, even if he is an Indio subject to Spanish rule. It is the duty of the civil guard to watch the criminal and as the regulation provides definitely, "to guard him without fail until the destination assigned by the laws"; he has the means and intelligence to insure his person. In civilized Europe, where human dignity is more respected and where the rope is not abused, the police have found means to prevent criminals from escaping, sometimes by removing from them one shoe, sometimes by pulling out the buttons of their pantaloons. In the Philippines the the rope has always served in place of the intelligence of the civil guards and now they want to substitute lead for it. If this is sanctioned, in truth it would be better to live among savages, go to the mountains where the Negritos live, and to disown everything that smells of Christianity and civilization. Nevertheless, there is nothing in the entire Cartilla de la Guardia Civil, even an article, that authorizes the guard to use his firearm and less to execute the criminals. The regulation that we cite, dated 1879, only names two cases

221 in which a firearm can be used and they are: Article 7 of Chapter I, first part, and Article 26 of Chapter II, part 3, which state the following: 7. His first weapons should be persuasion and moral force; 1'esOTting to what he carries with himl only when he finds himself confronted with others, or his words had not sufficed. ART. 26. Every soldier is forbidden to fire his arm without the authorization of the commander, excepting the cases that are reserved for the sentry. ART.

These oases are when one does not reply to "Who goes there?", repeated three times, one flees, or disobeys the cry, etc., etc. The disjunctive, "or his words had not sufficed" refers to tumults on the street, disturbances, and so forth, for it is ridiculous to apply it to the conveyance of prisoners. It is rare that anyone goes to prison willingly and "persuaded". Ours indeed was a rara avis, for he presented himself voluntarily, though perhaps with the knowledge of what was going to happen to him. For that reason perhaps, and for being an exception, they shot him, though shootings of this kind are not rare over there. The author of the regulation, though he had studied all cases, foreseen all eventualities, and asserted the seriousness of the escape of a prisoner (Art. 4), never made the most remote allusion to the use of this barbarous method to stop an escape. To speak of access of fury is stupid, for never has it been said that madness may be punished with summary execution. The court of justice ought to ask for a strict accounting of those who abuse their power and fail in their sacred ministry. The Corps of the Civil Guard, if it wants to be exempted from this crime and to fulfill nobly the purpose for which it was created, ought to punish those who prevent the investigation of the truth in violation of their duty and of their downright and repeated abuses. Who

222 can assure us that the assassin was not a mere tool? Who knows if his hand was moved by another will? Did it not happen in Manila a few years ago that a countryman assassinated some Spaniards who lived in the environs and later turned out to be a paid assassin? If on that occasion plain justice had played one of its own pranks, it would have rendered without doubt some great service to the instigator of those murders, but it would have contributed also to immorality by leaving unpunished the real criminal. Moreover, if we are going to accept these abuses and close our eyes to them; if we are going to substitute for the courts of justice military rule and still without its councils of war and its procedures; if we are going to recognize the right of every soldier to shoot anyone for this or that excuse, more or less puerile and stupid, then close the courts of justice, dismiss all the judges, silence all the lawyers, and burn all the codes! Congratulations! Thus we shall economize a great deal, and we cannot be charged of being hypocrites or frauds, that while we talk of laws, of justice, and of morality before an audience, behind the stage we have all cowardice, all complacency! In this way, at least the people will know what to expect, will l}now what awaits them, and will not trust innocently phrases and hollow phrases! And time will tell who will come out the winner. But, in the meantime, let us hope that Mr. Becerra who has begun to direct the affairs of the ministry of colonies with spirit and good intention, will have enough energy to make the laws respected. Mr. Becerra knows very well the fate that awaits those who begin with a human head and end in fish, dessinant in piscem, as Horace says. Let us hope that he will prove that he has not fallen in a profound lethargy after having earned an excellent fame. :::

A HOPE

The Ministry and the party to which Mr. Becerra 1 belonged have fallen, dragging down with them many hopes. Gone with them also are those of many Filipinos who had heard the speeches of Mr. Becerra delivered at the Congress on 6 March of the present year on the occasion of the debate on the parliamentary representation of the Philippines. Mr. Becerra had said that he was in favor of this reform, that the Filipinos ought to have a voice, that it was just that one who pays tax votes, and that it was Christian-like to defend the helpless and defenseless, that it was little to as.k only for three deputies when Spain asks for universal suffrage, and in short, what can be done today should not be left for tomorrow. If that statement of Mr. Becerra today does not mean exactly what it did on 6 March, the time he spoke, tomorrow neither ought to mean never. The Filipino people, trusting in the honorable promise of a Spanish Minister, hoped and believed that the silence that followed the activity of Mr. Becerra signified the eve of a great day. Four months passed and during this long period of time, the promise of the Minister was not mentioned again nor the justice that is due eight million subjects. Published in La Solidaridad, Vol. II, 105-108. 15 July 1890. Manuel Becerra, Liberal, minister of Colonies.

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Oh, Thou who has made the heart of man believe in the promises of another man, why have Thou not given him a part of your inflexible will and a reflection of your memory so that he may remember all his promises? But enough! Mr. Becerra has fallen and we don't want to tell him now our bitterness however great our resentment may be. We have hoped in a man! Weare human and nothing human can surprise us, we say, translating Terence. We prefer to recall the reforms that the Philippines heard during the ministry of Mr. Becerra. These reforms, though few , are not insignificant. We would prefer to talk about the Civil Code, if the arbitrariness of General Weyler and the complacency, not to say weakness, qf Mr. Becerra had not left by halves that reform, which has made mor e patent the power of the religious corporations and the i&npotence of the ministers who are called besides democrats and liberals.

Mr. Balaguer who had given the example with the introduction of the Penal Code, did not allow any amendment proposed on behalf of Captain General Terrero and his reform was implemented whole in spite of all protests. That reform of Mr. Balaguer was a beautiful precedence. Integrity and conviction! The heads of barangay owe Mr. Becerra a great benefit: The fixing of the stipend of the curates. We must not forget it. So rare are the reforms carried out! Afterwards? We don't remember others that may have general interest but nonetheless, we must admit that Mr. Becerra has had very good and grand designs and these are not little when one considers that the Ministry of Colonies is a ministry for beginners.

225 Let us throw th~ blame of the failure not on the man but on circumstances and on men. Bah! One cannot always struggle; there is the quarter hour of Rabelais. Let us see what the Conservatives have for us. Until now the Conservative ministers who have held the portfolio of overseas colonies have been neither good nor bad to the Philippines; that is, they have hardly paid any attention to that country. Their old motto seemed to be: Peor es meneallo. 2 Ayala left some dramas and very good sonnets. Have the dramas been staged in Manila? We don't know. The sonnets have been read and have pleased mMy people. Of the others not even an assonant remains. There was, if our memory does not fail us, one Count Tejada de Valdosera, but frankly we don't remember whether he was a conservati e or a liberal. We have nothing in our mind to enlighten us somewhat about what this minister did for the Philippines. We have a vague idea about him in the same manner as a figure which is confused with others placed in the extreme end of a painting and we don't forget him on account of a name and a title. For us he belongs to the blessed name of Ministers. Peace to them! Nonetheless we confess that under the conservative ministries we have had such good and such bad governorsgeneral as under the liberals. The conservatives have never given us a Weyler but indeed a Jovellar, a Terrero, who can be accused of anything one likes except of complacency . . . . It seems a.1so that General J ovellar and General Terrero did not return from the Philippines much richer than when they went out there; neither did they go about surrounded by friars, nor did they allow them to dominate them. S

Or, mejoT es no meneallo. OO :I I ~ ~ - - l !;

(Better let it alone).

226 Let us be just to both. Now, may the Filipino people, without distrusting men, place their confidence in something more lofty, in someone with better memory, in someone who knows better the value of justice and of a sacred promise. God has made man free and has promised victory to one who perseveres, to one who struggles, to one who acts justly. God has promised man his redemption after the sacrifice. Let man fulfill his duty and God will fulfill his!

)

THE INDOLENCE OF THE FILIPINOS

I Doctor Sancianco in his Progreso de Filipinas (Philippine Progress) has dealt with this questioncackled about it, as he says. Citing facts and reports furnished by the very same Peninsular authorities who govern the Philippines, he has demonstrated that such indolence does not exist and whatever is said about it does not deserve a reply nor even slight attention. However, as it is still being discussed, not only by the government employees who hold it responsible for their own stupidities, not only by the friars who consider it necessary to make themselves irreplaceable, but also by serious and disinterested persons; and as against the evidence cited by Dr. Sancianco, others of greater or less weight can be presented, it seems t us desira1)]e to study thoroughly this question without contempt or sensitiveness, without bias, without pessimism. And as we can only serve our country by telling her the truth, however bitter it be, as a categorical and artificial denial cannot destroy a real and positive fact, despite the brilliance of the arguments, as a mere assertion is not enough to create an impossible thing, we are going to examine the question calmly with all the impartiality of which a man is capable who is convinced that there is no redemption unless based solidly on virtue. Very much misused is the word indolence, in the sense of little love for work, lack of activity, etc.; but ridicule has covered the misuse. This popular subject has suffered the same fate as certain panaceas and specifics which have been discredited because of the impossible virtues attributed to them by charlatans. In the Medieval Age, and 227

228 even in many Catholic countries of our times, whatever superstitious folk cannot understand, or men because of malice refuse to confess, is attributed to the devil; in the Philippines, one's own and another's shortcomings, the stupidities of some, and the crimes of others are attributed to indolence. Thus, as in the Medieval Age, one who tried to seek an explanation of natural phenomena outside of the devil's influence was persecuted, in the Philippines one who seeks the origin of his ignorance beyond the accepted beliefs meets a worse fate. It turns out that there are some who are very much interested in declaring this misuse a dogma and others in combatting it as a ridiculous superstition, if not a punishable fraud. However, it should not be deduced that a thing does not exist because of its misuse. We believe that there should be something behind so much outcry, for so many people cannot have agreed to lie at the same time, among whom, as we have said, are some very serious and disinterested individuals. Some will act in bad faith through levity, through lack of discernment, faulty reasoning, ignorance of the past, etc.; others will repeat what they hear without investigation nor reflection; others will speak through pessimism or impelled by that human characteristic which regards perfect or almost perfect whatever is one's own and defective what is another's; but it cannot be denied that there are some who worship truth, if not always the truth itself, at least its semblance, which is truth in the mind of the crowd. Analyzing carefully then all the incidents and all the men we have known ÂŁince our childhood and the life in our country, we believe that indolence exists there. l The Filipinos who can stand beside the most active men of the 1 This article was written in Spain and hence the use of "there" in referring to the Philippines. It was published in instalments in La Solidaridad, Vol. II, 158-160. (15 July 1890), 167-169 (31 July 1890), 178--180 (15 August 1890), 190-195 (31 August 1890) , 203-204 (1 September 1890).

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world will doubtless not challenge this admission. It is true that there they have to work and struggle much against the climate, against nature, and against men; but we should not take the exception for the general rule and we should seek the welfare of our country by stating what we believe is true. We must confess that there indolence actually and positively exists; but instead of regarding it as the cause of the backwardness and disorder, we should regard it as the effect of disorder and backwardness, which fosters the growth of a disastrous predisposition. Wfth the exception of Dr. Sancianco, those who have dealt with the subject of indolence have been satisfied with denying or affirming it; we don't know anyone who has studied its causes. However, those who admit its existence and exaggerate it more or less have not failed to prescribe remedies taken here and there, from Java and other Dutch and E~glish colonies, like the quack who, having seen a fever cured with a dozen sardines, prescribed this fish for every rise in temperature he observed in his patients. We shall do the opposite. Before proposing a remedy, we shall examine the causes and though a predisposition, strictly speaking, is not a cause, we are going to study however in its true worth the predisposition due to nature. The predisposition exists. Why should it not exist? The warm climate requires quiet and rest for the individual, just as cold incites him to work and to action. For this reason the Spaniard is more indolent than the French, and the French more so than the German. The very Europeans who accuse the peoples of the colonies of indolence (and I'm no longer referring to the Spaniards but also to the Germans and Englishmen), how do they live in the tropical countries? Surrounded by many servants, never walking but riding, needing servants not only to remove their shoes but even to fan them! And nevertheless

230 they live and eat better, work for themselves and to enrich themselves, with the hope of a future, free, respected, while the poor colonial, the indolent colonial, is poorly nourished and lives without hope, toils for others, and is forced and compelled to work! What? The white men will reply perhaps that they are not made to suffer the rigors of the climate. A mistake! Man can live under any climate if he will only adapt himself to its requirements and conditions. What kills the European in the warm countries is the abuse of alcohol, the desire to live as in his own country under another sky and another sun. We the inhabitants of tropical countries live well in northern Europe whenever we take the same precautions as the people there do. The Europeans can also live well in the torrid zone if they would only get r..id of their prejudices. The fact is that in the tropical countries severe work is not a good thing as in cold countries, for there it is annihilation, it is death, it is destruction. Nature, as a just mother knowing this, has therefore made the land more fertile, more productive, as a compensation. An hour's work under that burning sun and in the midst of pernicious influences coming out of an active nature is equivalent to a day's work in a temperate climate; it is proper then that the land yield a hundredfold! Moreover, don't we see the active European who has gained strength during winter, who feels the fresh blood of spring boil in his veins, don't we see him abandon his work during the few days of his changeable summer, close his office, where the work after all is not hard-for many, consisting of talking and gesticulating in the shade beside a desk-run to wateringplaces, sit down at the cafes, stroll about, etc.? What wonder then that the inhabitant of tropical countries, worn out and with his blood thinned by the prolonged and excessive heat, is reduced to inaction? Who is the indolent one in the offices in Manila? Is it the poor clerk who comes in at eight in the morning and leaves at one o'clock

231 in the afternoon with only his parasol I and copies and writes and works by himself and for his chief, or is it his chief who comes in a carriage at ten o'clock, leaves before twelve, reads his newspaper while smoking with his feet stretched out on a chair or a table, or speaking ill of everything with his friends? Who is the indolent one, the Indio coadjutor, poorly paid and badly treated, who has to visit all the indigent sick living in the country, or the friar curate who gets fabulously rich, goes about in a carriage, eats and drinks well, and does not trouble himself unless he can collect excessive fees? Leaving aside the Europeans, in what hard work do the Chinese engage, the industrious Chinese who flee from their country driven by hunger and want and whose sole ambition is to amass a small fortune? With the exception of some porters, an occupation which the Filipinos also follow, almost all of them are engaged in trading, in commerce; so very rarely do they take up agriculture that we know of no one. The Chinese who cultivate the soil in other colonies do so only for a certain number of years and then retire. We find then the tendency to indolence very natural and we have to admit it and bless it because we cannot alter natural laws, and because without it the race would have disappeared. Man is not a brute, he is not a machine. His aim is not merely to produce despite the claim of some white Christians who wish to make of the colored Christian a kind of motive power somewhat more intelligent and less costly than steam. His purpose is not to satisfy the passions of another man. His object is to seek happiness for himself and his fellow men by following the road towards progress and perfection. The evil is not that a more or less latent indolence exists, but that it is fostered and magnified. Among men, as well as among nations, there exist not only aptitudes but also tendencies toward good and evil. To foster the

232 good ones and aid them, as well as correct the bad ones and repress them would be the duty of society or of governments, if less noble thoughts did not absorb their attention. The evil is that indolence in the Philippines is a magnified indolence, a- snow-ball indolence, if we may be permitted the expression, an evil which increases in direct proportion to the square of the periods of time, an effect of misgovernment and backwardness, as we said and not a cause of them. Others will think otherwise, especially those who have a hand in the misgovernment, but it does not matter; we have affirmed one thing and we are going to prove it. II

When the condition of the patient is examined after a long chronic illness, the question may arise whether the weakening of the fibers and the debility of the organs are responsible for the persistence of the malady or its continuation is the effect of the poor treatment. The attending physician attributes the failure of his skill to the poor constitution of the patient, to the climate, to his surroundings, etc. On the other hand, the patient will attribute the aggravation of his illness to the method of treatment followed. Only the common men, the curious ones, will shake their heads unable to reach a decision. Something like this happens to the Philippine question. Instead of physician, read Philippines; instead of malady, indolence. As it happens in similar cases, when a patient gets worse, everybody loses his head, each one dodges the responsibility to throw it to somebody else, and instead of discovering the causes to combat the evil in them, they devote themselves at best to attacking the symptoms. Here a bloodletting, a tax; there a plaster, forced labor; farther there a sedative, a trifling reform, etc. Every new arrival proposes a new remedy: One, novenae, the relic of a saint, the viaticum, the friars; another proposes a shower-bath; still

233 another, pretending to hold modem ideas, a blood transfusion. "Nothing; the patient has only eight million indolent red corpuscles; some tiny white ones in the form of an agricultural colony which will get us out of the trouble." So on all sides there are lamentations, gnawing of lips, clenching of fists, many empty words, much ignorance, a great deal of talk, much fear. The patient is nearing his end! Yes, blood transfusion, blood transfusion! New life, new vitality! Yes, if the new white corpuscles, all that you are going to introduce into her veins, the new white globules that were a cancer in another organism, have to resist the evils of the organism, have to resist the many blood-Iettings that she undergoes each day, have more resistance than eight million red corpuscles, must cure all the disorders, all the degeneration, all the trouble in the principal organs, be thankful that they are transformed into coagulations which impede circulation and produce gangrenes, be thankful that they do not reproduce the cancer! While the patient breathes, we should not lose hope, and however late we may be, never is a conscientious study superfluous, at least, if she dies, the cause of death will be known. We are not trying to put all the blame on the physician and still less on the patient. As we have already mentioned, if the predisposition due to the climate-a just and natural predisposition-did not exist, the race would disappear, a victim of excessive work in a tropical country. Indolence in the Philippines is a chronic malady, but not a hereditary one. The Filipinos have not always been what they are now, witnesses being all the historians of the first years of the discovery of the Philippines. The Malayan Filipinos before the coming of the Europeans carried on an active trade, not only among themselves but also with all their neighboring countries. A Chinese manuscript of the xm century, translated by Dr. Hirth (Globus, Sept. 1889) and which we will take up on another occasion, speaks of the relations of China with

234 the Islands-purely commercial relations-and the activity and honesty of Luzon traders who took Chinese products and distributed them throughout the Islands, traveling for nine months, and returned afterwards to pay religiously even for goods that the Chinese did not remember to have given them. The products which they exported in exchange were crude wax, cotton, pearls, tortoise-shell, betelnuts, dry-goods, etc. The first thing noticed by Pigafetta, who came with Magellan in 1521, on arriving in Samar-the first island of the Archipelago they reached-was the courtesy and kindness of the inhabitants (cortesi e buoni) and their trade. "To honor our captain," he says, "they conducted him to their boats where they had their merchandise consisting of cloves, cinnamon, pepper, nutmegs, mace, gold, and other things; and they made us understand through gestures that such articles eould be found in the islands to which . we were gomg . . . ." Further on he mentions vessels and utensils of pure gold he found in Butuan where the people were engaged in mining; he describes the silk dresses, daggers with long gold hilts and scabbards of carved wood, gold teeth, and others. Among the cereals and fruits he mentions rice, millet, oranges, lemon, Indian corn, etc. That the Islands maintained relations with neighboring countries and even with distant ones was proven by the Siamese boats loaded with gold and slaves which Magellan found at Cebu. These boats paid certain duties to the ruler of the island. In the same year 1521 the survivors of Magellan's expedition found the son of the rajah of Luzon who, as captain-general of the Sultan of Borneo and admiral of his fleet, had conquered for him the great city of Lave (Sarawak?). Might this captain, who was greatly feared by all his enemies (temuto sommamente de gentili)! 2

Literally. "extremely feared by the heathen".

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be the Rajah Matanda whom the Spaniards afterwards found in Tondo in 1570? In 1539, the warriors of Luzon took part in the formidable struggle for Sumatra, and under the orders of Angf Siry Timor, Rajah of Batta, conquered and overthrew the terrible Alzadin, Sultan of Atchin, celebrated in the annals of the Far East. (Marsdeu, History of Sumatra, Chapter XX) At that time, that sea, where float these islands like a handful of emeralds on a crystal tray, sailed in all directions junks, paraus, balangays, vintas-craft light as shuttles and so large that they can hold one hundred rowers on one side (Morga); that sea bore everywhere commerce, industry, and agriculture by the force of oars moving to the tune of war songs, genealogy songs, and songs of the prowess of Philippine deities. (Colin, Book I, Chapter XV.) Wealth abounded in the Islands. Pigafetta tells us of the abundance of foodstuffs in Paragua and of its inhabitants almost all of whom cultivated their own farms (quasi tutti lavorano i propri campi.) On this island the s.urvivors of Magellan's expedition were well received and provisioned. Shortly after, these same people captured a vessel, plundered and sacked it (pigliammo e lo saccheggiammo) and captured in it the chief of the same Island of Paragua together with his son and brother. In this same vessel they captured bronze lombards,3 and this is the first mention of Philippine artillery. These lombards were used by the chief of Paragua in fighting the savages in the interior. They let him ransom himself within seven days, demanding 400 measures ( cavanes ) of rice, 20 pigs, 20 goats, and 450 chickens. This is the first case of piracy recorded in Philippine history. The Paragua chief paid everything â&#x20AC;˘ Lombard; Lantaka; It is the small Moro cannon still in use.

(Rizal)

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and moreover spontaneously added coconuts, bananas, sugar cane, and jars full of palm-wine. When Caesar was taken prisoner by the corsairs and required to pay a ransom of twenty-five talents, he replied: "I'll give you fifty, but afterwards I'll have you crucified!" The chief of Paragua was more generous: He forgot. While his conduct might reveal weakness, it also showed that the islands had abundant supplies. This chief was named Tuan Mahamud; his brother, Guantail; and his SOIl, Tuan Mahamed. (Martin Mendez, Purser of the ship Victoria, Archivo de Indias). A very extraordinary thing which showed the facility with which the Filipinos learned Spanish was that fifty years before the arrival of the Spaniards in Luzon, in the very same year of 1521 when they first came to the Islands, there were already people of Luzon who understood Castilian. In the negotiations for peace between the survivors of Magellan's expedition and the chiefs of Paragua after the death of the servant-interpreter Henry, "they availed themselves of the services of a Moro who had been captured in the island of the King of Luz6n who understood some Castilian," (Martin Mendez, doc. cit.) Where did this extemporaneous interpreter learn Castilian? In the Moluccas? In Malacca, from the Portuguese? In Cebu during the short stay of Magellan's expedition? The Spaniards had not reached Luz6n before 157l. Legazpi's expedition found in Butuan several traders from Luz6n embarked in their paraws (boats) laden with iron, wax, blankets, porcelain, etc. (Gaspar de San Agustin), plenty of foodstuffs, trade, activity, life in all the southern islands. The first news they heard was that Luz6n, or its capital, Manila, was the point to which the largest boalc:; from China went and that even the traders from Borneo went there to get their stock. (G. de S. A.) They reached the Island of Cebu, "abounding in provisions, with mines and gold placers and peopled with

237 natives", as Morga says. "Very populous and the port is frequented by many ships that came from the islands and kingdoms near India", says Colin, and although they were received peacefully, soon discords arose. The city was taken by force and burned. The fire destroyed the food supplies and naturally famine broke out in that town of one hundred thousand inhabitants, as the historians say, and among the members of the expedition; but the neighboring islands quickly remedied the situation, thanks to the abundance of their own food supplies. All the histories of those first years, in short, abound in long accounts of the industry and agriculture of the people-mines, gold placers, looms, cultivated farms, barter, (trade), shipbuilding, poultry and stock-raising, silk and cotton-weaving, distilleries, manufacture of arms, pearlfisheries, the civet industry, horn and leather industry, etc. All these could be found at every step and considering the time and conditions of the Islands, they prove that there was life, there was activity, there was movement. And if this, which is a deduction, does not convince one whose mind is imbued with unjust prejudices, of some worth should be the testimony of the much-quoted Dr. Morga who was Lieutenant Governor of the Philippines and Justice in the Audiencia of Manila for seven years, and after rendering valuable service in the Archipelago, was appointed Criminal Judge in the Audiencia of Mexico and Counsellor of the Inquisition. His testimony, we say, is highly credible, not only because all his contemporaries have spoken of him in terms that border on veneration but also because his work-from which we take these quotations-is written with much circumspection and prudence with reference to the authorities in the Philippines as well as to the mistakes they committed. "The natives"-Morga says in chapter VIII, speaking of the occupations of the Chinese-Clare very far from pursuing theiie occupations and have even forgotten much about farming, poultry and

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stock-raising. weaving cotton blankets as they used to do when they were pagans and a long time after the conquest of the country." The whole chapter VIII of his work deals with this moribund and greatly forgotten industry and yet in spite of that how long is his chapter VIII! And not only Morga, not only Chirino, Colin, Argensola, Gaspar de San Agustin, and others agree in this matter; modern travelers after two hundred and fifty years, considering the prevailing decadence and misery, assert the same thing. When Dr. Hans Meyer saw how well the unconquered tribes cultivate their land, working energetically, he asks himself if they would not become indolent when they in turn were converted into Christianity and placed under a paternal government. Consequently the Filipinos, in spite of the climate, in spite of their few necessities (they then had less than now) were not the indolent creatures of our time, and as we shall see later on, neither were their morals and their mode of living what they are now pleased to attribute to them. How then and in what way was the active and enterprising heathen Indio of ancient times converted into a lazy and indolent Christian, as our contemporary writers say of hi m.? We have already spoken of the more or less latent tendency to indolence existing in the Philippines and should exist everywhere, in the whole world, in every man, for all of us hate work in varying degrees, according to whether it is more or less hard, more or less unprofitable. The dolce far niente of the Italians, the rascarse la barriga (scratch the belly) of the Spaniards and the supreme ambition of the bourgeois to live in peace and tranquility on his income, attest this. What forces contribute to awaken from its lethargy this terrible predisposition? How did the Filipino people so

239 devote a to their custonm as to border on habit, abandon their former industry, their trade, their sea-faring, etc. to the point of forgetting completely their past?

III A fatal combination of circumstances, some independent of the will despite the efforts of men, others the offspring of stupidity and ignorance, others the inevitable corollarie~ of false principles, and still others the result of more or less base passions, has induced the decline of work, an evil which instead of being remedied by prudence, mature reflection, and recognition of the errors committed by a deplorable policy through regrettable blindness and obstinacy, has gone from bad to worse until reaching the condition in which we see it now. First came the wars, internal disturbances which the new order naturall brought about. It was necessary to subject the people either by cajolery or by force; there were fights, there were deaths; those who have submitted peacefully seemed to repent of it; insurrections were suspected and some occurred; naturally there were executions and many skilled workers perished. To these disorders add the invasion of Limahong, add the continuous wars to which the inhabitants of the Philippines were dragged to maintain the honor of Spain, to extend the sway of her flag in Borneo, in the Moluccas, and Indochina. To repel the Dutch foe, costly wars; futile expeditions in each which it was known that thousands and thousands of Filipino archers and rowers were sent but nothing was said if they ever returned to their homes. Like the tribute that at one time Greece sent to the Minotaur of Crete, the Filipino youth who joined the expedition bade their country farewell forever. Before them, in the horizon, was the stormy sea, the endless wars, the hazardous expeditions. For this reason, G. de San Agustin says: "Though formerly there were many people in this town of Dumangas, in the

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course of time there has been a great diminution because the natives are the best sailors and most skilled rowers on the whole coast, and so the governors in the port of Iloilo get here most of the crew for the vessels they send out. . .. When the Spaniards arrived in this island (Panay), it is said it had more than fifty thousand families; but they diminished greatly . . . . and at present they are about fourteen thousand tax-payers . . .." From fiftythousand families to fourteen thousand tax-payers in a little over half a century! We would never get through if we had to quote all the evidence presented by authors on the frightful diminution of the inhabitants of the Philippines in the first years following the discovery. In the time of their first bishop, that is, ten years after Legazpi, Philip II said that they had been reduced to less than two-thirds. Add to these fatal expeditions that wasted all the moral and material energies of the country the frightful depredations of the terrible pirates of the South instigated and encouraged by the Government, first to provoke a quarrel with them and afterwards to leave unarmed the islands subjected to it. During these incursions, which reached the very shores of Manila until Malate itself, could be seen through the sinister glow of burning towns depart for captivity and slavery chains of wretched men who had not been able to defend themselves, leaving behind them the ashes of their homes and the corpses of their parents and children. Morga, who gives an account of the first piratical incursion, says: "This boldness of the Mindanaos in the Pintados Islands caused great damage and fear and fright which they instilled in the inhabitants who, being under Spanish rule, were disarmed and subjected to tributes so that they were left without the means to defend themselves nor were they protected by the Government, unlike the time when there were no Spaniards in the land . . . ." These piratical incursions reduced more and more the number of inbabit-

241 ants of the Philippines, for the independent Malays were notorious for their atrocities and murders whether because they considered it necessary in order to preserve their independence to weaken the Spaniards by reducing the number of their subjects or because they were animated by a great hatred and profound resentment against the Christian Filipinos who, though belonging to their race, served and helped the foreigners to deprive them of their precious liberty. And these expeditions lasted nearly three centuries, occurring five or ten times a year, and each expedition cost the Islands more than eight hundred prisoners. "With the invasions of the pirates, J oloans, and Mindanaos", says Fr. G. de San Agustin, "the population of Bantayan Island has greatly diminished, because the pirates captured the inhabitants with ease as they had no forts and were far from Cebu where help could come. In the year 1688 the Jol'o enemy caused much damage in this island leaving i t al~ost depopulated." (P. 380) These severe attacks coming from outside produced a counter effect on the interior which, following our clinical comparisons, was like the effect of a cathartic or diet on an individual who has just lost a great deal of blood. In order to face so many calamities, to secure their hold, to take the offensive in these disastrous struggles, to isolate the bellicose Joloan from his neighbors of the south, to care for the needs of the empire of the Indies (for one of the reasons why the Philippines was retained was its strategic position between New Spain and the Indies. as contemporary documents attest); to wrest from the Dutch their growing colonies of the Moluccas and get rid of troublesome neighbors; in short to maintain the trade of China with New Spain, it was necessary to construct new and large ships which , as we have seen, costly as they were to the country because of their equipment and the rowers they required, were not less so for the way they were built. Fernando de los Rios Coronel, who fought in these wars 003 <183-16

~42

and late}' became a priest, speaking of these ships to the king, said that "As they were so large, the neceSS<:lry timber scarcely could be found in the mountains (of th e Philippines!) and thus it was imperative to seek it even with great difficulty, in the interior and once found, in order to haul and bring it to the shipyard , it was necessary to employ so many men that the towns of the surrounding country became depopulated, They got it out with immense labor, damage , and cost to them. The Indios furnished the masts of a galleon, according to Ole Franciscan friars ; and I heal'c. the governor of the province where they were cut. which is Laguna de Bay , say that to haul them seven league:; across rough mountains took 6,000 Indios th1'ee months and they were paid by the towns 40 reales each a month , without food which t he wretched Indio' has to get himself . . . ." And Gaspar de S. Agustin says : "In these times (1690) Bakolor has not the people that it had in the past on account of the uprising in that province under Governor Sabiniano Manrique de Lara and of the continuous cutting of timber fOl' His Majesty's shipyal'ds, which hinders them from cultivating the very fertile plain they have , etc." If this is not sufficient to explain the depopulation of the Islands and the neglect of industry, agriculture, and commerce, then add " the Indios who were hanged, those who left their wives and children and fled in disgust to the mountains, those who were sold into slavery to pay the taxes levied on them" , as Fernando de los Rios says. Add all this to what Philip II said in reprimanding Bishop Salazar about "Indios sold by some encomenderos to others , those flogged to death; the women who are crushed to death by their heavy burdens and who sleep in the fields and give birth and nurse their children there and die bitten by poisonous insects; the many who are executed and left to die of hunger, and who die for eating poisonous herbs . , , . and the children killed by their mothers at

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birth," and you will understand how in less than thirty years the population of the Philippines was reduced onethird. W'e don't say this ourselves; it was said by Gaspar de San Agustin, the anti-Filipino Augustinian friar par excellence, and he proved it throughout the rest of his work by mentioning often the state of neglect in which lay the farms once flourishing and so well cultivated, the sparsely populated towns which before were inhabited by many families of priBcipales. Is it strange then that the inhabitants of the Philippines should be dispirited when in the face of so many calamities they could not tell if they would ever see sprout the seed they have planted, if their farms would be their graves, or if their crop would feed their executioner? What is strange when we see the pious but impotent friars of that time advise their poor parishioners, in order to free them from the tyranny of the encomenderos, to stop work in the mines, to abandon their industries, to destroy their looms ~ pointing to them hea en as their sole hope, preparing them for death as their only consolation? Man works for a purpose; remove the purpose and you reduce him to inaction. The most industrious man in the world will fold his arms the moment he learns that it is folly to be so, that his work will be the cause of his trouble, that because of it he will be the object of vexations at home and the greed of the pirates from outside. It seems that these thoughts never crossed the minds of those who cry out against the indolence of the Filipinos. Even if the Filipino were not a man like the rest; even if we suppose that his zeal for work is as essential as the movement of a wheel fitted in the gear of other wheels in motion; even if we regard him as lacking in foresight and understanding of the past and the present; we still have to explain the existence of the evil. The neglect of t~e farms by their tillers-many of whom were dragged out of their homes by wars and piracy-was sufficient to nullify

244

the hard labor of so many generations. In the Philippines, abandon for a year the best cultivated land and you will see .that you will have to begin all over again. The rain will wipe out the furrows, the floods will drown the planting, weeds and shrubs will grow everywhere, and on seeing so much futile labor, the farmer drops his hoe and abandons his plow. Isn't there left the fine life of a pirate? Thus is understood the sad disappointment we find in the writings of the friars of the XVII century in speaking of flooded plains, once very fertile, of depopulated provinces and towns, of products which have disappeared from trade, of the extermination of leading families. Those pages seem like a sad and monotonous night scene after a lively day. About Cagayan, Fr. San Agustin said with sad brevity: "They had much cotton which they made into good cloth that the Chinese and the Japanese bought and carried away/' In the time of this historian industry and commerce had come to an end! It seems that these causes are sufficient to breed indolence even in the bosom of a beehive. Thus is explained why after thirty-two years of Spanish rule, the circumspect and prudent Morga said that the Indios "have forgotten much about farming, poultry and路 stock raising, cotton growing, and weaving of blankets as they did when they were Pagans and long after the country had been conquered. Still they struggled on for a long time against indolence, indeed, but their enemies were so many that at last they gave up.

IV We know th~ causes that predisposed and provoked the evil. Let us now see what factors foster and sustain it. In this connection, the Government and we the governed should bow our heads and say: We deserve our fate.

245 It is very true that we have once said that when a house becomes disturbed and disorderly, \\'e should not blame the youngest child nor the servants but its head. especially if his power is unlimited. He who does not act freely is not responsible for his actions: and the Filipino people, not being free. are not resp~msible either for their misfortunes or their woes . It is true we said this; but as will be seen later on. we also have a large share in the perpetuation of such a disorder. Among other things the following contributed to foster the evil and aggravate it:

(1) The constantly lessening encouragement to labor in the Philippines. The Government. fearing the frequent contact between the Filipinos and other men of the same race who are independent and free like the Borneans, Siamese, Cambodians, and Japanese-people whose customs and feelings differ very much from those of the Chinesehas looked upon them with great mistrust and treated them harshly, as Morga attests in the latter ' part of his book, until they have finally stopped coming to the country. In fact, the Government at one time thought that the Borneans were planning. an uprising; we say thought, because there was not even an attempt, though there were many executions indeed. And as these nations were precisely the only ones that absorbed Philippine products, relations with them being cut off, their consumption of our products also ceased. The only two countries whose relations with the Philippines continued were China and Mexico or New Spain, and this trade benefited only China and some private individuals of Manila. In fact, the Celestial Empire used to send to the Philippines its junks laden with merchandise, which led to the closing down of the factories in Seville and ruined Spanish industry, and returned laden with the silver that every year was sent to the Philippines from Mexico. Nothing from the Philippines then went to China,

24G not even gold, for in those years the Chinese traders would accept no payment except silver coin. To Mexico went something more-some blankets and textile which the encomenderos obtained by force or bought at an absurd price from the Filipinos. Also went small quantities of wax, amber, gold, civet, etc., but no more, as Admiral Jeronimo de Banuelos y Carrillo attested, when he petitioned the King to allow the people of Manila to load as many ships as they could with the products of the country, such as wax, gold, perfumes, iv01'y, and cotton cloth which they should buy from the natives . . .. Thus would they win the friendship of these peoples, furnish New Spain with their products, and the money bro'ught to Manila would not leave this place . The coastwise trade, so flourishing formerly, disappeared on account of the piracy of the Malayans of the South; and trade in the iNterior of the Islands almost disappeared completely owing to restrictions, passports, and other administrative requirements. Of no little importance were the impediments and obstacles which since the very beginning have been thrown in the way of the farmer by the rulers who were influenced by childish fear and saw everywhere signs of conspiracies and uprisings. The Filipinos were not allowed to go to their work or farms (granjerias as they were then called) unless with a permit from the Governor or the provincial governors and justices and even of the priests, as Morga says. Those who know the administrative slowness and confusion in a country where the authorities work scarcely two hours a day; those who know the cost of going to and coming from the provincial capital to ask for a permit; those who are aware of the petty retaliation of the little office tyrants will understand how with this barbaric arrangement it is possible to have only the most absurd agriculture. It is true that this absurdity-which would be ludicrous if it were not so serious-has disappeared

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long ago; but if the ruling has disappeared other things and regulations have been substituted for it. The Moro pirate has disappeared, but the bandit remains, infesting the farms and awaiting to kidnap the farmer for a ransom. Well now, the Government which constantly fears the people, denies all the farmers even the use of a rifle, or if it does allow it, it makes its acquisition very difficult and withdraws it at pleasure. And so it happens that the farmer , thanks to his means of defense, sows and pours his meager capital into the furrows he has so laboriously opened; but, when harvest time comes, it occurs to the Government-which is unable to repress banditry-to deprive him of his weapon. Then, without a means to defend himself and without security, he is reduced to inaction and abandoned the farm, the work, and indulges in gambling as a better means of gaining a livelihood. The gambling table is under government protection; it is safer! A deplorable counseior is fear, which does not only weaken, but, in confiscating the weapons, strengthens the very same foe! The miserly return that the Filipino gets from his labor would in the end discourage him. Through the historians we learn that the encomenderos, after reducing many to slavery and compelling them to work for their benefit, made the rest sell them their products at an insignificant price or for nothing or cheated them with false measures. Speaking about Ipi6n in Panay Fr. G. de San Agustin says: "It was formerly very rich in gold . . . but irked by the vexations they received from some provincial governors, they have ceased getting it, preferring to live in poverty than to suffer such hardships." (P. 378) Further on, speaking of other towns, he says: "They were irritated by the bad treatment of the encomenderos who, in the administration of justice had treated them more like slaves than their children, and they only looked after their own interests at the expense of the modest fortunes and lives of their

248 charges." (P. 422) Further on: "In Leyte, where they wanted to kill an encomendero of the town of Dagami for the great vexations that he was causing them, demanding for a tribute of wax which he weighed on a false balance he hlmseH has made . . . ." This state of affairs has lasted a long time and still exists, despite the fact that the breed of encomenderos has become extinct. A name is gone but the vice and passions do not disappear while reforms merely change names. The wars with the Dutch, the invasions and piracy of the Joloans and Mindanaos have ended, the people have been transformed; new towns have arisen while others have become impoverished; but surviving are the vexations and the frauds as much as, if not worse than in those early years. We will not cite our own experiences, for aside from the fact that we don't know which to select, critical individuals may reproach us with being partial; neither will we cite hose of other Filipinos who write for the newspapers, no. We will confine ourselves to translating the words of a modern French traveler who stayed in the Philippines for a long time: " . . . the good curate", he says, referring to the rosy picture of the Philippines given him by a member of a religious order, "had not told me of the governor, (Alcalde Mayor) the highest functionary of the district, who is so busy with enriching himseH that he has no time to tyrannize his docile subjects. The governor, in charge of administering the country and collecting the various taxes in the name of the Government, devotes himseH almost entirely to business; for him the high and noble functions of his office are nothing more than instruments for personal gain. He monopolizes all business, and instead of stimulating around him love of work, instead of curbing the very natural indolence of the natives, abusing his authority, he thinks of nothing else but of destroying all competition which might bother him or attempt to share in his profits. Little does it

249 matter if the country is impoverished, is without education, without trade, without industry, provided the governor gets rich quickly." The traveler, however, has been unfair in picking out particularly the governor; why the governor only? We are not quoting passages from the writings of other travelers because we don't have their works before us and we don't want to quote from memory. The great difficulty that every enterprise encountered with the Administration also contributed not a little to kill off every commercial or industrial movement. All the Filipinos and all those in the Philippines who have wished to engage in business know how many documents, how many comings and goings, how many stamped papers, and how much patience are necessary to secure from the Government a permit for an enterprise. One must count on the good will of this one, on the influence of that one, on a good bribe to aFlOther so that he would not pigeonhole the application, a gift to the one further on so that he may pass it on to his chief. One must 'p ray to God to give him good humor and time to look it over; to give another enough talent to see its expediency; to one further away sufficient stupidity not to scent a revolutionary purpose behind the enterprise; and may they not spend their time taking baths, hunting, or playing cards with the Reverend Friars in their convents or in their country houses. And above all, much patience, a great knowledge of how to get along, plenty of money, much politics, many bows, complete resignation. How strange it is that the Philippines should remain poor despite its very fertile soil when History tells us that the most flourishing countries today date their development and well-being from the day they got their liberty and civil right? The most commercial and most industrious countries have been the freest countries. France, England, and the United States prove this. Hong Kong, which is not worth

250 . the most insignificant island of the Philippines, has more commercial activity than all our islands put together because it is free and well governed. Trading with China which was the whole occupation of the colonizers of the Philippines was not only prejudicial to Spain but also to the life of her colonies. In fact, the government officials and private citizens of Manila, finding an easy means of enriching themselves, neglected everything. They did not see to it that the land is cultivated nor did they encourage industry. For what? They had the trade with China; all they had to do was to take advantage of it and gather the gold that dropped on its path from Mexico to the interior of the Celestial Empire, an abyss from which it did not come out again. The pernicious influence of the rulers, that of surrounding themselves with servants and despising physical or manual labor as unworthy of the nobility and aristocratic pride of the heroes of so many centuries; those lordly manners that the Filipinos have translated into Tila ka Kastila (You're like a Spaniard); and th~ desire of the ruled to be the equal of the rulers, if not entirely, at least in mannersall these naturally produced aversion to activity and hatred or fear of work. Moreover, why work? Many Filipinos said to themselves. The curate says that the rich man will not go to heaven. The rich man on earth is exposed to all kinds of vexation, to all kinds of trouble: to be appointed Cabeza de Barangay (Head of the Barangay), to be deported if an uprising breaks out, to be forced to lend money to the military chief of the tOW!l, who, in order to pay you for favors received, will seize your workmen and farm animals to compel you to beg him for clemency and thus very easily pays up. Why be rich? So that all the officers of justice would keep a lynx eye on your actions; so that at the least mistake they would stir enemies against you and indict you and concoct a labyrinthine and complicated story against

251 you from which you can only get out, not by Ariadne's 4 thread but by Dana's 5 shower of gold, and still be grateful if you are not afterwards set aside for some other case if need be. The Indio, whom they pretend to regard as an imbecile, is not so much so that he does not understand that Âˇit is ridiculous to work himself to death to live as he did. A saying of his is that swine is cooked in its own fat, and as among his bad qualities he has the good one of applying to himself all the reproaches and censures that he hears, he prefers to remain miserable and indolent to playing the role of the wretched pachyderm. Add to this the introduction of gambling. We don't mean, to say that before the coming of the Spaniards the Indios did not gamble-the passion for gambling is innate in adventurous and excitable races and the Malayan race is one of them. figafetta tells us of cockfights and betting on Paragua Island-cockfighting must also have existed in Luzon and all the islands, for in the terminology of the game are found two Tagalog words-sa bong (fight) and tan (gaff) . But there is not the least doubt that the Government is responsible for its promotion and perfection. Though Pigafetta tells us about it, he mentions only Paragua and not Cebu or any other island in the south where he stayed a long time. Morga does not mention it, despite the fact that he spent seven years in Manila, and he describes various kinds of fowl, wild hens, and roosters. Neither does Morga speak of gambling when he talks about vices and other- defects more or less hidden, more or less insignificant. Moreover, with the exception of the two. Tagalog words-sabong and tari-the others 'are of 'She was the daughter, according to Greek mythology, of King Minos of Crete, who gave Theseus, a hero and son of King Aegeus of Athens, a ball of thread to guide him out of the labyrinth of the Minotaur, a monster. â&#x20AC;˘ In classical mythology she was the mother of Perseus by Zeus, who visited her as a golden shower in her prison tower.

252 Spanish origin, like soltada (the act of setting free the cocks for the fight and the fight itself) pustci (from the Spanish word apuesta, bet) " logro ( winnings), pago (payment) , sentenciador (referee), case (to cover the bets), etc. We say the same about gambling. The word sugal (from the Spanish jugar, to gamble), like kumpisal (confesar, to confess to a priest) indicates that gambling was unknown in the Philippines before the Spaniards, the Tagalog word larD (play) not being equivalent to sugal. The word balasa (from the Spanish barajar) proves that, the introduction of playing-cards was not due to the Chinese, who also have a kind of playing-cards, because if it were so, it would have taken the Chinese name. What more? The words tayci (tallar, to bet), paris-paris (Spanish pares, pairs of cards), politana (napolitana, a winning combination of cards) , sapote (to stack the cards), Kapote (to slam), monte (a cardgame), etc., all prove the foreign origin of this terrible plant which only produces vice and has found in the character of the Indio a suitable soil, fertilized by circumstances. Along with gambling which breeds dislike for steady and difficult work by its promise of easy money and its appeal to the emotions, with the lotteries, with the prodigality and hospitality of the Filipinos went also, to swell this train of misfortunes, the religious functions-the large number of fiestas, the lengthy Masses at which women spent their whole mornings, the novenae, their afternoons, and the processions and rosaries, their nights. Consider that lack of capital, lack of means, paralyzes all activity and you will see why the Indio must perforce be indolent; for if any money might remain to him from the trials, imposts, exactions, he would have to give it to the curates for bulls, scapularies, candles, novenae. etc. And if this does not suffice to produce an indolent character, if climate and nature are not enough in themselves to daze him and

253 deprive him of all energy, then consider that the doctrines of his religion teach him to irrigate his fields during the dryseason, not by means of canals but with Masses and prayers; to protect his animal during an epidemic with holy water, exorcisms, and benedictions costing five dnros an animal; to drive away the locusts with a procession led by the image of St. Augustine, etc. Doubtless it is good to trust greatly in God, but it is better to do what one can and not bother the Creator so often even when these importunities redound to the benefit of His ministers. We have observed that the peoples who believe most in miracles are the laziest, just as spoiled children are the most ill-bred. Whether they believe in miracles to lull their laziness or they are lazy because they believe in miracles, we cannot say; but the fact is that the Filipinos were much less lazy before the word miracle was introduced into their language. The facility with which individual liberty is curtailed; the endless worry of all people knowing that they are liable to a secret report, an administrative action, and to be accused of being a filibustero (rebel) or a suspect, an accusation which need not be proven or is the presence of the accuser necessary to produce the desired result; the lack of confidence in the future; the uncertainty of reaping the fruit of one's labor, as in a city in the grip of an epidemic where every individual yields to fate, shuts himself in his house or goes about amusing himself trying to spend the few days that remain of his life in the least disagreeable way possible. The apathy of the Government itself toward everything pertaining to commerce or agriculture contributes not a little to foster indolence. There is no encouragement at all either for the manufacturer or the farmer; the Government gives no aid either when the harvest is poor, when the locusts lay waste the fields, or ' when a typhoon destroys in its path the wealth of the land; nor does it bother to seek a market for the products of its colonies. Why should

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it do so when these same products are burdened with imposts and duties and have no free entry in the ports of the mother country, nor is their consumption there encouraged? While we see all the walls of London covered with advertisements of the products of its colonies, while the English make heroic efforts to substitute Ceylon tea for Chinese, they themselves starting the sacrifice of their taste and stomach , in Spain with the exception of tobacco, nothing from the Philippines is known, neither its sugar, coffee, hemp, fine textile, nor its Ilocano blankets. The name of Manila is known only thanks to the shawls from China or Indochina which at one time reached Spain by way of Manila-silk shawls embroidered fantastically but coarsely which no one in Manila has thought of imitating, as they are so easily made; but the Government is engrossed in other things and the Filipinos do not know that in the Peninsula such artic es are more esteemed than their delicate piiia embroideri s and very fine jusi gauze. Just as our indigo trade disappeared due to the fraudulent manipulations of the Chinese whom the Government could not watch, busy with other things as it was, so are our other industries now dying. The fine manufactures of the Bisayas are gradually disappearing from the market and from use, the people getting poorer cannot afford to buy the costly fabrics and have to be content with calico or the imitations by the Germans who imitate even the works of our silversmiths. The fact that the best estates, the best tracts of land in some provinces, the more profitable ones because of their accessibility, are in the hands of the religious corporations whose desideratum is the ignorance and the condition of semi-wretchedness of the Filipinos so that they can continue governing them and make themselves necessary to their hapless existence, is one of the reasons why many towns do not progress despite the efforts of their inhabitants. We will be contradicted with the argument that the towns

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which are the property of the friars are relatively richer than those which do not belong to them. We believe it! Just as their brethren in Europe, in founding their convents, have chosen the best valleys, the best uplands for the cultivation of the vine or the manufacture of beer, so also the Philippine monks have known how to select the best towns, the beautiful plains, the well-watered fields to make of them very rich estates. For sometime the friars have deceived many by making them believe that if these estates were prospering it was because they were under their supervision and they have goaded the indolence of the Filipino. But they forget that in some provinces, where they have not succeeded to get possession of the best tracts of land for one reason or another, their estates, Baurang and Liang, are inferior to Taal, Balayan, and Lipa, regions cultivated entirely by Filipinos, without any monkish interference. Add to this lack of material inducement the absence of moral support and you'll see that in that country one who is not lazy must be a fool or at least an imbecile. What future awaits one who distinguishes himself, who studies, who rises above the crowd? A young man becomes a great chemist 6 through study and sacrifice and after a long course of training during which neither the Government nor anyone gave him the least help, graduates from the university and works. A competitive examination is held to fill a certain position. The young man because of his knowledge and perseverance wins it, but after winning it the position is abolished because . . . we do not wish to give the reason. But .when a municipal laboratory is .â&#x20AC;˘ "The great chemist" alluded to was Anacleto del Rosario, a Filipino. The position for which he qualified through competitive examination was Director of the Municipal Laboratory of Manila with an annual salary of P3,OOO.OO. When the governor general, Valeriano Weyler, learned that he was a Filipino, he reduced the salary to P300.00 a year. (Rizal's letter to Mariano Ponce, dated London, 3 December 1888 in Epistolario Rizalino, U. 87-88.)

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closed in order to abolish the position of director who got his post through a competitive examination, while other positions, like that of press censor, are retained, it is because of the belief that the light of progress will hurt the people more than all the adulterated foods. In the same way, another young man 7 wins a prize in a literary contest: and as long as his identity was unknown, his work is discussed, the newspapers praise it, and consider it a masterpiece; the sealed envelopes are opened, the winner turns out to be a Filipino, and among the losers are Peninsulars; then all the newspapers extol the losers! Not one word of encouragement from the Government nor from anybody for the native who fondly cultivates the language and literature of the mother country! Finally, leaving out many other more or less insignificant reasons, the enumeration of which would be interminable, we are going to conclude this dreary list with the principal one and the greatest of all-the education of the Filipino. The education of the Filipino from birth until the grave is brutalizing, depressing, and anti-human (the word inhuman is not expressive enough; whether the Academy 8 approves it or not, let it go). Undoubtedly, the Government, some Jesuit priests and some Dominicans like Fr. Benavides, have done much by founding colleges, "primary schools, etc. But this is not enough; their effect turns out to be useless. For five or ten years the youth comes in contact with books, chosen by the very same priests who boldly declare that it is an evil for the Filipinos to know Castilian, that the Filipino should not be separated from his carabao, that he should not have any further ambition, etc. During these five or ten years the majority of students 7 This was Riza1 himself whose composition EI Conse;o de los Dioses won first prize in the contest sponsored by the Liceo Artistico-Literario de Manila in 1879 when he was a student at the University of Santo Tomas. 8 The Real Academia de la Lengua, the authority on the Spanish language and publisher of what is popularly called Diccionario de la Lengua Espanola.

257 have grasped nothing more than that no one understands what the books say, not even perhaps the professors themselves. During these five or ten years the students have to contend with the daily preaching that lowers human dignity, gradually or brutally killing their self-respectthat eternal, tenacious, persistent effort to humble the native, to make him accept the yoke, to reduce him to the level of a beast, an effort supported by some private individuals, writers or not. If this produces the desired effect on some, on others it has an opposite effect, like the breaking of a cord that is stretched too far. Thus, while they try to make of the Filipino a kind of animal, they expect from him divine actions. And we say divine actions because he must be a God who does not become indolent under that climate and the circumstances already mentioned. Deprive a man then of his dignity, and you not only deprive him of his moral stamina but also you render him useless even to those who want to make use of him. Every being in creation has his spur, his mainspring; man's is his selfrespect; take it away from him and he becomes a corpse; and he who demands activity from a corpse will find only worms. Thus is explained why the Filipinos of today are no longer the same as those of the time of the discovery, either morally or physically. The old writers, like Chirino, Morga, and Colin, are pleased to describe them as "well-featured with good aptitudes for anything they take up, keen and irascible, and resolute, very clean and neat in their persons and clothing, and of good mien and bearing" etc. (Morga) Others delight in detailed accounts of their intelligence and pleasant manners, of their aptitude for music, the drama, dancing, and singing, of the facility with which they learned, not only Spanish but also Latin, which they acquired by themselves (Colin); others, of their exquisite urbanity in their dealings and their social life; others, like the early 003483-17

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Augustinians whose accounts Gaspar de San Agustin copies, find them more gallant and genteel than the inhabitants of the Moluccas, etc. "All live off their husbandry", adds Morga, "their farms, fisheries, and trade, sailing from island to island and going by land from one province to the other." On the other hand, our present-day writers, without being better than the old ones, either as men or as historians, without being more brave than Hernan Cortes and Salcedo, nor more prudent than Legazpi, nor more righteous than Morga, nor more studious than Colin and Gaspar de San Agustin, our writers today, we say, find that the Indio is "a creature something more than a monkey but much less than a man, an anthropoid, dull-witted, imbecile, exceedingly homely, dirty, meek, smiling, ill-dressed, indolent, vicious, lazy, brainless, unmoral, etc." To what is this retrogression due? Is it the lucky civilization, is it the religion of salvation of the friars, called euphemistically of Jesus Christ, that has produced this miracle, that has atrophied his brain, paralyzed his heart and converted him into the vicious animal that writers depict? Alas! The whole misfortune of the Filipinos of today is that they have become brutes only half-way. The Filipino is convinced that to be happy it is necessary for him to lay aside his dignity as a rational being, to hear Mass, to confess, obey the curate, believe whatever he is told, pay whatever is demanded of him, pay and always pay; toil, suffer and keep silent, without aspiring to know, to understand not even Castilian, without separating himself from his carabao, as the friars impudently say,1l without protesting against an injustice, against an arbitrariness, against an assault, against an insult; that is, not to have a heart, brain, or gall-a creature with arms and a purse full of gold9 Cf. Fray Miguel Lucio Bustamante, S i Tandang Basiong Macunat, 1885, a pamphlet written in Tagalog against educating the Filipinos.

259 there's the ideal Indio! Unfortunately, or because the brutalization is not yet complete, or because the quality of man is inherent in his being in spite of his condition, the Indio protests, he still aspires, he thinks and strives to rise-and there's the trouble!

V In the preceding chapter we outlined the causes proceeding from the government which foster and maintain the evil we are discussing. Now it behooves us to analyze those emanating from the people. Peoples and governments are correlated and complementary. A stupid government is an anomaly among a righteous people, just as a corrupt people cannot exist under rulers and wise laws. Like people, like government, we will say, paraphrasing a popular adage. All these causes can be reduced to two classes: Defects of education and lack of national sentiment. We have already spoken of the influence of climate at the beginning, so we will not treat of the effects arising from it. The very limited home education, the tyrannical and sterile education in the few educational centers, the blind subjection of youth to his elders, influence the mind not to aspire to excel those who preceded hi:n and merely to be content to follow or walk behind them. Stagnation inevitably results from this, and as he who devotes himself to copying fails to develop his inherent qualities, he naturally becomes sterile; hence decadence. Indolence is a cnrollary derived from the absence of stimulus and vitality. The modesty infused into the conviction of everyone, or to speak more clearly, the insinuated inferiority, a kind of daily and constant plucking of the soul so that it would not fly to the region of light, deadens the energies, paralyzes all tendency towards advancement, and at the least strife a man gives up without fighting. If by one of those rare

260 accidents, some madman, that IS, an active man, excels, instead of his example serving as a stimulus to others, it only induces them to persist in their indolence. "There is the one who will work for us, let us sleep!," relatives and friends say to themselves. It is true also that sometimes the spirit of rivalry is awakened, but only it awakens with bad humor and envy and instead of being a helpful lever, it is a discouraging obstacle. Nurtured with the stories of anchorites who lead a contemplative and lazy life, the Filipinos spend theirs giving their money to the Church in the hope of miracles and other wonderful things. Their will is hypnotized. Since childhood they have learned to act mechanically, without knowing the purpose, thanks to the exercise imposed upon them very early of praying for whole hours in an unknown language, of worshipping without understanding, of accepting beliefs without questioning, of imposing upon themselves absurdities, while the protests of reason are repressed. Is it any wonder that the Filipino, with this vicious dressi:'J.g of his intelligence and will, who was formerly logical and consistent-as proven by the analysis of his past and his language-should now be a monstrosity of disastrous contradictions? This incessant struggle between reason and duty, between his organism and his new ideals, this civil war which disturbs the peace of his conscience all his life, will in the end paralyze all his energies, and with the aid of the severe climate, makes his eternal vacillation, his doubts, the origin of his indolent disposition. -"You can't do more than old So and Sol-Don't aspire to be greater than the curate! You belong to an inferior race! You haven't any energy." They say this to the child; and as it is repeated so often, it has perforce become engraved in his mind and thence it seals and shapes all his actions. The child or the youth who tries to be anything else is charged of being vain and presumptuous; the curate ridicules him with cruel sarcasm, his relatives look

261 upon him with fear, and strarigers pity him greatly. No going forward! Get in line and follow the crowd! His mind conditioned thus, the Filipino follows the most pernicious of all routines-a routine, not based on reason but imposed and forced. And note that the Filipino himself is not naturally inclined to routine, for his mind is disposed to accept all the truth, just as his house is open to all strangers. The good and the beautiful attract him, seduce him, and captivate him; like the Japanese, many times he exchanges the good for the bad, if it is presented to him adorned and glittering. What he lacks principally are freedom to give expansion to his adventuresome spirit and good examples, beautiful prospects in the distance. It is necessary for his spirit, though it is dismayed and frightened by the elements ~nd the overwhelming manifestation of its mighty forces, to store up energy, to pursue lofty purposes, in order to struggle against the obstacles in the midst of unfavorable natural environment. In order that he may progress it is essential that a revolutionary spirit, so to speak, should boil in his veins, since progress necessarily requires change, implies the overthrow of the past, there erected as God, for the present, the triumph of new ideas over the old and accepted ones. It is not enough to appeal to his fancy, to offer him exquisite things, nor to 路dazzle him with lights like the ignis fatuus which mislead travelers at night; all the flattering promises of the fairest hopes will not suffice so long as his spirit is not free, his intelligence is not respected. The reasons arising from the absence of national sentiment are even more lamentable and more transcendental. Convinced through insinuation of his inferiority, his mind bewildered by his education-if the brutalization we discussed above can be called education-with only his racial susceptibility and poetical imagination remaining in him, the Filipino in the exchange of usages and ideas among the different nations, allows himself to be guided by his

262 fancy and self-love. It is sufficient that a foreigner praise to him the imported merchandise and find fault with the native product for him to shift hastily, without thinking that everything has its weak side and the most sensible custom appears ridiculous to the eyes of those who do not follow it. They dazzled him with tinsel, with strings of multicolored glass beads, with noisy rattles, shining mirrors, and other trinkets, and in exchange he gave his gold, his conscience, and even his liberty. He changed his religion for the rituals of another religion, the convictions and usages dictated by his climate and his necessities for other usages and other convictions which have grown under another sky and under a different inspiration. His spirit, disposed to everything which seemed to be good, then was transformed according to the taste of the nation that imposed upon him its God and its laws; and as the trader with whom he dealt did not bring along the useful iron implements, the hoes to till the fields, but stamped papers, crucifixes, bulls, and prayer-books; as he did not have for an ideal and prototype the tanned and muscular laborer but the aristocratic lord, carried in a soft litter, the result was that the imitative people became clerks, devout, prayerloving, acquired ideas of luxurious and ostentatious living without improving correspondingly their means of subsistence. Moreover, the lack of national sentiment breeds another evil which is the scarcity of any opposition to the measures that are prejudicial to the people and the absence of any initiative that will redound to their welfare. A man in the Philippines is only an individual; he is not a member of a nation. He is deprived of the right of association and therefore he is weak and inert. The Philippines is an organism whose cells must have no arterial system to water them, nor a nervous system to register their impressions; nonetheless these cells must yield their product, get it where they can; if they perish, let them perish. In the

263 opinion of some persons, this is desirable so that a colony may remain a colony. Perhaps they are right, but not that a colony may flourish. The result of this is that if a harmful measure is promulgated, no one protests; everything goes well apparently until later the evils are felt. Another blood-letting and as the organism npither has nerves nor voice, the physician proceeds, believing that the treatment is not injurious. He needs a reform but as he must not speak, he keeps silent and gets no reform. The patient wants to eat, wants to breathe fresh air; but as such desires may offend the susceptibility of the physician who thinks that he has already provided everythjng necessary, he suffers and Ian路路 guishes for fear of receiving a bawling, enduring a plaster, and a new blood-letting. And so on indefinitely. In addition to this, love of peace and the horror many have of acceptin~ the few administrative posts that fall to the lot of the Filipino on account of the troubles and annoyances they bring them, lead to the appointment of the most stupid and incompetent men to municipal posts-officials who submit to everything, who endure all the caprices and exactions of the curates and their superiors. And with imbecility in the lower echelons, and ignorance and giddiness in the upper, with the frequent changes and endless apprenticeships, with great fear and numerous administrative obstacles, with a voiceless people that have neither initiative nor cohesion, with government employees, who nearly all strive to amass a fortune and return to their country, with people who exist with great difficulty from birth, to create prosperity, to develop agriculture &Ild industry, to establish enterprises and associations, which prosper with difficulty even in free and well-organized countries, cannot be expected to happen in the Philippines. Yes! Every attempt is useless which does not spring from a profound study of the malady that afflicts us. In order to combat indolence some have proposed increasing

264 the needs of the Indio, raising his taxes, etc. What happened? Criminals have multiplied; penury has been aggravated. Why? Because the Indio already has enough necessities with the Church functions, feasts, head-ships of the barangay, and bribes that he must give so that his life may drag on wretchedly. The cord is already too taut. We have heard many complaints and every day we read in the papers about the efforts the Government is making to pull the country out of its state of indolence. In considering its plans, its illusions, and its difficulties comes to our mind the story of the gardener who wished a tree he planted in a small pot to grow big. The gardener spent his time fertilizing and watering the handful of earth, pruning the plant frequently, pulling at it to lengthen it and hasten its growth, grafting on it cedars and oaks until one day the little tree died. The garde er was convinced that it belonged to a degenerate species. He attributed the failure of his experiment to ,e verything except to thee lack of soil and to his indescribable folly. Without education and liberty-the soil and the sun of mankind-no reform is possible, no measure can give the desired result. This does not mean that we should first demand for the Filipino the education of the sage and all imaginable liberties before putting a hoe in his hand or placing him in a workshop; such a pretension would be an absurdity and vain folly. What we want is that no obstacles be placed on his way, not to increase the many that the climate and the situation of the islands already create for him, not to begrudge him educational opportunities for fear that when he becomes intelligent he will separate from the colonizing nation or demand rights to which he is entitled. Since some day or other he will become enlightened, whether the Government likes it or not, let his enlightenment be as a gift given to him and not as a spoil of war. We wish the policy to be sincere and consistent

265 or highly civilizing, without petty reservations, without distrust, without fear nor misgivings, wishing the good for the sake of the good, civilization for the sake of civilization, without ulterior thoughts of gratitude or ingratitude, or if not, a policy of courageous, open exploitation, tyrannical, and selfish, without hypocrisy or deception, withal a well thought out and studied system for domination and compelling obedience, for ruling to get rich, and getting rich to enjoy. If the Government adopts the first, it can rest assured that some day or other it will reap the fruits and find a people who will be with it at heart and in interests; there's nothing like a favor to win friendship or enmity, or it is either hurled into his face or bestowed on him in spite of himself. If the Government decides in favor of systematic and regulated exploitation, stifling the desire for independence of the colonists with the jingle of gold and the sheen of opulence, paying with material wealth the lack of freedom, as the English do in India, leaving them under the rule of native potentates, then build roads, layout highways, construct railroads, foster freedom of trade; let the Government attend more to material interests rather than to the interests of the four friar corporations; let it send out intelligent employees to develop industry, just judges, all well paid, so that they would not pilfer or be venal, and lay aside all religious pretext. This policy has the advantage in that while it may not completely lull to sleep the instinct of liberty, yet the day that the mother country lose her colonies she will at least keep the gold amassed and not regret having reared ungrateful children.

COWARDLY REVENGE

We received a telegram from Hong Kong dated 14 August informing us of the filing of administrative charges against Messrs. Paciano Mercado, Silvestre Ubaldo, Antonino and Leandro Lopez, Mateo Elejorde, and others, brother, brothers-in-law, and friends of Mr. Jose Rizal respectively. Mr. Manuel Hidalgo, brother-in-law also of Mr. Rizal, has been twice exiled to Bohol without trial, without being permitted to defend himself, without knowing what his crime was, besides being brother-in-law of the author of Noli me tangere, a book the friars believe prejudicial to their interests. Mr. Mariano Herbosa, also brother-in-law of the same Mr. Rizal, who died of cholera, was buried outside of the cemetery', denied all obsequies, in spite of the fact that he descended from a family to whom the town~s church owed all the images of saints that were venerated on its altars; in spite of the fact that half of his patrimony, if not two-thirds of it, had been invested in dresses for the saints, in cars for saints' images, alms, in pious donations. The church of Calamba, or rather the one who manages it, has a very poor memory indeed not to remember the good done it. It is true of course that he is a young man Whe has no memory for any thing except his indigestible and ridiculous sermons. We know how these administrative charges are formulated and may God will that those who took part in their preparation may not regret it later. The victims are all peaceful and honorable citizens and their greatest crime in the eyes of those who persecute them is the good example 266

267 that they give by earning their livelihood worthily and honestly. Tyranny in France had its Bastille; the Inquisition, its autos-de-fe and tortures; the Philippines has her arbitrary banishments. It seems that some are bent upon showing the Filipinos in a practical way that there 1 it is nonsense to live honestly trusting in the efficacy of the laws; that in a disorderly country, it is a great crime to think of tranquility and work, without ever asking the Government anything except to them farm in peace the lands of their ancestors. Let us see who will get tired first, whether the provokers or the peaceful people of the Philippines. It is the turn of the Government to put a remedy to these infamies, be,\ause once in a while the Government pays for broken glass.

Rizal was writing in Spain; "there" means the Philippines. Published in La Solidaridad, 31 August 1890.

A REPLY TO Mr. ISABELO DE LOS REYES

The noted Filipino historian Mr. Isabelo de los Reyes puts in his Historia de Ilocos (2nd edition, p. 104) a note in which, after flattering me with his benevolent opinion on my patriotism (sic) and my comments on the work of the great Morga with regard to the scientific and historical opinion found in them, adds: "But that very laudable patriotism of his, it seelltS to me, blinds him at times, and an historian ought to be rigorously impartial: I don't say that the Filipinos on the coasts were entirely equal in civilization to our contemporary mountain dwellers; but even so, the optimism of the said author turns out to be passionate in some points, taking the exceptions for the general rule, and viceversa. The consens1Ls am,ong authol's who had no reason to lie in these cases ought to be taken into account: The true character of that civilization and what is still preserved of it in the present customs of the people, say this to explain the divergence between some of his estim,ates and )}1,ine in this and in the following chapte1'."

I don't know until what point is it discreet to raise oneself as a judge of others-his equals-by the mere fact of having divergent views from them, dealing above all with events in which neither one nor the other was an eyewitness or more or less an influential actor. But this, which in anybody else could be censured as vain presumption, ceases to be so in the case of Mr. Isabelo de los Reyes who knows so well how to interpret the historians of the Philippines, I only regret that Mr. De los Reyes has not specified my optimism, for thus, as it is very easy to say generalities about a rather extensive work, it is also very easy to say to one that he is artless or ignorant, because 268

269 who has not done sometimes silly things or who does not know some of the many things that man ought to know? However, reading the two chapters that Mr. Isabelo de los Reyes mentions, I believe I find the divergencies in which we incurred, and whether they are or they are not, there they go. On page 102 of the cited work Mr. De los Reyes says: "Morga and other authors affirm that the post of agttLray (who governs) . . . . "

I have read MOl'ga about seven times and I don't remember that he had ever mentioned agturay. I don't know if Mr. De los Reyes in his laudable desire to Ilocanize the Philippines, thinks it convenient to make Morga speak Ilocano. It is true that this author, in describing the customs of the Tagalogs, said that they were generally current in all the islands; but this does not mean that Ilocano customs are the ones that prevail. Another divergence, though little, is in the names of the petty king of Cebu whom Mr. De los Reyes says is Hamabao. In the authentic text of Pigafetta in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana, it says Hamabon and maybe Humabong. But this is of very little value, inasmuch as there are historians who call him Humabor, Calipulaco (Si LapuZapu), etc. The great divergence, notwithstanding, between Mr. De los Reyes and my poor person, or rather, between the great Ilocano historian and Morga (inasmuch as I have done no other thing but cite passages of contemporary authors of those events) consists in the desire of Mr. De los Reyes to make our ancient noble families appear like families of bandits, the children as enemies of their parents, basing himself on the testimony of Fr. Rada, confirmed by Fr. San Antonio, a later, but very much later, compiler. This, in my opinion, is the question in which Mr. De los Reyes has honored me with a divergence, as at the end of the

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last paragraph that he mentions, he places the note in which he praises my patriotism, etc. etc. I cannot now brag of being an applauder of patriotism however much at the bottom of my heart I respect and admire the sincerity with which the illutrious historian works to enlighten his country, despite the many displeasures that the task brings. I know very well that Mr. De los Reyes is one of the best patriots and just by praising my sentiments, he proves to me that not only does he not differ from mine but that he goes further. But returning to our divergence. I had also read the French translation of the manuscript of Fr. Rada that the orientalist Jacquet publishes in the Nouveau Journal Asiatique which Mr. De los Reyes cites in his support. And as I read it after informing myself of everything that Pigafetta, Chirino, Morga, Argensola, Colin, San Agustin, Aduarte, and others said, I was no little surprised to fin'd Fr. Rada, not only openly opposed to all those writers, but exaggeratedly pessimistic that I had to tell my friend Blumentritt of my surprise. In fact, were we to believe Fr. Rada (the manuscript was dated in Kalumpit), the towns of the Philippines were some towns of assassins, thieves, highwaymen, cowards; the mothers, denaturalized, killing their children when they had many, and the children murdering their parents, etc. etc. Upon reading his description I asked myself if Fr. Rada had written it after the rough drubbing that he received from the Chinese, or only to project the necessity and importance of Catholic missions, as it is the custom to do even now. Pigafetta is against Fr. Rada when he says: "Questi popoli vivono con giuztizia avendo pesi e misure" 1, his whole account showing the peaceful, noble, and respectful customs of those peoples. About Morga I say nothing. Fr. Chirino was so surprised at the respect children had 1

"These peoples live with justice, possessing weights and measures."

271 for their parents that he could not understand why they never dared to pronounce their names. About Argensola, Colin, and San Agustin neither shall I say anything~ Aduarte asserts that despite easy divorce, once they came to have one child, they did not separate any more out of love for their offspring. As I based my assertion on seven contemporary writers, I don't know if in this case, I shall be the exception and Mr. De los Reyes whose authority is a translation and a manuscript shall be the general rule: I know that the authority of Mr. De los Reyes is worth seven times more than mine; but with my seven authors and he with his Fr. Rada, we can balance ourselves, if he does not take offence. It is true that Pigafetta says "Quando i genitori erano vecchi Â˘u non erano fare conto ma passava il comando ai figliuoli. v ("When the fathers became old, they did not count on them any more, but the authority passed on to the sons".) But it can't be deduced from this that "almost all the chiefs were tyrants who gained their posi:tion through pillage and misdeeds", as Mr. De los Reyes says supported by Fr. Rada. If the sons inherited by virtue of a custom, therefore, it was not through pillage and misdeeds. That the fathers, when at an advanced age, leave the authority to their sons means nothing. In Europe, where wars have been converted into a science, we have even today old military leaders giving their posts to young men. Charles V abdicated in favor Qf his son Philip II; the king of Holland has been declared incapacitated to rule, etc. The chiefs having at times to direct expeditions in person, what is strange in always desiring young element? And moreover, the fact that Humabon has not yet been succeeded by his heir, does it not prove that these substitutions only took place in ad .. vanced age? And the rule of Rajah Matanda in Manila despite the existence of Rajah Mura, does it not tell Mr. De los Reyes of the respect that in the Philippines old

272 men had enjoyed? And the present Filipino customs, their love for and submission to their elders, that veneration that Colin and Chirino found as deification, do they not tell enough in favor of the Filipino family? Were cases of parricide or infanticide perchance recorded in the Philippines as in many Catholic countries of Europe? Had we no positive proofs of Mr. De los Reyes' patriotism we would believe that by giving so much credit to Fr. Rada, he had intended to denigrate his own people in order to form a kind of background that would project Fr. Rada's figure. Do the sons perchance divide the property of their parents while these are still living, as in many European countries? Does this happen in Ilocos? Why, dealing with the Philippines, does Mr. De los Reyes give more weight to the pessimism of Fr. Rada, another man interested in his own prominence, than to the authority of seven men and to the customs that we still see today? We don't believe that he does it to win the good graces of the Augustinian friars, for that would be a futile task, Mr. De los Reyes having done what he has done. I have other divergencies with Mr. De los Reyes, above all on the meaning of Tagalog terms. To claim that catapusan in 'l'agalog means feast; cabarcada, contemporary, etc.-these are things that I don't want to discuss with him now because I don't want to spend my time attacking through such insignificant trifles the few glories of my country. They might say that I'm envious and that besides being few we are still on bad terms. Let it be of record that this question was provoked by Mr. De los Reyes, that until now I have only spoken of him with admiration ann respect, even if I don't agree with many of his opinions, for I have always believed that I could not raise myself to be his judge, and that dealing with historical facts, only the testimony of contemporaries can be authoritative, a testimony that ought to be subjected to the processes of criticism.

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Whether rm blinded or not by my patriotism can be answered by one who has censured me for not having refuted Morga's assertions about the Filipino woman. I did not wish to deny what I have found in all the authors just as I don't want to accept what one asserts that is contrary to every reason. On the question of the history of the ci vilization of the ancient Filipinos, I believe I have read from beginning to end all the contemporary authors except Fr. Plasencia and one whose work had been lost. I never assert anything on my own authority, I cite texts and when I cite them, I have them before me. Published in La Solidaridad, 31 October 1890. 003483-18

F. PI Y MARGALL: THE STRUGGLES OF OUR TnAE

We shall not analyze in all its aspects the work of the venerable republican whose name alone has long been synonymous with learning, consistency, and integrity. La Solidaridad, devoted to the interests of the Philippines, cannot abandon its own ground to soar with Mr. Pi y Margall to the spheres where principles are discussed, redeeming indeed but still very foreign to the state of the Philippines considering the present circumstances. Thick brambles and briers still cover the ground, preventing every good seed to germinate and life to be possible there. Besides this, to cover the whale work and judge it would be for us an unpardonable presumption and should we attempt it we would write a more voluminous book though infinitely less interesting. Leaving then to others the examination of Las luchas de nuestros dias (The Struggles of Our Time) from the literary or political point of view, we shall consider it with reference to the life of peoples and individuals in general and of the colonies in particular, drawing attention to the ideas that are in consonance or dissonance with Philippine aspira tions. The book is composed of six dialogues, the first three being already known to the public since 1884, thanks to two large editions, sold out in a very short time; the last three are new. However, as they are probably all unknown to many Filipinos who will derive great benefits from their reading, we shall consider them all, analyzing each one in detail, its subject matter as well as its ideas. 274

275 In the first dialogue the characters of the principal personages are sketched: Don Rodrigo and Don Leoncio. The first one in his youth was Voltairian, or at least he thought he was. Rich, happy, lucky, endowed with great qualities which would enable him to shine in the world, he rose among the people whom he attracted with his ardent enthusiasm, and surrounding himself with libertarian ideas, he became deputy, senator, minister president, everything that he wished to be. From that height, the bandage over his eyes falls, as he says; where formerly he saw enthusiasms, now he finds unbridled passions, where he found just remonstrances, now impertinent demands. Then he believes it his duty to make himself a partisan of order, when perhaps he is acting only for selfish ends, confusing his interests with those of mankind. In fact, not having anything more to desire, Don Rodrigo becomes a conservative. As a ruler, he is annoyed by the remonstrances of the people and he is horrified by tumults. Satisfied and having realized his ideal, he believes that that of others has to be realized in its turn, and for this reason he cannot understand the march of opinion, and instead of looking for the cause of the disturbances in the derided aspirations, he looks for it in their origin. He dreams of the tranquil past and becomes a reactionary, reasoning like the father who, instead of giving natural and fecund satisfaction to the legitimate and imposing passions of the soul, he would like the young man to go back and to condemn him to a perpetual infancy. On the other hand, Don Leoncio is the antithesis of Don Rodrigo. Reared since infancy in the Catholic religion by his uncle, a scrupulous priest, he spent his youth in the cloister, imbibing the faith in mystical and orthodox folio books. Nothing of scientific theories, nothing of modern ideals, nothing of natural science. To the doubts of the spirit he replied with the affirmations of faith; to the revolts ofhi& reason, with revelation and dogmas; and to the

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strong objections of his conscience to the reading of Biblical passages. reputed to have been dictated by God, his uncle replied with the punishments of heaven and absolute pro.. hibition. But the uncle dies, civil war breaks out, and without props he enlists as a soldier under the flag of the Pretender, defending with arms the ideas and convictions acquired in the cloisters. The war ended, he emigrated to France with Don Carlos, and in Brittany he was given asylum by a Legitimist family. In this country he met a physician who was a student of astronomy, and there with the study of the heavens and before the great book of nature, little by little fell like worm-eaten tree trunks, the vain knowledge derived from the folio books of the cloister. There he began to ratiocinate. The spectacle of infinite worlds that revolve around the sun following fixed laws, shook his puerile belief in the Ptolemaic system. Then, little by little his God began to appear to him greater and more magnificent. Human reason seemed to him the spark bestowed on man by the divinity to light him in life, and faith, the shade that softens its splendor. He renounced his past and the assiduous study ended in transforming him. But we quote his own words: In recalling at that time the miracles and the incarnation of God in the womb of Mary, a smile appeared on my lips. The earth being one of so many planets in the solar system, and certainly not the largest nor the most favored, being one of the infinite spheres that wander through the infinite spaces, it is not possible to presume that only on it live rational beings and there are none in other worlds with more or less intelligence and more or less passions than we have. It seemed to me even ridiculous to admit that God, since He exists and reaches so much, would have agreed to come down to the uterus of a woman to save us and to subvert for our sake-the smallest part of nature-the constant laws of the Universe.

However, on this road that leads to freedom of thought, not a few times doubts and his old beliefs come back

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to stop him. To the question that rose 路 in his mind whether or not morality is possible outside of the idea of God, his conscience replies vibrantly: In order to keep you back from evil, why do you need to know that the eye of God is looking at Y'OU when you have in me a judge who incessantly inquires, judges your most hidden intentions, and even more your actions; when I ma.ke you ashamed of 'yo~r own thoughts, even if you have not communicated them to any body? If my voice cannot restrain the wicked neither could the glance of Jehovah nor of Brahma.

His past replied: "Moral needs sanction, what is its sanction without God? Conscience replied: "I who applaud you for the good thai you do and I comfort you, if, judging wrongly, you are outraged and slandered; I am your remorse when you dQ wrong and I muddle your pleasures and your joys if, taking you kindly, they honor and eXtol you. And if you pervert yourself? I cannot pervert myself without ,your reason being perverted; the two being perverted, the idea of God will vanish with the idea of the good, that is, if you continue believing in God. And Don Leoncio added: "I remembered at that time many. people whom God did not restrain and the numerous crimes committed in the name of God; and as I felt vanquished ~ . . . " "And if tomorrow I 'f eel dragged on to seek death, whether through the impulses of honor, whether wearied of suffering, whether moved by stupid heroism, are you enough to stop me?"

Conscience answered firmly: "Yes, if you do not ignore my voice and you listen to the voice of public conscience." And the inner voice ends by saying with a great deal of truth: "I can't always prevent evil but neither has belief in God nor any religion prevented it." The themes of future dialogues are introduced in this dialogue, as in little skirmishes in which, however, terrible weapons flash. After this o'n free thought comes the right of individual dissent, the source of all ' progress, or 路rather the trouble of irldividual reason 路w ith ,public 'or collective reason, the fruitful struggle 路of Ideas.

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Freedom of thought and morality of conscience being admitted, it was necessary to recognize that only man could be governed by his expressed will, hence the principle of the suffrage. Don Leoncio, asked by Don Rodrigo about his economic ideas, replies with these beautiful words that condemn forever the unjust systems followed in the colonies: To recognize in each individual a supreme right and accept perpetual inequality of conditions among citizens seem to me absurd. All of us men do not have the same aptitude or the same strength, but I agree with your father and your children that this neither authorizes nor legalizes inequality of rights. The difference in strength and aptitudes, you mark it well, corresponds to the diversity of functions that are indispensable in the fulfillment of the multiple purposes of our life.

If the inequality of rights between individuals is then so odious, why would it not be so among peoples and whole races in which are found individuals of all kinds of aptitudes and capacities? What responsibility before God and posterity have peoples who, through selfishness or avarice, deprive others of liberty necessary to their complete life and progress? Dealing with the remedy to the poverty of so many unfortunate peoples, Don Leoncio says: The land cannot be anything else but the common patrimony of mankind, as air and water are. Air, water, and land constitute our planet and contain all the means of subsistence and elements of labor that contribute to the satisfaction of our necessities. It is the madness of madness to deliver them in absolute and irrevocable title to either corporations or persons.

This whole paragraph on page 42 will resound painfully in the towns in the Philippines. There the lands of the towns, the lands that must feed thousands and thousands of natives, have been given to small corporations of men, already reputed as useless and an anachronism. The friars, who have taken the vow of poverty, appropriate for themselves the lands of the towns, worked and

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watered by the sweat of the poor, in order that they may live in abundance and in arrogance, and if anyone . is daring enough to ask them for their titles to the property, lacking these and the rights of reason, they defend their booty with force, the force lent to them by a very complacent government. We repeat, the whole discussion that develops on pages 42, 43, and 44 which reflects what the European governments are doing to remedy the complaint of the unfortunate majority, must wound the heart of the sons of the Philippines where unfortunately all the attention of the government is reduced to squeezing and adjusting the majority for the benefit of a very insignificant minority. The antithesis cannot be more painful. Both interlocutors being convinced of the difficulty of the problem, impossible for the reactionary, resolvable in the future for the freethinker, the reactionary, misses the former times of ignorance and piety and cites the happiness of rural folks, propo ing them ; or models. "The ideal of man", interrupts Don Leoncio, "according to you is to live , like the peasants of these mountains? They are the happiest. But who fulfills better the human ideal, they or those who cultivate their reason and their .minds; they or those who struggle to extend the boundaries of our power and of our knowledge; they or those who labor earnestly and even shed their blood to bring about justice?" And then follows a beautiful hymn to the great men who have made mankind progress-Columbus, Franklin, Fulton, Daguerre, Newton, etc. It is a magnificent song in which are traced in broad strokes the conquests of reason and human intelligence, the beneficial consequences that came out of such holy principles, in spite of the sacrifices and victims that they cost. Don Leoncio extolling the war for liberty and justice, Don Rodrigo refutes him. \Vith the .exc~amation: "lIoly war that is waged against God ~ith no other standard but the rights of man!" Don LeonCio replies: "If God exists, is it not

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perchance justice? To establish it would always be to bring God to the earth!" Don Rodrigo, wanting to support his reactionary ideas with the name of God, Don Leoncio cites to him the communism of Christ, of the primitive church, and the apostolic traditions. The continuation of the dialogue is most interesting and on page 55 it announces that doubt is the disease of our time, doubt is the virtue of our time, respecting every other OpInIOn. Doubt is the first spur of progress. If men had not doubted, many truths would still be unknown to us ann. we would still have the notions of primitive times. Absolute affirmations and negations come only from ignorant presumption or supreme knowledge. Doubt makes man tolerant of another's ideas, an inquirer, attentive to every lesson or experience. In the next num~r we shall continue, if possible, the study of the other dIalogues. J

II The second dialogue begins courageously with the question of the existence of the soul. The first character of Pi y Margall, Don Leoncio, does not affirm categorically that the spirit exists, but he believes that there must be something in man that is different from matter. And he bases this belief, neither on aphorisms nor on scholastic axioms but on the careful observation of certain phenomena, such as, not seeing, not hearing, and not feeling when attention is concentrated on another object, the faculty of man to generalize, to induce and deduce, to fabricate, to create beings, to compare, to draw conclusions and the important fact that a man enjoys in the midst of great physical sufferings or he suffers in the bottom of his conscience despite corporal pleasures. The difficulty is in determining what is that something, concludes Don Leoncio.

281 The presumptuous scholastic philosophy has wanted to analyze, describe, and regulate this "something"; it has wanted to say how it is found in the human body, and for desiring to know everything, it has fallen into ridiculous absurdities, as impossible as saying, three are one and one is three. Scholastic philosophy says that the soul is all in the whole body and all in each one of its parts, that it is indivisible, etc., etc. The materialists, on the other hand, deny all around its existence and only accept matter, nervous caloric fluid, electricity, etc. We prefer to say with Don Leoncio: We can find out the properties of that something in its manner of acting and manifesting itself, but we cannot know who it is or what it is. However: inasmuch as our intelligence can neither conceive nor understand anything unless it asswnes a material form, at least like that of tenuous gas and volatile like air or pure ether. Inasmuch as the v ry ideas of space and of nothing can only be conceived under a negative form of matter; inasmuch as everything in us is invested with material forms, as if that intellectual something could not accept anything outside of what is palpable, visible, or sensible, why could not the Omnipotent Wisdom have endowed matter, suitably organized, with intelligence, action, and reasoning? Has not magnet that invisible and intangible power of attraction? Has not certain medicine the quality of overturning the functions of that something? Does not music, being merely the effect of transmitted vibrations, act with so much vigor on sensitive beings? Is there anything more mysterious than light that goes through bodies without modifying them or turning them upside down, that extends in Ll'lfinite swells or is reduced to one point only, its rays penetrating one another without disturbing one another or being confused? And nevertheless, magnet, color, sound, light, all are material products. If the human generation had evolved without ever having seen neither a magnet nor have known the laws of attraction and suddenly had seen

282 a piece of steel attracting to itself all the iron instruments within its reach, ass.uredly they would have attributed to it at the first moment properties much more spiritual and more soul-like than are attributed to the soul, which after all and despite all their efforts, cannot make an object move without making use of natural forces. Why imagine now an immaterial being (if we can imagine it) to explain the phenomena of our self? Do we know perchance all the properties and all the forces of matter and their diverse forms? Have we already measured the power of the one who has dictated their laws in order to deny that the faculty of think ing can reside in certain atoms suitably organized and combined? And if we touch the question of immortality-another idea that we understand only negatively-what inconvenience would there be since according to all probabilities matter is eternal? We do not denyhow could we deny-the spirituality that they attribute to the soul for the saT e r eason th t we do not know it. We only think that it is not impossible for God nor is it opposed to matter that it be endowed with qualities attributed to the spirit. But Mr. Pi, or rather Don Leoncio, despite the fact that he had said that he did not know who was that something, is inclined toward the spirituality of the soul, and, analyzing its powers to create and understand all of nature, he combatted the idea that the soul could be an atom with this question: "Could it be possible that an atom of nature could do so much with the whole of nature? And why not? We would reply, if we were materialists, with all the respect that the Catalan philosopher deserves from us. Does not an immense panorama, leagues and leagues in extent with all its mountains and lakes pass through the tiny pupilar aperture to be reproduced whole in a space smaller than a square inch? And then it is not the soul the one which acts on Nature: It is Nature which . acts on the soul. The soul does nothing else but suffer its

283 influence, understand it, interpret it, and when it seems to influence something, in reality it only let Nature act on Nature itself. From the existence of the soul they pass on to the study of Revelation. Here Mr. Pi reveals himself a giant, as one of his critics very well said. Mr. Pi maintains, and rightly, that all the supposed revelations contain the errors, ideas, knowledge, and preoccupations of the times during which they appeared. "The God of Moses spoke in Genesis; and what did He -say that is not in the knowledge of the Hebrews? Jesus spoke through the mouth of the Apostles; and what did he say that is not contained in the Old Testament and Greek philosophy?"

Don Rodrigo says concerning the obscure passages in the Bible that "the word of God is so profound that we can only examine its hidden meaning and significance by force of meditating on it". To this Don Leo~cio replies igorously: "Of what use then is Revelation if it needs man to interpret it, who changes his construction only when the advancement of science demands it?" Do you want God to come down to teach us Geography and Astronomy? And have we no right to demand from Him at least, that in speaking to us about heaven and earth, not to affirm with the authority of his word the errors that would retard the full power that He assured He had given us over the planet . . . .?" All that follows is an analysis of marvelous clarity and logic bruising religious preoccupations. He demonstrates the humanity of the Biblical Jehova with the cruelties and passions of his epoch, proclaiming loudly the excellence of the doctrine of Christ and its superiority to the Mosaic. He cannot avoid recognizing in it the principles of the sect of the Esseni and thOl.lgh his respect for the Man who sacrificed himself for the sake of propagating the truth borders on veneration, he finds that Christ had not one word against slavery nor against the tyrannical oppres-

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sion of the Caesars, sharing the same preoccupations of his century about the question of diseases then attributed to evil spirits. One cannot deny the justice of the severe criticism of Christ's doctrine that Don Leoncio makes on pages 77, 78, and 79: Christ appealed to the sentimental side of man, never to the intellectual; recommended confidence in tomorrow without ever trying to stimulate our energy; recommended obedience and submission; preferred the poor in spirit, without a word of love for the men who dedicated themselves to the cultivation of their intellect for the purpose of making themselves useful to their brothers-here are some gaps in the religion of the Nazarene. "Don't worry about what you will eat or wear tomorrow; do not mow nor sow nor catch the birds of heaven, and eat; do not work nor weave the lilies of the fields, and dress as Solomon never dressed in his greatest glory". For this reason perhaps indolence is authorized in Catholic countr' es in general and in the Philippines in particular where 1Jo the rigors of the climate have been added the multitude of feasts that prohibit men to work, faith in miracles that makes men expect everything from heaven, needing only ignorance and credulity. It was for this doctrine perhaps that the early learned naturalists were persecuted and accused, the first physical discoveries were called works of the devil and for that reason the Catholic Church is always in constant struggle with progress. What follows is a careful study of the history of Christianity and of its doctrines. He shows with texts and arguments that the propagation of the divine doctrine was not so miraculous, that there were impositions by force, persecutions, heresies, and that it still carried "hidden in its ritual like a snake the old paganism". "In matters of faith there is no other authority but the Church", says Don Rodrigo. Is it not also certain that this authority comes from God?" replies the freethinker. For, if the

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authority that originates in Revelation, even with the sword, does not succeed to impose itself on all consciences. can you tell me in what it differs from the authority of men? Speaking about the propagation of Christianity in the New World, Don Rodrigo has to admit that the sword and preaching were used: the sword for the body and preaching for the spirit. "Strange distinction!" replies Don Leoncio. "And was it bringing the Americans peacefully to the bosom of the Church by dividing them as slaves among the conquerors, desecrating their temples, breaking their idols, and beheading thousands of soldiers, only because the Inca of Atahualpa did not respect a Bible that he did not know nor could know, inasmuch as he was not even aware of the existence of written language. And he could have added speaking about the Christianization of the Philippines: "Was it bringing the Filipinos peacefully to the bos0m of the Church, to divide them into slaves among the encomenderos, sell them as slaves, strip them of their property and condemn them to perpetual ignorance? Is that perchance the manner of making them love of God, of making them believe that He has created them inferior to the rest so that they may become their slaves and toys when in the tribunal of conscience their conscience protests loudly? It is impossible to follow Mr. Pi in his rich study of religions and their comparison with one another. From every phrase sprout reflections and teachings that to write them all down the pages of our modest Review would not be enough, for which reason we prefer to stop here, recommending to the reader the perusal of this dialogue, the most beautiful, in our opinion, and the longest also as it fills eighty pages. Like that character in oriental tales who, having seen the riches shut up in a cave, believed at the beginning it was his duty to carry them all, not know-

286 ing which to choose among so many sapphires and dia-monds, afterwards had to give up his intention, contenting himself with what he picked up at random. That is what happens to us. There are so many and so inexhaustible riches in Las luchas de nuestros dias that we prefer to say to our readers: Go and -enrich yourselves, for what we have shown you here as sample is nothing more than the first rough pieces of marble that we have found at the entrance. Go, judge, and choose the most precious pearls that lie there scattered: Perhaps your judgment will serve you better than mine, fascinated and dazzled by surprise and admiration. A book review by Jose Rizal published in La Sol idal' idad, Vol. II, No. 43, pp. 256-258. 15 November 1890.

)

HOW THE PHILIPPINES IS GOVERNED

Within these last few years the future of the Philippines has preoccupied not only its inhabitants, who are the most interested party, but also many Spaniards who until recently perhaps did not know even its geographical situation and the race that inhabits it, speaking ethnographically. All see, all forebode, all are convinced that that was going badly, that something there leaves much to be desired. Some attribute it to one thing, others to another. The very partisans of the ruling government there agree that necessary evils exist, without suspecting that they are very ridiculous and their lamentable ideas are backward. To tell a sick man tha his malady is necessary and he must not try to combat it is to return to primitive times of medicine; it is to confess one's impotence. A physician who says such a thing to his patient ought to advise him to consult other luminaries. The very friars who benefit from the country and govern it, the same ones who are very much interested in making believe that there everything is wonderfully well; those who must maintain that there everything is perfect, heavenly, and cannot be better so that no one would disturb them in their profitable nirvana they have established there -these same friars agree that there are deficiencies, imperfections, abuses, and that reforms are necessary and imperative, only that they want a homoeopathic, very slow treatment, like the physicians who, lacking patients, would like to lull and dandle a chronic ailment so that they may continue collecting and eating at the expense of the patient 287

288

and his suffering. And they have proven and demonstrated this in their writings. In short, all agree that the machine is not running as it should be. The causes to" which they attribute the misgovernment and slow death or life in that country vary according to who studies them. The majority of those who had been employees or rulers there, those men who perhaps have some remorse in their conscience for not having complied with their duty imposed upon them by the salary they received, these men shout and throw the blame on the Indio, on the indolence of the Indio, perhaps in order to attract public attention to something else and thus their own faults would not be discovered, perhaps in order to convince and make their conscience believe things that by itself it cannot believe, like many cowards who infuse courage in themselves by dint of apostrophes, like many liars who after repeated lying end up by believing in their own lies. On the other hand (a paradoxical phenomenon!) those who have complied conscientiously with their obligations and have done all they ought and could do within the entangled administrative labyrinth of that country, dispirited and threatened by the whims of the tyrant who can propose his dismissal from one mail-boat to the next or send him off under a squad, under surveillance-these impute the disorganization to the system of government, to the personnel, to the lack of stability in the government posts, to the intrigues, etc. The friars have another explanation: They attribute all the ills of the country to the liberal ministers who, for being liberals, must be ignorant. On the other hand, they attribute the little good that there is to themselves; the reactionary ministers or those from their convent who solely for being so, are wise, do neither good nor il1: All

289 their prudence consists in consulting them and obeying them and they publicize it thus in long telegrams which the Manila newspapers attached to them reproduce in huge characters. In its turn the Spanish liberal elements in the Philippines blame the friars for the backwardness of the Philippines and rightly so, inasmuch as governing them as the convents do govern them, the blame for the disorder must fall upon them. However, these liberals forget the part that they have in the disorder: If they do not allow themselves to be governed and to be used as tools as it often happens; if for fear of losing their jobs they do not compromise in many things that are repugnant to their convictions; if they have more firmness, more faith in their ideals, if they study the country more and they try earnestly to get out of the monastic tutelage in which they vegetate, neither would the friars rule the Philippines nor would modern ideas be asphyxiated upon touching the shores of Manila. The Filipinos in general impute the ills and the wretchedness of their country to everything mentioned above, to the friar, and to all the lay elements who are not distinguished for their strong character, for their manifest love for the country and her inhabitants, and for a more or less enterprising initiative in the question of reforms. The Filipinos, like the liberals of whom we have spoken above and to whom they have much resemblance, also forget their responsibility in the present situation, for if the saying that where the skipper commands, the 'Jailor does not command is true, so also is the other one that every country has the government that it deserves. The national spirit begins to utter its first cries; formerly only family or tribal feeling existed, hardly, hardly that of the country so that no stupid measure provoked any strong protest from public opinion, except in cases where relatives are more or less directly hurt. Concerning his country every 003483-- 1\1

290

Filipino thinks this way: Let her settle her aft'airs alone, save herself, protest, struggle; I'm not going to lift a finger, I'm not the one to settle things; I've enough with my own affairs, my passions, and my whims. Let others pull out the chestnut from the fire, afterwards we shall eat it. Filipinos do not seem to know that triumph is the child of struggle, that joy is the flower of many sufferings and privations, and that redemption presupposes martyrdom and sacrifice. They believe that with regretting, folding their arms, and letting things go on as they are, they have fulfilled their duty. Others, it is true, pretend to do something more and give pessimistic or discouraging advice: They advise that nothing be done. There are some, however, who begin to see clear and do all that they can. The foreigners, among whom we place the Chinese in the first row, laugh at everything that is going on and take advantage of the faults and defects of the ruled and the rulers in order to utilize them. They are the happiest: They come when they like; they remain as long as they please, and they depart when it suits them. No duty binds them to the country; neither does it matter to them whether the government is more or less serious, nor whether its inhabitants are more or less slaves; like the locusts, they lay waste the fields without caring for the sower or the land. The most unfortunate thing is that there are Spaniards and Filipinos who resemble these locusts in their way of thinking and acting. We believe that all are right, in a way. The parties can toss the dead to each other: The Spaniards to the Filipinos, the Filipinos to the Spaniards, the friars to the liberals, and the liberals to the friars. We believe that even the Chinese themselves have a right to laugh at the government and the country; it is justice in short that all deserve; but over all these miseries, over all this frightful confusion, is the principle that the government in its origin is vicious, defective, absurd, inconsistent.

291 Indeed! Analyzing the administration system, we encounter from the very beginning a gross error, a barbarous institution-the Ministry of Overseas Colonies. 1 This is the office that has to govern countries situated at times more than three thousand leagues away, with diverse peoples, climate, and customs different from those in the country in which that office is found and it has to stimulate and make a man act, precisely an apprentice in the art of leading peoples, one who perhaps for the first time disposes of the fate of his fellowmen. Imagine a man who until then has only been an unfortunate, treated between winks and malicious smiles, disposing overnight of the destiny of nine million persons, of a power that his colleagues who are better trained and with more prestige do not possess, and tell me if so rapid a rise would not turn his head until a point to make h~m commit nothing but stupidities. And add to this the grievous thought that the men who enjoy such bargains, in general, have never been in the countries they have to govern, nor do they even know perhaps their geographical location, nor have they ever been concerned with them, and tell me what fate would befall the ruled. To tell a man, "You be Minister of Overseas Colonies" is equivalent to as much as saying: "You govern the moon or the inhabitants of Saturn", with the only advantage that such celestial bodies can be seen from the ministry and the Philippines cannot. At times we meet an apprentice minister who is a man of conscience and reason and being such, he wishes to study the portfolio that he holds, if the fear of ministerial crisis leaves him at peace in the few free moments that he is not dictating dismissals and appointments: But study and apprenticeship require many months during which the eight or nine million inhabitants envy the lucky fate that 1 Ministerio de Ultramar, Ministry of Overseas Colonies or Ministry of Colonies.

292 rabbits enjoy in the laboratories of the great physicians: The eight or nine million men have to endure all the experiments, sicut in anima vili/ of the minister apprentice, and they can thank God if during the experiments, the apprentice surgeon, like one who is not sure of what he is going to do and hears contrary opinions, does and undoes, cuts and stitches, injects or bleeds, compelling the poor patient to doubt when he will have fever, reaction, etc., etc. But what happens usually is that we meet a minister apprentice who already has his own criterion, the criterion not to learn anything nor do any thing new. "It is worse to touch anything", he says to himself, "until now the mechanism has not cracked; we are not going now to be r epair men and lose everything. I have been able to last until now, why should I not continue until a crisis breaks out? I shall not be again a Minister of Overseas Colonies." It must be admitted that such men are very honest and they behave conscientiously. The fault is not theirs but of those who place them in such a tight spot. The best that they can do is in fact not to do anything. When they leave the ministry, they will have their conscience clean and their heart beating normally. They have fulfilled their duty; nemo dat quod non habee There are others (and these are dreadful) who without the good will of the first nor the modesty of the second, but with the ignorance common to both, they want to spend their months of apprenticeship doing many things and proceed from the beginning with an aplomb that is truly phenomenal. These gentlemen are usually inspired by the designs of a party. They allow themselves to be guided, to be imposed upon, to be managed, and they believe they accomplish a great deal by removing from office some, appointing others, annulling royal decrees and ! As on a base animal, refering to the use of animals in experiments. â&#x20AC;˘ One cannot give what he does not have.

293 orders of their predecessors. They believe they ar.e somebody when in reality they are nothing more than agents and servants. These happy mortals leave their posts happy and satisfied, believing they had been great rulers. However, there had been ministers who made up for their lack of practical knowledge with their perspicacity, who disentangled intrigues with the uprightness of their character, who found out the evil and tried to combat it. The names of two or three are remembered and the Philippines regrets that many of their reforms had remained as plans. 4 Of so many ministers as we have had only one seems to have been overseas; we are not very sure. We don't know of anyone who, before taking up the portfolio, has been known to be acquainted with the problems of the colonies. There was a time when the portfolio was offered to a distinguished_ gentleman who declined saying honestly that he knew nothing about coloriies. And take note that the last employee who has been overseas pretends to be up to date in everything, to know everything to his finger tips, and can present four or five programmes for want of one! That gentleman had the courage-it takes courage to confess ignorance in a country where the last barber knows how to criticize a situation-and this courage says a great deal in favor of the honesty of that aristocrat; but have the others to whom such an appetizing post had been offered the same courage? Next to the minister of overseas colonies is the captain general of the Philippines, the autocrat, the viceroy, the only Spaniard who commands the greatest power on ear~h, without excepting the king himself, and also the one with the least responsibility of all. To command eight million subjects who are meek, obedient, and docile; to be the master of lives, honor, and lands;~to have gold, much gold, favorites, flatterers; to be able to commit the greatest mistakes or injustices with the 4

The liberal ministers: Sagasta, Becerra, and Maura.

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greatest unconcern, not to mend them but to maintain them so that prestige may not be hurt, to palliate them, gild them, excuse them with conventional phrases, reason of state, for good government, etc., etc., mortal man, what more do you want? Is it not a grand prize in the Spanish lottery that is drawn every three years and it is won without buying even one-tenth of a ticket? What is needed to win it then? Perchance to be the best Spaniard in the Peninsula, to have, like the President of the United States, the suffrages of all, to be considered the wisest, the most prudent, the most virtuous, the most honest of all? Because so much power and so much good luck given to one man alone, must presume qualities little less than divine and merits of the same kind. A man who permits himself to command the fate of his fellowmen ought to be just like God, and like him, incorruptible and infallible. In order to govern peoples he does not know 0''1' understand, he ought to possess the talent of a genius and extraordinary knowledge; to govern such diverse entities, to reconcile hostile interests and to remedy all the ills of a people, he ought to be a man who has grown gray in the government of peoples, informed of the laws and customs of the country. In order to present himself in the name of a nation that pretends to colonize and wants peoples to forget the loss of their liberty and independence by giving them civilization he must be endowed with real prestige, with profound moral convictions, with a great love for humanity, with an exquisite tact, and with the nicest prudence. Well then, all this is illusion, celestial music! That position, the highest that a man can hold on earth, because it has only royal rights and no responsibilities, in order to fill that position, it is enough to be a general of the army or captain general at the most. It requires only purely military knowledge. Bah! Sometimes for reasons of high politics it is filled by those who can be a nuisance at the Court for the purposes

295

of certain public men, or those who, having rendered great services to certain causes or to certain parties, demand a good reward. Sometimes even this is not necessary; it i~ enough to promise this or that powerful corporation to serve its interests and it will work so that he might be chosen. From the evil planted deeply with such great and important roots, what else can we expect but a bad sap, a rickety tree, and bitter fruits? What has to become of a man whose head changes every two months and whose will does not belong to his body? And that regime will continue because it is enough that we criticize it so that it would not be modified, because it is necessary to maintain the prestige and the routine and because the appearance of knowledge is preferred to true knowledge. Pfui! To correct oneself is equivalent to confess one's error and before confessing it, it is preferable to perish first. Like one who is attacked f monomania, first he convinces himself that everybody is mistaken before admitting the supposition of his malady and he dies with it throwing all the blame on everybody except himself; so also are certain predestined governments. Save routine and let the colonies be lost! Published in La SoUdaridad, 15 December 1890.

ON THE CALAMBA INCIDENTS *

We are going to say the last word on the Calamba incidents. We kept quiet for many months and we didn't want to stir up the minds which are already too much over-excited. We have disdained the opportunity and we prefe:rred to let the iron get cool because, convinced of our strength and the reason on our side, we knew our right which, like everything intrinsically good, not only doesn't lose its value with time but becomes fortified and gains for itself more incentives and more reasons. The Calamba question is not a passing question that intriguing politics exploits-it is of those questions that bring along with them a long social stay, that increase in consequences with time; it is of those ulcerous wounds that do not close by themselves but bring about the death of a personality. Their roots are deep: question of life, popular interests, laws, trampled beliefs.

. . . . . .

.. .

. . . .

We are going to say the Im;t word on the Calamba question. We kept quiet for many months, not wishing to stir up the minds already too much over-excited. We have disdained the opportunity and we preferred that the iron get cool because, convinced of our strength and that right and reason supported us, we knew that things intrinsically good not only did not deteriorate but augmented in price and gained in qualities with time. We waited for justice to defend itself, its laws, and its duties. We wished to furnish the government with a brilâ&#x20AC;˘ This is a rough draft of an article by Riza1.

296

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liant opportunity to rehabilitate itself before public opinion. We gave the discredited Dominican Order time to correct its errors, redeem its crimes, considering that if man has not prescience to avoid falling sick, he has been given conscience to enable him to amend and meditate on his acts. If man is not perfect, he is capable of being perfected indefinitely. But nothing has been done. Public conscience, despite its protests, despite its condemnation of the October crimes, being timid and anemic, was not appeased. Nobody has erased the bloody stain on the page of Hispanic-Filipino civilization. And needy justice, without initiatives and without convictions, could not do anything there. Everything has to come from the supreme will of the Captain General, but General Despujol who has promised so much by inaugurating his administration with an audacious act of justice and personal valor, unique in the history of the Philippines, and seemed to be the only one called upon to erase so much shame, like a predecessor, has. lost his initial vigor and all his energies have been consumed in the first flashes. He arrived in the Philippines and with the will of a giant he agitated and made the old mountains vacillate. At his first shakes the heads of monsters peeped out, some of the small ones jumped, fled unprepared, but the shakings weakened and the monsters returned to their caves, to their laborious digestion, sleeping their secular lethargy. General Despujol became afraid in view of so much horror. He considered such a great enterprise as the cleaning of the Philippine atmosphere the work of a Hercules. It was above his strength. His ardor at the beginning was the distant effect of the Madrid airs . . . But we waited in vain. Public conscience has protested wherever the news of the outrages of Calamba were heard-in Spain, throughout the Philippines, Europe-and the public conscience has not been appeased. Nobody has erased the bloody stain

298 on the page of the Hispanic-Filipino civilization. The justice of the needy Archipelago, always without initiatives or convictions, seemed to abdicate its laws in favor of the supreme will of the Captain General. General Despujol who promised so much by inaugurating his administration with an audacious act of justice and personal valor, unique in the history of the Philippines, and who seemed to be one called upon to erase the shame of his predecessor, seems to have lost his initial vigor. He seems to have spent all his energies in the effort of his first attack. He arrived in the Philippines and with the courage of a giant, he agitated the old mountains, dispersing the monster ~hich slept in their caves. Some of the small ones jumped, fled unprepared. Others changed their hiding-places, but the shakings became weak and the monsters returned to continue in their caves their laborious digestion in secular lethargy. European energies about which so much is said were spent so soon, or do they sleep after gaining fame? What? He must have become afraid in view of so many monsters. He must have considered that in order to clean and drain the Philippine atmosphere, the secular Augean stables, many Hercules were needed, and consequently such a tremendous enterprise was above his strength, and that it would be better to let the monsters sleep lest they devour him if he tried to frighten them. Maybe it was thus. Maybe he is resting only to continue the enterprise with new vigor. The future will tell if after the monster is driven out, a little mouse does not occupy his place. What we can say until now is that in the Calamba question General Despujol has only shown good will, none of powerful energy, we are sorry to tell you. He who has not wished to temporize with the soul with regard to an employee and has cut him off with impetus and boldness, with regard to a powerful corporation, he proceeds with

299 the utmost circumspection, and he seems to vacillate. It's not surprising. He is not the first man or even the first general who has allowed himself to be committed. At last the man has done what his predecessors didn't even dare do. At least he 'has begun. Others would know how to finish. Called upon to erase so much shame as his predecessor has flung.

THE RIGHTS OF MAN

1. Men are born free, remain free and are equal in rights. II. These rights are: freedom, private property, security and resistance to oppression. III. Sovereignty emanates from the people; no corporation nor individual can have any authority that does not emanate directly from them. IV. Freedom consists in being able to do that which does not harm others. V. The law c~nnot prohibit more than acts that are prejudicial. or harmful to others. VI. The law is the expression of the general will: All citizens have the right to take part in its legislation, either personally or through their representatives. The law, be it to protect or to punish, should be the same for everybody. As all citizens are equal before the law they are also equally admissible to all the honors as well as to all positions and public employments in accordance to their capacities, virtues and intellectual faculties. VII. Nobody can be accused, detained or taken prisoner except in those cases that the law determines and in accordance with its provisions. VIII. The law cannot provide other penalties than those strictly and evidently necessary; and no one can 300

301 be punished except by virtue of the law .previously made and promulgated, and correctly applied to the case. IX. Whenever it is found necessary to detain a person, who can be presumed innocent, all useless means employed untiJ he is declared guilty should be severely punished by the law. X. Nobody should be molested for his private OpInIOnS and even religious beliefs, as long as he does not disturb the peace and order established by law. XI. The freedom of thought and expression constitutes one of the most precious rights of man. Therefore, every citizen can freely express, write and communicate his thoughts, and be responsible for abuses he may commit in the exercise of this freedom according to law. XII. The guarantee of the human rights requires the formation of a strong public opinion. XIII. In order to support this strong public opinion and attend to the expenditures of the administration, a common contribution is imposed, which should be equally shared by all the citizens, according to their capabilities. XIV. All citizens have the right to find out the need for such public contribution either by themselves or through their representatives, to give freely their approval to it, to watch its use and to determine . the quota, its basis, its perception and its duration. XV. The people have the right to ask for an accounting by the administration of this public contribution from any public employee.

302 XVI. Any society that can neither guarantee the rights of its individual members nor determine the separation of powers, lacks constitution. XVII. Private property being a sacred and inviolable right, nobody can be deprived of it except when public interest so demands legally, in which case it must be fulfilled under conditions of a just and probable indemnization. Such was the form in which the Constitutional Assembly enacted the same at the beginning of 1789.

EXECUTIVES OF THE TOWN OF CALAMBA 1

l An

account of the Executives of the town of Calamba since its foundation on 28 August 1742 with the title of "Teniente" (Lieutenant) which was changed into "Capitan" (Captain) in the year 1779, Mr. Apolonio de Ribera being the executive of the town, ending in June 1891, Mr. Lucas Quintero being the "Capitan", based on Documents in the possession of Mrs. Vicenta Llamas, Mr. Mariano Alcasid, and Mr. Gervasio Alviar.] The Executives of Calamba since it became a town until the present time in accordance with the documents in the possession of Mrs. Vicenta Llamas, Mr. Mariano Alcasid, 'IDld Mr. Gervasio Alviar. On the 28 of August of the year 1742 (Alviar), 1743 (Alcasid), the town f Calamba was established. The first executives were given the title of Teniente (Lieutenant) only; they became Capitan (Captain) in the year 1780, according to Mr. A polinario de Ribera. 1742 1743 1744 1745 1746 1747 1748 1749 1750

Juan de la Cruz I Juan Macasadin Marcos. de los Santos Santiago de Leon Baltazar Hocson Ygnacio Hilario Andres de Ocampo Domingo de los Santos Melchor de los Reyes

1743 1744 1745 1746 1747 1748 1749 1750 1751

1 The original is in Tagalog. It is a chronicle of the town of Calamba prepared by Rizal, another proof of his great interest in history, and even in local history.

303

304 1751 1752 1753 1754 1755 1756 1757 1758 1759 1760 1761 1762 1763 1764 1765 1766 1767 1768 1769 1770 1771 1172 1773 1774 1775 1776 1777 1778

Juan de la Cruz Panga-LL.,2 Alv. 2 II Cristobal de Leon Francisco Kalafigitan Pedro BIas Francisco Alipio (LI. Alv. Elefaiio (Ale. S ) Juan Arellano Martin de los Santos Fernando de los Santos Apolinario de Ribera I Jose Acagada Luis Rufino Antonio Matangihan Luis Rufmo-(Alv.) Mariano Alcantara Pedro Atanasio Bance Apolinario de Ribera-English invasion Tomas de la Cruz Manuel de la Cruz Jose del Espiritu Santo Mateo (LLs.) Melchor (Alv.) Alejo (Alv.) de Torres Domingo Felicibo (Ale. LL.) Baltazar Pasco (Pacio) Jose de Sta. Ana (Alv.) de Sta. Maria (Ale.) Pablo de S. Jose Pedro Claudio Juan Mariano Rufino Salvador Jose Montero (Ale.) Monterey (Alv.) Alontereyes (LI.) Mateo Marcos Ygnacio de los Santos

1152

1762 1763 1764 1765 1767

1771 1772 1773 1774 1775 1776 1771 1778 1779

The following executives were called Capitan (Captain):

1779 1780 1781 1782 1783

D. D. D. D. D.

Apolinario de Ribera ill Antonio Matangihan Mateo Marcos Santiago Rufino Juan Francisco

â&#x20AC;˘ Ll., abbreviation of Llanes; Alv. Alviar. â&#x20AC;˘ Ale., Abbreviation of Aleasid.

1780 1781 1782 1783 1784

305 The followmg were called Alcalde (Mayor):

1784 1785

D. D. D. D. D. D.

1786 1787 1788

Jose Diego Pedro Pablo de San Jose (Antonio Villanueva) Jose Bame Casadia (Ale.) Antonio Villanueva Baltazal' Pasco Jose de los Reyes

1785 1786 1787 1788 1789 1790

Spanish time and executive judge

1789 1790

D. Vicente Feliz Cocson D. Agustin Tolentino

1791 1792

The title of Capitan restored and the first parish priest died.

1791 1792 1793 1794 1795 1796 1797 1798 1799 1800 1801 1802 1803 1804

D. D. D. D. D. D. D. D. D. D. D. D. D. D.

Manuel de Santo Tomas Manuel de Sto. Tomas (Alv.) Agustin de la Cruz Felix qe la Cruz Felician0 Celisuerte Ventura del Espiritu Santo Manuel T~regUi J Alejandro atsalian Eugenio de San Gamriel Esteban de los Santos Romualdo Roberto Leonardo Feliciano Juan Rufino Manuel Agustin Alejandro

1793 1794 1793 1796 1797 179~

179!l 1800 1801 1802 1803 1804 1805

Purchase of the Hac'i enda (Estate) of Azanza (Ale. and Alv.) (Did Azanza sell or buy it?)

1805

D. Juan Aragon

1806

Price of palay rose to five pesos a cavan.

1806 1807 1808 1809 1810 1811 1812 1813 1814

D. D. D. D. D. D. D. D. D. 00:1

I ~: I

Vicente Pabalan Bernardino Antonio Eugenio de San Gabriel Romualdo Roberto Juan Manuel Rufino Policarpio Cuevas Adriano Felix Zacarias Sarmiento Carlos de Leon ~o

180'{ 1803 18D9

uno

1811 1812 1813 1814 1815

306 1815 1816 1817 1818 1819 1820 1821

D. D. D. D. D. D. D.

Leonardo Feliciano Gaspar de los Reyes Pedro Francisco Francisco Eugenio Ysidoro de la Cruz Adriano Felix Juan Ygnacio

1816 1817 1818 1819 1820 1821 1822

The Constitution was drafted: Two Alcaldes (Mayors), six Councilors, and one Procurator Syndic. 1822 1823 1824

D. Mariano Quintero y D. Juan Aragon D. Santiago Eulalio y D. Florentino Ustaris I D. Atanasio Tauregui y D. Pedro Eugenio

1823 1824 1825

The Captains were restored. 1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843

D. D. D. D. D. D. D. D. D. D. D. D. D. D. D. D. D. D. D. D.

Joseph Salgado Mariano Quinter o Atanasio Tauregui Pedro Francisco Santiago Eulalio Elias Ustaris Juan de Villanueva (Alv.) Atanasio Tauregui Francisco de San Diego Florentino Ustaris (Alv.) II Juan Villanueva de Aragon (Alv.) Juan de los Angeles I Ysidoro Villanueva Mariano Quintero Aniceto Julian Domingo Feliciano Juan de los Angeles (Butas. II) Florentino Ustaris III Crispin Gabino Juan de los Angeles. (Butas IIII) Two Englishmen were robbed by highwaymen at Biga.

1844 1845 1846

D. Ambrosio Pabalan I D. Elias Ustaris D. Juan de Villanueva

1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 1831 1832 1833 1834

1835 1836 1837

1834

307 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878

1879 1880 1881 1882

D. Paulino Quintero D. Bruno de San Gabriel D. Juan Bernaldo (Bulag.) D. Yd. Yd. (extended) D. Tranquilino Gonzales Hervosa I D. Paulino Quintero II D. Gisberto Tauregui D. Juan Salgado (Agon) I D. Juan de los Angeles IV D. Tranquilino Gonzales Hervosa. II D. Juan Salgado II D. Ambrosio Pabalan II D. Francisco Elefafio I D. Estanislao Hervosa D. Francisco Elefafio II D. Juan Banatin I-Church was burned. D. Juan Salgado-Strong earthquake III D. Juan Salgado D. Francisco Elefaiio III D. Francisco Elefaiio III D. Juan B~atin II D. Juan Banatin D. Gervasio Alviar I D. Gervasio Alviar D. Calixto Llamas D. Andres Salgado-Unmarried couples were arrested. D. Lucas Quintero-Martin was hanged on Saturday, October 1874. D. Lucas Quintero-The following Saturday there was a strong typhoon. D. Francisco Elefaiio IV D. Francisco Elefafio D. Francisco Salgado D. Francisco Salgado-In June there was a riot on t~e town plaza involving the Civil Guards and the actors. D. Luis Elasegui-Earthquake, 14 & 16 July 1880 D. Luis Elasegui-Typhoon, 16 October 1879 D. Matias Belarmino D. Matias Belarmino-Cholera in the month of September

308 1883 1884

1885

1886 1887 1888 1889 1891

D. Gervasio Alviar II-He died on 23 January 1884. D. Lucas Quintero-The chief asked for a report on the Hacienda and Capt. Lucas allowed himself to be fooled. D. Luis Habafia-Senior Lieutenant Nicolas Llamas had a clash with the Civil Guards at Real Lieutenant Luis Habai'ia assumed office. D. Luis Habafia-Gentle as sheep and a goatherd in luushness. D. Nicolas-Fight between the Hacienda and the town (Calamba in January 1888. D. Francisco EleÂŁano (acting) May-June D. Eusebio EleÂŁafio (July) D. III Lucas Quintero (July)

)

CONSTITUTION OF THE UGA FILIPINA

Purposes: 1st-To unite the whole Archipelago into one compact, vigorous, and homogenous body. 2nd-Mutual protection in every case of trouble and need. 3rd-Defense against every violence and injustice. 4th-Development of education, agriculture, and commerce. 5th-Study and implementation of reforms. Motto: VIO 1 Watchword: x x x Organization: 1st-To carry out these purposes the following councils (CS) are created: popular (p) provincial (P) and one supreme (CP). 2nd-Each council shall be composed of a chief (Gefe, G), fiscal (F), treasurer (T), secretary (S), and members. 3rd-The Supreme Council shall be composed of the chiefs of the provincial councils just as the provincial councils shall be composed of the chiefs of the popular councils. 4th-The Supreme Council controls the whole Liga and communicates directly with the chiefs of the provincial councils and the popular councils. 5th-The provincial council controls the chiefs of the popular councils. 1

Vnus iMar omnium (One is worth all.)

309

310 6th-The popular council alone has control over its members (afiliados, A). 7th-Each provincial council and popular council should adopt a name diflierent from that of the locality or region. Duties Of the Members: 1st-To pay a monthly quota of ten cents. 2nd-To obey blindly and punctually all orders emanating from the chief of a council. 3rd-To inform the fiscal of his council of whatever he observes or hears that has some relation with the Liga Filipina. 4th-To keep in absolute secrecy the decisions of the Council. 5th-To give preferential treatment to members of the Liga in all his acts; he shall not buy except in the store of a member or if he sells him something, he should give him a discount. Other things being equal, he shall always favor a fellow member. Every violation of this article shall be severely punished. 6th-If a member who is able to help another in case of trouble or danger refuses to do so, a penalty shall be imposed on him equivalent at least to what the other has suffered. 7th-Every member upon admission shall adopt a new name of his choice and he cannot change it until he becomes chief of the provincial council. 8th-He shall contribute to each council a work, an observation, a study, or a new member. 9th-He shall not humiliate or treat haughtily anyone.

311 Of the Chief: 1st-He shall look after the life of his Council, learn by heart all the new and true names of the councils if he is the supreme chief, and if he is only the chief of the popular council of all its members. 2nd-He shall study constantly the means to unite his subordinates and to put them in rapid communication. 3rd-He shall study and remedy the needs of the Liga Fili.pina) of the provincial council, or the popular council according to whether he is the supreme chief, provincial chief, or popular council chief. 4th-He shall attend to whatever observations, communications, and petitions that reach him and immediately place them in the hands of those concerned. 5th-In case of qanger he s all be the first to face it and he shall be responsible for whatever happens in his council. 6th-He must give an example of obedience to his superiors so that he shall in turn be obeyed. 7th-He must regard the last member as the personification of the whole Liga Filip in a. 8th-The offenses of the officials are punished more severely than those of ordinary members. Of the Fiscal: 1st-The fiscal shall see to it that all fulfill their duties. 2nd-He shall prosecute before the council any member of the council for violation or non-fulfillment of duty. 3rd-He shall inform the council of every danger or persecution. 4th-He shall examine the financial status of the council.

312 Of the Treasurer: 1st-He shall record in a registry book the new names of the members belonging to his council. 2nd-He shall render a complete account every month of the fees received, noted by the members themselves with their personai watchwords. 3rd-He shall give a receipt for every donation and he shall make the donor note in the registry book in his own handwriting every donation that exceeds one peso and not more than fifty pesos. 4th-The treasurer of the popular council shall keep in the treasury of the popular council one third of the fees collected for its expenses. The remainder, when it amounts to ten pesos, should be delivered to the provincial treasurer who shall acknowledge the amount received by writing it down himself in his registry book. The provincial treasurer shall then issue a receipt for it and if he approves the account, he shall indicate his approval in the registry book of the treasurer of the popular council. The same procedure shall be followed when the treasurer of the provincial council delivers funds exceeding ten pesos to the treasurer of the Supreme Council. 5th-The treasurer of the provincial council shall retain one tenth of the amount delivered to him by the treasurers of the popular councils for the expenses of the provincial council. 6th-When any member wish to give the Liga Filipina a sum exceeding fifty pesos, he shall deposit it in a safe bank under his true name and afterwards give the receipt to the treasurer whom he prefers. Of the Secretary: 1st-He shall give an account at every meeting of what has been resolved and announce the agenda.

313 2nd-He shall draft the correspondence of the council. In case of absence or inability, a substitute shall be chosen until the Council appoints his successor. Rights Of the Members: 1st-Every member has a right to the moral, material, and pecuniary aid of his council and of the Liga Filipina. 2nd-He can demand that all fellow members favor him in his business or profession so long as he offers the same guarantees as others. For this purpose he shall submit to the chief of the popular council his true name and other pertinent information so that he can transmit them to the chief of the Supreme Council who in turn shall inform in a fitting manner all the members of the Liga Filipina. 3rd-In case of any trouble, affront, or injustice, a member can invoke the full assistance of the Liga Filipina. 4th-ae can ask for capital to finance any business jf funds are available in the treasury. 5th-From all the establishments of members directly supported by the Liga Filipina he can ask for a discount on articles bought by him or services rendered to him. 6th-No member shall be judged without first giving him an opportunity to defend himself. Of the Secretary: 1st-He cannot be questioned without previous accusation of the fiscal. 2nd-For lack of time and opportunity he can act by himself but he shall be answerable for his acts. 3rd-Within the council he is the judge of every question or litigation.

314 4th-He is the only person authorized to know the true names of the members of his councilor subord:nates. 5th-He has full power to organize meetings, communications, and enterprises to insure their effectiveness, security, and rapidity. 6th-When a popular council is sufficiently large, the chief can create sub-council and appoint their officials. Once formed he shall let them elect their officers according to the regulations. 7th-Every chief is authorized to establish a council in a town which has none, informing afterwards the Supreme Councilor the provincial council about it. 8th-The Sup-reme Council appoints the secretary. Of the Fiscal: 1st-To make an accused withdraw or appear before the council when the case is heard. 2nd-He can examine at any time the registry books. Of the Treasurer: To dispose of funds in case of an urgent and imperative need of some member or of the council, with the responsibility of rendering an account to the tribunal of the Liga Filipina. 1 Of the Secretary: He can convoke extraordinary meetings, besides the regular monthly ones.

Investment

the Funds

1st-To support a member or his son who has no means but is studious and possesses notable aptitude. 1 The original of the (Constitution of the Philippine League) is in the Bureau of Publi c L ibrar ies.

315 2nd-To support a poor member in the defense of his rights against a powerfui man. 3rd-To help a member who has become poor. 4th-To lend money to a member who needs it for an industry or for farming. 5th-To favor the introduction of machinery or industries which are new or necessary to the country. 6th-To open stores which can provide members with their necessities at lower prices than elsewhere. The chief of the Supreme Council has ample powers to dispose of funds in urgent cases provided he reports it afterwards to the Supreme Council. GENERAL PROVISIONS

1st-No one can be admitted as member without the prior and u animous endorsement of the council of his town ~nd withou satisfying the tests to which he shall be subjected. 2nd-All officials shall serve for two years, unless there is a charge against them by the fbcal. 3rd-To be elected to office three-fourths of the votes of those present are necessary. 4th-The members elect the secretary, fiscal , and treasurer of the popular council; these officials elect the provincial council and the provincial councils elect the Supreme Council. 5th-Whenever a new member is admitted, the chief of the popular council submits his old and new name to the chief of the Supreme Council; the procedure is the same when a new council is established. 6th-In ordinary times communications should carry only the symbolic names of the sender as well as of the addressee and should be coursed by the sender through the secretary of the popular council, thence to the secretary of the provincial council

316 or the Supreme Council and vice versa. These formalities can be dispensed with only in extraordinary cases. Notwithstanding, at any time and place, the secretary of the Supreme Council can communicate directly with anyone. 7th-It is not necessary that all members of a council be present so that its decisions may be valid. It is enough that one half of the members and one officer be present. 8th-In critical moments every council shall consider itself the guardian of the Liga Filipina and if for some reason or other the rest of the councils are dissolved or disappear, every council, every chief, every member shall impose upon himself the task of reorganizing and reactivating them.

JUSTICE IN THE PHILIPPINES

To the Editor of the Hongkong Telegraph 1 Dear Sir: Owing to the great difficulty of obtaining your paper, which has been boycotted by the bigoted Manila, authorities, I was prevented from taking cognizance, in due time, of the letter signed "A Castilian", denying the events which you said occurred last year at Calamba in the struggle of the village people with the wealthy Dominican Order. It is a sad truth that scandalous proceedings here remain unknown to the outer world, in consequence of a tyrannical oppression exercised over all the Manila press, and only this consideration could have emboldened "A Castilian" to falsely deny, in The Telegraph, facts that are too well known to all the inhabitants there. The very authors of such mischiefs, strong as they are and having the press under thumb, did not dare to defy the public opinion here, and remained silent when The Telegraph united with its Manila contemporaries to throw light on the matter. Why? Did they feel self-condemnation? Were they afraid lest the awful depths of these dark deeds should be stirred up, or were they afraid of an outburst of long-suffering public indignation? "Castilian" speaks of From Austin Craig, Rizc1's Politic41 Writings, 1933, pp. 317-321. This letter was written in English by Rizal while he was sojourning at Hongkong in 1892, but it was signed "Philippino" and dated at Manila purporting to have been written by some one at Manila, in order to mislead the Spanish colonial authorities. Compare it with the "Petition of the Town of Calamba" printed elsewhere in this volume. The editor-in-chief of the Hong Kong Telegra.ph was Mr. Frazier Smith, a past master of St. John's Lodge and friend of Rizal. 1

317

318 property "owned by the Dominicans." If by tha~ word "property" he means only a piece of the ground on which Calamba is, well, it may be so, but if that word means the whole villcge as the Dominicans pretend and cannot prove-and it cannot be proved-then "Castilian" betrays his real name. This is the origin of all the trouble. Having the government in their hands, it was easy enough for the Dominicans to get the verdict of every local Court of Justice, irrespective of the rights of the case. Everybody who knows how matters stand in Manila will not deny that. No proof, no evidence, no title of any kind has been shown at all; they only had to speak, and at once they were able to crush the poor villagers who have been for years working and cultivating these pieces of land they are now deprived of. Besides, the conditions imposea by the Dominicans were so tyrannous and humiliating that no man with a spark of self respect and with any intelligent understanding of right and wrong, could submit to them without reducing .himself to a base slavery. According to the conditions imposed, the farmer could not plant nor cultivate a tree nor give hospitality to anybody in his house, parent or friend, without asking first the good pleasure of the priest-manager. Moreover, he must respect and worship not only the Dominicans, but their very servants, their very slaves, as the representatives of the powerful friars. But I have said enough. To dwell longer on the consideration of their wretched affairs would be sickening for the happy readers of your enlightened paper. It is not true that the friends of the evict~d hied several times to set fire to the whole village; this is a very cruel and base slander .

319 Many of the villagers have already been banished and the remainder were scattered and hunted all over the country before the fire was started. Had they tried it, they surely would have succeeded and then what could have helped the government's "fifty men", if those poor and desperate people had set fire in every corner of the village? And if they did so, why did tl:le priests not prosecute them by law, and bring them before the courts to be duly punished? What is true, and nobody can contest it, is that the friarmanager of the Dominicans, assisted by soldiers and hired people (20 cents per day) went on the whole week cutting down the houses-eight, if not more, new and handsome wooden dwellings and more than a hundred cottages have been dtstroyed. Among these we can mention the houses belonging to D. Luis Elasegui (formerly Mayor), D. Matias Belarmino (another ex-Mayor), Angelo Alkayaga, Petrona Belarmino, Isaac Alviar, Aquilino Gecolea, Leandro LOpez, etc., all of them belonging to the best and most esteemed inhabitants of the village. "Castilian" says General Weyler 1 had nothing to do with this case. This is a statement that nobody who knows anything about the case would believe. We have copies of different telegrams sent by Weyler on this occasion, and the Madrid papers have published some. It was Weyler who sent the t!"oops, who gave orders to burn the houses, and who banished men and women to Sooloo (Sulu), after depriving them of their property. "Only two or three women and an old man," says "A Castilian"; well, three former mayors, many women and more than thirty men are still in Sooloo. Captain Luis Elasegui, sick and bedridden, was compelled to leave his house wrapped in a blanket. One old woman refused to 1

Valeriano Weyler, governor general from 1833 to 1891.

320 leave her old house, preferring to be buried under its ruins. It was a heartbreaking sight to behold those-poor people looking on in abject fear at the desolation of the houses they had built up with lifelong pain and care. And they were refused hospitality everywhere, because the priests ordered the others not to give them shelter nor assistance. Easy, very easy it is to deny now facts that one must condemn and reprove. To treat poor toiling laborers thus, oh, it was cruel, very cruel, for one who professedly has devoted himself by religious vows to charity and poverty, for one who lives a life of luxury gained by the sufferings of the poor! But all this must be excused as feeling ran high, and the pride of the wealthy Dominican Order was at stake. Pride and riches make one blind, even the wise, and the Dominicans are not the wisest men. Witness the Inquisition. But what nobody can excuse is the gratuitous outrage of charging now those same poor villagers as incendiaries, after depriving them of their legitimate possessions. "A Spaniard" who answered "A Castilian" before I did ended his reply by asking: "How long will the people tolerate such a state of affairs, and where will it all end?" I repeat this question here and ask your invincible paper, and your honest readers to give a reply or point out a remedy. Yours faithfully, PmLIPPINO MANILA,

1st February 1892

(Filipino)

PROPOSED AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE BRITISH NORTH BORNEO COMPANY AND THE FILIPINO COLONY 1

the B.N.B. leases and sells lands under the conditions that shall be mentioned below and the Filipinos wish to negotiate with the State to lease or buy the said lands; WHEREAS the settlement that the Filipinos wish to found will not be a mere agricultural colony that will be withdrawn after a fixed time but a permanent settlement that will increase, multiply, with time, establish towns and develop in every way externally and internally for its political and commercial needs; WHEREAS for its regular development a people not only needs lands but also liberty whose routes must be foreseen and assured beforehand so that in the course of its evolutionary advancement there may not arise struggles and disturbances of fatal consequences for all; WHEREAS the B.N.B. as well as the Filipino Colony are until the present two entities free and independent of each other and have the firm desire to live forever in the most cordial relations in order to attain the common result desired by both parties, which is the cultivation of the lands of the State and the creation of a free people, independent and happy; THEREFORE, the representatives of the B.N.B. Company and of the Filipino Colony have agreed to sign the following a~eement that shall govern the relations of the Colony with the State, an agreement sanctioned by the GovemWHEREAS

Drafted in Spanish by Rizal. Aceptacion y juramento 1

003483-21

321

322 ment of England as the protector of that State, accepted and recognized by both parties and shall be observed and recognized by their descendants and successors: I. No clause of the present agreement can be abolished, altered, or modified without the free and spontaneous consent of both parties after prior consultation with the community. II. No new clause can be introduced without the free and spontaneous consent of both parties after prior consultation with the community. III. Every violation of any of the clauses shall be tried by a jury named by both communities or shall be submitted to the decision of the Government of England. IV. The lands of the Colony shall comprise all those that it may buy or may devote to farming, as well as those in which are found their towns, pastures, including rivers running through them as well as the coasts, if they are found on the seashore. V. The towns that the Colony shall found will be governed and guided by their own customs and laws. They shall be administered and defended by themselves under the protectorate of the B.N.B. with the same conditions under which this State is protected by His Majesty's Government according to the Treaty of 12 May 1882. VI. As an aid to the expenses of the State, conjointly the members of the Colony shall pay the alcohol and opium taxes in accordance with the custom throughout the State, and in case of further needs, the members of the Colony cannot be compelled to perform services greater than those required of the English subjects of the State under the same circumstances and conditions. VII. The crimes and offenses that may be committed within the lands of the Colony shall be decided by the judges and jury that it may designate.

323 VIII. No member of the Colony can be compelled to serve in the army nor to work gratis, except in cases when the independence of the territory is endangered. IX. The State of the B.N .B. leases cleared and waste lands, prepares dwellings, and provides food for three months on condition that, in the second and succeeding years, it shall be given half a picul of abaca per acre or an equivalent value in sugar, tobacco, etc. X. The houses that the Company may build for the settlers shall be paid for at the end of the year. XI. In case the settlers wish to buy lands the State shall sell them for 999 years after which the property shall revert to the Company. XII. Hereafter, if a &ettler wishes to buy from the Company the ownership of the land he cultivates, the Company shall agree to sell it after the evaluation of the land and deducting the value of the improvements made by the settler. XIII. The members of the Colony have complete liberty to open ditches, canals, to build barricades and other works for agricultural purposes even within the lands that they lease from the Company. XIV. Every further modification or improvement of this agreement needs the ratification of the authorities of the Colony and the directors of the Company. The witnesses and representatives of both parties have signed this document in duplicate and the Government of London has ratified it.

COLONIZATION OF BRITISH NORTH BORNEO BY FAMILIES FROM THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 1

Whereas an association composed of farmers, merchants, industrialists, etc., with several families of workmen and farmers, has the intention of colonizing certain lands belonging to the B.N.B., if the government of this country grants it some guarantees and advantageous conditions; Whereas some political troubles and the lack of necessary liberty impel these families to leave their country where they possess vast properties and where the land, if already cleared is in the best conditions for agriculture and that if they decide to emigrate to the B.N.B., it is solely for the sake of a reasonable amount of peace and liberty, two things without which, all growth, all progress, agriculture as well as industry, are absolutely impossible; Whereas these families, hitherto independent of the B.N.B. government and without any obligation nor previous subjection to the same, propose to buy land where they intend to establish themselves in conformity with the laws in force concerning the purchase and sale of land (Land Regulations) ; Whereas this colony is altogether different from the present population of the country as well as from the Chinese agricultural settlers who return to China after a certain period of time taking with them the vitality and wealth of the land, but a colony composed of families provided with capital, knowledge, and an already advanced civilization who will establish themselves there permanently and will 1

Drafted in French by Rizal.

324

325 become in the course of time and according to circumstances inhabitants of the country and consequently the life and strength of the nation. Whereas also the laws of each country must be respected and obeyed by all who inhabit it and the greatest possible uniformity in legislation should prevail in it as far as the condition and circumstances of the inhabitants permit; Whereas likewise in countries inhabited by heterogenous populations, nomadic tribes, transitory settlers etc., as it happens in colonies where differences of origin, religion, and education create barriers, sometimes abysses, arousing jealousies among men, it would be necessary to respect as much as possible the customs and prejudices of the settlers that would not be contrary to morals and the spirit of the laws, and to avoid every kind of conflict until the inhabitants would be united and bound by the same interests and a common education; And whereas finally, it would be better to prevent evils rather than to correct them and that it would be very regrettable if the families who leave their country to avoid troubles should fall back in the same difficulty with their new government due to the absence of a precise and equitable convention; Therefore, the Philippine Colony, wishing absolutely to live in peace with the inhabitants of the country and with the government which it will recognize and respect as that of the country giving it hospitality, submits for its approval, the following propositions: 1st. The Philippine Colony will buy an estate in order to found a village therein and to proceed with the immediate cultivation of the land. It will endeavor to get an estate on the banks of a navigable river, near a port, to facilitate the construction of vessels and the transport of products, etc. 2nd: As soon as its estate is entirely cleared, the government will grant it 5,000 acres, or more, and will

326

place at its disposal 100 ,000 acres to be set aside in the same district for which the colony will pay according to stipulated conditions. The bases of this lease have been set forth by the Secretary of the government ; 5,000 acres will be given gratis to the settlers to encourage them and 100,000 will be paid for at 50 centavos per acre. 3rd. The colony in building its villages, cities, and ports will construct its roads, ports, and harbors, and in consequence, it has all the right to administer them internally so long as it will not exceed its limits, without the government interfering at any time in its private affairs. 4th. Nevertheless, the colony, desiring at all times to submit to the laws of the country and contribute to the expenses of the State, will pay the duties imposed on imports and eX,Rorts according to law (Proclamation XIII), but not the tax of $2.00 imposed upon the natives of the country. 5th. As regards he internal administration and the relations with the central government, the colony shall elect a governor and set up a council composed of the most influential members of the community, and a justice of the peace to decide on disputes among the settlers with the aid of a jury, if there be need of such . The election of the guvernor and the justice of the peace shall be held regularly every three years and shall be approved by the central government. 6th. The colony shall adopt the codes and laws in force in the country and shall have them translated into it:; language. 7th. All disputes arising between the colony or a member of the same and another person not belonging to it shall be submitted to the judgment of the Supreme Court of the State. 8th. The governor, being responsible to the country and the central government for order and good internal adminis-

327 tration, shall have the right, if it be necessary, to organi~ a kind of police force to look after peace and order in the villages, farms, fields, and ports. 9th. To remove all danger of stirring up racial rivalries, before prejudices would have disappeared, the members of the police force must be chosen from among the individuals which compose the colony. They may be under the command of an English officer, if there be need of it. 10th. When the central government desires to establish a customs-house in the lands of the colony, the latter will facilitate its establishment and for the same reason as stated in the preceding clause, its employees shall also be members of the community, placed under the supervision of an English officer chosen by the government. 11th. When the colony becomes sufficiently large and when the interests which may then arise shall require new regulations, the colony shall choose its representatives, one for each village, wh0 shall sit with the government, constituting a consultative body which will deal with all concerning the colony. 12th. Should a disagreement arise between the central government and the consultative body, the former shall have the right to dissolve the latter and to demand the election of another upon the publication of the cause of the disagreement. Thereupon, the colony shall hold new elections. If after the third election, disagreement would still exist, then the government shall make concessions or else name an arbitrator. 13th. 7he cities of the colony shall be built in accordance with the demands of modern life and the laws of hygiene. 14th. No duty shall be levied on machines; factories canals, floodgates, etc. that the colony shall construct within its lands. 15th. The governor of the colony shall send to the central government an annual report on the condition of and the progress attained by the community.

328

16th. Liberty being absolutely necessary so that agriculture and industry may progress and as there shall be no compulsory public labor or military service and the colony, being free, will not tolerate slavery; freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and freedom of peaceful public assembly will be guaranteed. 17th. With regards to firearms, the governor of the colony shall submit to the central government the names of those who desire to have a license and the government shall grant one to those who are not of bad character. The annual payment of one dollar will suffice for the renewal of the license. 18th. The sincerest good faith (bona fides) shall be observed in the dealings of the colony with the government as without good faith no understanding or society is possible. 19th. The present convention shall be signed by the government of the B.N.B. and by the representatives of the Philippine Colony for themselves, their successors, and for all authority that may come after them, and it shall be ratified by the Government of Great Britain, the protector of the State. Translated from the French by Encarnacion Alzona. Photostatic copy used.

POOR FRIARS * A bank has just suspended its payments. The New Oriental has just become bankrupt. Great lossescin India, in the Mauritius Island off South Africa. Cyclones and tempests finished its wealth, swallowing up more than P30,000,000. These thirty millions represented its hopes, its economies, the welfare and the future of numerous individuals and families. Among those who suffered the most we can count the Reverend Corporation of the Dominican Fathers which lost in this bankruptcy many hundreds of thousands. The exact amount is not known because it sends so much money from here and it makes so many deposits that it would take many accountants to calculate the immense fortune that it commands. But, let not its friends be afHic ed nor should the enemies of the holy monks, who profess vows of poverty, rejoice. To both we shall say that they can remain at peace. The Corporation still has many millions deposited in the banks of Hong Kong and though all of them may become bankrupt and though all its thousands of houses for rent be blown down, there would always remain its curacies and haciendas (estates) and it would still have the Filipinos who are always ready to fast in order to give it alms. What are four hundred or five hundred thousand? Let the friars take the trouble of touring the towns and they will be reimbursed for that loss. A year ago on account of the poor administration of the cardinals, the Pope lost 14,000,000 of the money of St. Peter. .The Pope, in order to cover the â&#x20AC;˘ .Printed copies of this leaflet were found by the police in the luggage of Rizal's sister Lucia, who returned with him from Hongkong arriving at Manila on 26 June 1892. It was mentioned by Governor General Despujol in his order for Rizal's deportation to Dapitan on 7 July 1892. Riml denied having brought the leaflet in their luggage.

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330 deficit. appeals to us and we take from our tampipis 1 the the last real 2 because we know the Pope has many expenses. About five years ago he married off a niece, giving her for her dowry a palace and 300,000 francs besides. Make an effort then, generous Filipinos, and help also the Dominicans! Moreover, those hundreds of thousands lost are not theirs, they say. How could they have them since they have a vow of poverty? One must believe them then when they say, to cover themselves up, that they belong to orphans and widows. Very certainly some would belong to the widows and orphans of Kalamba and who knows if they belong to the exiled husbands! And the virtuous friars only hold them in trust in order to return them religiously later with all the interests when the day of rendering an account comes. Who knows? Who better than they can take charge of collecting their little incomes while the houses burned, the widows and orphans fled without finding hospitality, for it had been prohibited to give them shelter while the men were prisoners or persecuted? Who better than the Dominicans can have so much courage, so much audacity, and so much humanity? But now the devil has carried away that money of the orphans and widows and it is feared that he may carry away also the remainder, for when the devil begins, he will finish it. Did that money have a bad source? Should it happen thus we would suggest to the Dominicans to say with Job: "I came out naked from my mother's (Spain's) womb and naked I'll return there; the devil gave it, the devil carried it away, blessed be the name of the Lord!

FR. MANILA .

Imp1'cnta de los Amigos del Pais.

Suitcases made of rattan or straw, a Tagalog word. A real is an old Spanish silver coin worth 12% centavcs. :l Father Jacinto was one of Rizal's pseudonyms. I

JACINTO :~

TO THE FILIPINOS

To My

BELOVED PARENTS, BROTHERS AND FRIENDS:

The love that for you I have had and professed was what induced me to take this step, and only the future will determine whether or not it is prudent. Success judges things by the consequences; but be it favorable or unfavorable, it will always be said that I have been impelled to take it by my duty, and if I should perish for having complied with it, it matters not. I know that I have made you suffer much, but I do not repent for what ]; have done, and if I should start all over again, I shall do the same things that I did, because it is my duty. I leave willing to ~xpose myself to danger, not in expiation for my faults (which up to this point, I believe having committed none) but to put a finishing touch to my work and to witness by my example what I have always preached. Man should die for his duty and his convictions. I maintain all ideas that I have espoused with regards to the status and future of my country and I shall die willingly for her and, what is more, I shall secure for you justice and tranquility. I gladly risk my life to save so many innocent people, so many nephews, so many children of friends and enemies who suffer for me. Who am I? A single man, without a family almost, sufficiently disillusioned in life. I have suffered many deceptions, and the future that is in store for me is dim, and it shall be very dim if it is not illuminated by the light of the dawn of my country. While there are so many who, full of hopes and illusions, may 331

332 perhaps all be glad with my death, I expect that my enemies shall be satisfied and will no longer persecute so many innocent people. Your hatred for me is, to a certain degree, just, but not with respect to my parents and relatives. If luck is against me, let everyone know that I shall die happy, thinking that with my death I shall stop once and for all the cause of their sorrows. Return to our native land and~ may you be happy in her. Up to the last breath of my life, I shall think of you and shall wish you all luck and happiness. HONGKONG,

20 June 1892

THE FILIPINOS:

The step that I have taken or that I am taking is undoubtedly very perilous, and I do not need to say that I have long meditated about it. I know that almost everyone is against it; but I also know that almost no one knows what I feel in my heart. I cannot live knowing that many suffer unjust persecutions on my account; I cannot live seeing my parents suffer in exile without the comforts of their home, far from their native land and their numerous families and persecuted like criminals. I prefer to welcome death and I gladly give my life in order to free so many innocent persons from such unjust persecution. I know that, presently, the future of my country gravitate in part about me; that if I should die, many will triumph, and that consequently, many will hope for my downfall. But what am I to do? I have my duties to my conscience before all, I have my moral obligations to the families that suffer, to my aged parents, whose sighs penetrate the heart, I know that I alone, even with my death, can make them happy, return them to their native land and to the

333 tranquility of their home. I do not have anybody aside from my parents; but my country has still many sons who can take my place and are already taking my place advantageously. Besides, I wish those who deny us patriotism to see that we know how to die for our obligations and for our convictions. What matters death, if one dies for what he loves, for his land, and for those whom he adores? Had I known that I was the only one who can help the administration of my country, and had I been convinced that my countrymen would utilize my services, perhaps I would doubt to take this step; but there are still others who can take my place, and are taking my place advantageously; moreover, there are those, who find me .superfluous, and I know that my services are not to be missed should I be reduced to inactivity. I have always IOVied my poor country and I am sure that I shall love her until death if by chance men are unjust to me; and I shall enjoy the happy life, contented in the thought that all that I have suffered, my past, my present and my future, my life, my loves, my pleasures, I have sacrificed all of these for love of her. Happen what may, I shall die blessing her and desiring the dawn of her redemption. Publish these letters after my death. JOSE RIZAL

BY-LAWS OF THE ASSOCIATION OF DAPITAN FARMERS

Purposes ART. 1. The purposes of the Association of Dapitan Farmers are the following: Improve farm products, obtain better outlet for them, collect funds for their purchase, and help the producers and workers by establishing a store wherein they can buy prime commodities at moderate prices. ART. 2. The Association will use the trade mark A.D. for their merchandise. Members ART. 3. To carry out these purposes the Association of Dapitan Farmers will admit industrial partners and shareholders. (a) The industrial partners will devote themselves to the purchase, sale, loading, unloading, storing, and the like of the goods that the Association may own or acquire. (b) The shareholders will deposit with the Association an amount not less than fifty pesos. Management ART. 4. The Association shall be represented or managed by a member residing at Dapitan and elected by secret ballot by the rest of the members. ART. 5. The term of office of the Director ends on the 31st of December each year, without prejudice to re-election. ART. 6. Notwithstanding, if for meritorious reasons the majority of the members consider necessary a new management before the date of expiration of the term of office, an election shall be held in a general meeting after previous notification to all the members. 334

335 ART. 7. The director shall receive an honorarium of 5% of the net earnings and likewise shall assume 5 % of the losses the Association may incur. ART. 8. The director has the right to classify the goods delivered by the industrial members to appraise them, and rejec~ what seem to him unacceptable. He shall take charge of the work and commitments of the Association; he shall receive the shares, sign the receipts, call the meetings, and arrange the purchases the industrial members have to make.

Cashier-Accountant ART. 9. Temporarily the work of cashier and accountant shall be performed by one member only who shall be elected like the director. ART. 10. The cashier-accountant shall receive a monthly honorarium of twelve pesos. ART. 11. He shall keep the accounts of the Association, prepare the monthly balance sheet, and attend to the loading, unloading, weighing, delivery, and the like of the goods. ART. 12. He shall not disburse any amount without the previous knowledge or order of the director. ART. 13. If, in his opinion, an order of the director violates the by-laws of the Association, he can ask the director for explanations, and in case he is not sati:5fied, he shall file his protest. If the protest is not accepted by the director, he is empowered not to disburse the amount asked. ART. 14. The term of office of the cashier-accountant lasts and can be renewed under the same conditions as that of the director. ART. 15. The director as well as the cashier-accountant shall be held responsible for any amount lost or misspent without sufficient justification or against the by-laws of the Association.

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Duties of the Industrial Members ART. 16. The industrial members shall be under the direct orders of the director with respect to the business of the Association. ART. 17. Every industrial member shall have the right to the use of his share of the existing funds in the treasury divided equally among all the industrial members. ART . 18. In the distribution of the capital, the amount of indebtedness shall be taken into account with respect to those who may have an account or balance against him. ART. 19. An industrial member who cannot settle his account the following month shall pay a monthly interest of 3% . ART. 20 . Every industrial member who may have an account of one hundred pesos for more than four months shall be obliged to transfer to the Association properties whose value is equivalent fo the amount of his indebtedness. ART. 21. Every industrial member who fails to attend or is not represented at the meetings of the Association at the hour fixed shall pay a fine of four pesetas, whatever his reason may be, and the fine shall be used for the expenses of the Association. ART. 22. No one may be admitted either as an industrial member or shareholder without previous and favorable votation of the members. ART. 23. The industrial member who may have to accompany a cargo to Cebu or Manila shall be entitled to a round trip at the expense of the Association, receiving in addition 1 (/; of the selling price of it. ART. 24. The industrial members shall take turns in receiving this commission. Partition of the Profits ART. 25. Within four days of the arrival of the official mail every month there shall be an examination of all the transactions of the Association.

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ART. 26. After deducting all the expenses of the Association the net profit shall be divided by half between the shareholders and industrial members. (a) The half corresponding to the industrial members shall be divided among them in proportion to the amount of goods bought or acquired by each one. (b) Likewise the shareholders shall divide the half corresponding to them according to the number of shares each one holds.

Partition of the Losses ART. 27. The losses that the Association may incur as well as the ordinary monthly expenses shall be divided in the same way as the profits. ART. 28. Considered ordinary expenses of the Association are the salaries of th cashier-accountant and the watchman of the warehQuse) tH~ payment for the patent, and three pesos for loading and unloading.

(Signed) DAPITAN,

1 January 1895.

003483--22

JosE

RIZAL

DATA FOR MY DEFENSE

With regard to the Rebellion I had no knowledge that a rebellion was being planned until the 1st or 2nd July 1896 when Pio Valenzuela came to see me telling me about an uprising. I told him that it was absurd, etc. etc., and he replied that they could no longer endure the situation. I advised him to have patience, etc. etc. He added then that they had sent him to me because they pity my life and that pl'obably they will impute it 1 to me. I replied that I would be patient and that if they did something to me, I would then prove my innocence. As to the rest, I added , "Don't you thin k of me but of the countr y which is going to suffer." And I again explained to him how absurd the movement was. This was admitted by Pio Valenzuela aftel'wards. He did not tell me that they would use my name or ..mention to me that I be leader or something like that. Those who declared that I qm the leader (whom I don 't know nor do I believe I have met them) should present some proof that I have accepted that leadership, or that I had relations with them or with their association ! Either they have made use of my name for their own ends. or they have been deceived by those men. Where is the leader who does not issue any order or any rule, who is not c()nsulted at all about so transcendental a movement, except at the eleventh hour, and when he gives his opinion against it is not obeyed? Since 1st July 1892, I have absolutel y given up politics. It is obvious that they have wanted to use my name in order to do what they please. ' That is, thE' rebE>llion.

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339 Nay, when the uprising broke out, I was on board the Castilla, incommunicado, and I offered myself unconditionally to His Excellency (a thing I had never done before) to suppress the rebellion. But this was a personal letter and it was witnessed by Colonel Santal6. This cannot be used without the permission of His Excellency. I have always been opposed to rebellion because I was hoping Spain would give us soon liberties, as I told Pio Valenzuela, because I could see that in order to forestall future events, a very close union between Spain and the Filipino people was necessary. It is not true that I carried on correspondence with them; where is one single letter of mine? My correspondence all went through the provincial military commander; and if they have writteI\ me, it is easy for the letter to fall into the hands of the government, as it happened to what appears to have been written by Deodato Arellano and found in the judicial records. IDeodato Arellano says that he cannot find means to send me letters. Sending me letters inside biscuit jars is curious; in Dapitan I had given away those biscuits to the people. At times the jars arrived already open; at times they were broken on the boat in loading and unloading. It is true that a man came to me but I placed him under the order of the governor who sent him to Manila.

With regard to the Liga It is true that I wrote the statutes at the request of IVIr. Basa 2 and they were sent to Manila. The purposes of the Liga were union, encouragement of commerce, industry, etc., because I understood and I understand that a people cannot have liberties without having first material prosperity; that to have liberties without having food to eat â&#x20AC;˘ Jose Ma. Basa, Filipino expatriate residing at Hong Kong and friend of Rizal..

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is to listen to speeches and to fast. I also believed that if Spain systematically denied liberties to the Philip~ pines, there would be insurrections and I have so written it down, deploring that such a thing might occur but not hoping for it. ".yell now, many have interpreted my phrase to have liberties as to have independence, which are two different things. A people can be free without being independent, and a people can be independent without being free . I have always desired liberties for the Phil~ ippines and I have said so. Others who testify that I said independence either have put the cart before the horse or they lie. Now, that I have also believed that little by little autonomy would come and finally independence is true. Spain would abandon this country when she is convinced that her future is in Morocco and that this costs her more sacrifices than anything else, and she will abandon it even when the Filipinos would like to stop her, as she had tried to do several times in past centuries. This was the meaning of what I said that it was necessary to be worthy, to be united, so that when the time came, we might not fall into the hands of Japan, or of England, or of Germany. The Liga, for whose organization Mr. Ambrosio Salvador was elected president, did not live, dying shortly after I was deported to Dapitan. They have testified thus ; I learned about it afterwards, but I already surmised it. Whether others have revived it or reorganized it, I don't know nor do I have to be concerned about it. Neither do I know who reorganized it nor do I know what changes they had made. From the abstract I have learned that they reorganized it nine or ten months after it had died. Neither do I know the Katipunan nor have I maintained relations or correspondence with it. Let them show two characters of mine in proof of what they claim. I cannot understand how I could have convoked the members who met at the house of Ongjunco when I don't

341 know many of them nor do I know Mr. Ongjunco. To convoke persons whom I don't know in the house of a person whom I don't know either? It's curious. Pedro Serrano and Timoteo Paez, without having been invited by me, went to Malolos, Bulacan, to look for me, when I went there by train. Masonry It is not true that I had given orders to Pedro Serrano to introduce Masonry in the Philippines. Serrano had a higher degree than I had in Masonry; I did not reach above the third degree, while Serrano had 30 or 33 degrees, and this is proven by the letter that afterwards he sent me when I was in Hong Kong, a letter attached to the records, in which he appointed me Venerable, like a great thing. If I were the chie~, when does an officer permit himself to captain general? That letter proves raise the rank of the falsity of the assertion. Moreover, Serrano and I separated in Europe quite unfriendly . I left Madrid in January or February 1891 and since then I have given up writing and taking part in the management of La Solidaridad and I dropped Masonry. It is also untrue that I founded the Hispano-Philippine Association; it was already in existence long before I went to Madrid. The same is true with La Solidaridad; this was founded by Marcelo H. del Pilar 3 and was always headed by him. What I founded in Madrid had no other object but to moralize the Filipinos, compel them to attend their classes, not to get into debts, etc. And when I wished to fiscalize the acts of La Solidaridad, Marcelo H. del Pilar opposed me, as confirmed by one of the letters attached to " La Solie/arielnd . the fortnightly organ of the Filipino reformists in Spain, was founded by Graciano Lopez Jaena (1856-1896) at Barcelona in 1889 and was its first director. He was succeeded by Marcelo H. del Pilar (185a-1896) and La Sfllidaridad moved to Madrid. (Epi$tolario Rizalinp~ III, 253.)

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the records. This proves that the political side was never under my direction. Now, if they use my name for their purposes and in order to deceive the unwary, I could not prevent it. Among the declarations there are some that are infamously false, like the one that mentions the names of all those who attended the meeting at the house of Ongjunco. They mentioned names of persons who could not possibly have attended it. The presence of Pedro Serrano is untruE also, as well as that of Moises Salvador, of Timoteo Paez partly, and of others. It would be very easy to prove their falsity. The poem Himno a Talisay is mine. I had boys of 12 to 14 years whom I taught Spanish, arithmetic, English, horticulture, carpentry, masonry, etc. During playtime I taught them gymnastics, fencing, and hunting with rifle the older ones. The verse which says That they will 1cnow how to protect their families alludes to the numerous incursions of the Moros who went to Dapitan and made prisoners. Many relatives of these boys had been killed or captured by the Moros. Talisay is the place where I lived with these boys. I had to support for some time the widow and children of an unfortunate man who was killed by the Moros for not being able to use the rifle he had. This is officially known. What fault have I that they make use of my name when I could not know it or prevent it? Many also use the name of God for their ends or their passions. Let them show the statutes of the Liga and it will be seen that what I was pursuing were union, commercial and industrial development, and the like. That these thingsunion and money-after years could prepare for a revolution, I don't have to deny; but they could also prevent all revolutions, because people who live comfortably and have money do not go for adventures. Moreover, I was sure

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that Spain would then make concessions compatible with the state of the country. I have said this in my writings. Separatist ideas have existed in the Philippines for many years. In this century alone there occurred many uprisings: Those of Novales, Cuesta, Apolinario,4 in the Ilocos and Pangasinan, of the regiment of the Pampangos, of Cavite and again that of Pangasinan in 1884. I described this revolutionary sentiment in a Madrid newspaper, El Progreso, in July 1884, calling the attention of the government to its causes and its future. I have asked insistently for the freedom of the press and representatives as the means to forestall uprisings, as safety or escape valves. I was greatly marked out among others because during the time that I was engaged in politics I played the part of free press and Philippine representative, and I can say that from 1884 to 1891, the year I gave up writing, there occurred neither a mutiny or attempts at it nor political deportations. In the Philippines there is nothing that happens that is not imputed to me. While I was on board the Castilla, a rumor spread that I had been seen in Cavite with a dynamite bomb in the hand and many believed it. The commander of the Castilla told me about it, but this cannot be used without first consulting Mr. Santal6 for he told me about it privately. Everything is ascribed to me for I have meant more than anybody else, I have been more frank in saying what I thought and never have I been a hyprocrite or traitor. When I attacked the Government for deporting my brother and brothers-in-law, I did it openly. Later when I proâ&#x20AC;˘ Apolinario de 1a Cruz, of Lukban, Tayabas, organized the Cofradio. cle San Jose in 1832 attracting thousands of members from neighboring provinces. Considered a subversive movement the government suppressed it, captured its leader and shot him in 1841. His body was quartered; the head was hung in front of his house in Lukban and the legs and arms were put in cages and hung in the town of Tayahas.

344 mised not to engage again in politics, I fulfilled my word. and I cut off forever my political relations. Everything is imputed to me because I have meant more, but separatist ideas are not mine; rather I am their effect. Since 1884 I have been informing the Government of the march of opinion; I asked urgently for some concessions, like representation; I revealed the abuses that were being committed; I was a safety valve. They suppressed me in 1892 through deportation, and the valve was closed. I'm like some diseases, like smallpox. I'm the pustule through which the disease of the blood is manifested; remove the pustule and, as the man in the street says, the smallpox goes inside and kills the patient. Now the ignorant and stupid physicians believe that the pustule is the smallpox or is the disease. This is what has happened. Just as one swallow does not make summer, neither can one man make a revolution. Today the predictions of Pi y Margall, Zorrilla, and Salmeron do not make a revolution in spite of the fact that the Spanish people are more bellicose, more indomitable, more nervous. I'm not more than any of these great republicans, nor do I reach their ankles. Jesus Christ, despite the fact that he had been preaching against the priests of his time with sovereign authority, accompanying his work with stupendous miracles, did not succeed to make a revolution, except some forty years after his death . . . and it was because his death gave an anureole to his teaching. On the contrary, my companions and fellow countrymen have attacked me as the records show, because they consider me impractical and a dreamer. I like first unity, the establishment of factories, industries, banks, and the like. For this reason I gave moral and material support to those who studied crafts and industries in Europe. I myself have spent much time studying ceramics, leathertanning, manufacture of cement, and others. My dream was my country's prosperity. I knew that through arms

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it was impossible to win liberties and less independence, for other colonizing nations like England, Germany, and others would not allow it. Japan would swallow us afterwards. But with a prosperous and enlightened people, liberties would not have to wait. I would like the Filipino people to become worthy, noble, honorable, for a people who makes itself despicable for its cowardice or vices exposes itself to abuses and vexations. Man in general oppresses what he despises, and this is what I used to say to those who complained to me: "If we were more worthy, they would not do that to us." And this is my sorrow now, seeing how ignoble are those who, in order to accuse me, do not hesitate to lie unashamedly. I have never believed, nor can I believe, that these aspirations of mine are criminal in the eyes of the Government. They are the aspirations that my eminently Spanish education, and as such patriotic, has eyolved in me. Since childhood I have been educated among Spaniards, I have been nurtured with the great examples in the history of Spain, Greece, and Rome; later in Spain, my professors have all been great thinkers, great patriots. Books, magazines, examples, reason-all made me love the welfare of my native land, as the Catalan loves the welfare of Catalufia, the Vascongado, the Galician, the Andalucian, Vizcaya, Galicia, Andalucia, respectively, etc. So remote it was for me to believe that I was doing wrong, that never did I like to accept the protection of another nation. Twice I was offered German nationality and once English, and I never accepted either. So confident I was in my right to aspire to what I believe to be just that whenever I had an opportunity, I have come to the Philippines. Mr. Jose Taviel de Andrade expressed to me his surprise upon seeing me in the Philippines, the same did Governor Ordas y Avecilla. I replied that I saw no reason why. During the seven months that I was free in the Philippines (1887-1888) I had caused no tumult whatsoever. The only question

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that occurred was an inquiry of the Administration of Finance which was answered in accordance with the facts, contrary to what other persons desired. s A long time ago, July 1887, certain Japanese personages asked me why we did not rise up, saying that they would help us, etc., etc. I answered them that we were happy with Spain and we did not wish to pass from one hand to another, that we were bound to Spain, in spite of everything , by three centuries, a common religion, and ties of affection and gratitude, things we did not have with any other nation. They replied that Japan had no interest whatsoever in the Philippines and she would help only for racial reasons. I smiled and I proved to them through history that their ancestors did not think as they did. This is absolutely true. This is my way of thinking. I cannot deny that sometimes rebellious and punishable ideas have crossed my imagination, especially when my family was being persecuted, but afterwards reflection, the reality of facts, the absurdity of the thought, made me recover my senses, because I don't believe I'm stupid or foolish to want an impossible and senseless thing. Now, if I'm to be punished or condemned for having desired the unity of my fellow countrymen, the welfare of my country, her material development, her equality as far as possible to the provinces in Spain in order not to be called colony, if this is punishable, condemn me. For rebellion or as its accomplice, or for having believed it to be possible or feasible, never: Not even one day's detention for this reason; it would be an unjust detention. U Rizal refers to the report on the Calamba Estate. owned by the Dominicans, that he drafted in reply to an inquiry of the finance administration, when he was at Calamba from August 1887 to February 1888. It was signed by many citizens of Calamba. Later he had it published as appendix X in Marcelo H. del Pilar's La Soberania Monacal. See "Petition of the Town of Calamba," printed elsewhere in this volume.

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I would request the defender to please have the generosity of believing that I am not trying to deceive him, for it would be despicable to deceive a man who is devoting his talent to defend the same deceiver. I also request him to come to see me whenever he has an opportunity to pass by the Fort or does not consider the trip too bothersome and whenever he has a moment to spare, for I still have many things to reveal to him. Thanking you in advance and offering you my poor services, I am Your attentive and very affectionate servant who kissses your hand,6

JOSE RrZAL 6

Suyo atto. y a/mo. s. q. b. m.

Note: Written in his cell at Fort Santiago, 12 December 1896 for the use of his defense attorney.

MANIFESTO TO SOME FILIPINOS

FELLOW COUNTRYMEN:

On my return from Spain I learned that my name had been used as a war cry among those in armed revolt. The news was a painful surprise to me; but believing that everything was already over, I kept silent in the face of an accomplished fact beyond repair. Now I perceive rumors that disturbances continue, and in case some continue using my name in good or bad faith, in order to prevent this abuse and undeceive the unwary, I hasten to address to you these lines so that the truth may be kno.wn. Since the beginning, when I heard of what was being planned, I opposed it and fought it, and I demonstrated its absolute impossibility. This is the truth and those who heard me are living. I was convinced that the idea was highly absurd and what was worse, fatal. I did more. When later, despite my counsels, the uprising broke out, I offered spontaneously, not only my services, but also my life, and even my name so that they might use them in the way they deem opportune in order to quench the rebellion; for, convinced of the evils that it might bring, I considered myself happy if with any sacrifice, I could forestall so many needless misfortunes. This is also on record. Fellow Countrymen: I have given proofs as one who most want liberties for our country and I continue wanting them. But I put as a premise the education of the people so that through education and work, they might have a personality of their own and make themselves worthy of them. In my writings I have recommended study, CIVIC virtues, without which redemption is impossible. I have 348

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also written (and my words have been repeated) that reforms, in order to be fruitful, must come from above, that those that come from below are shaky, irregular, and insecure. Nurtured in those ideas, I can't but condemn and I do condemn that absurd, savage uprising, plotted behind my back, that dishonors us Filipinos and discredits those who can intercede in our behalf. I abhor its criminal methods and I reject any kind of participation in it, deploring with all the sorrow of my heart that the unwary have allowed themselves to be deceived. Return then to your homes and may God forgive those who have acted in bad faith. JOSE RIZAL REAL FUERZA DE SANTIAGO

15 December 1896

ADDITIONS TO MY DEFENSE

Mr. Jose Rizal y Alonso respectfully request the Council to kindly consider the following circumstances: First.-With respect to the rebellion: Since 6 July 1892 I have absolutely not taken up politics until 1 July of this year when, informed by Mr. Pio Valenzuela that an uprising was planned, I advised the opposite, trying to convince him with reasons. Mr. Pio Valenzuela separated from me seemingly convinced, so much so that instead of taking part later in the rebellion, he presented himself to the authorities for forgiveness.

Second.-As a proof that I had no political relation with anyone and that it was untrue what one said about having sent me letters through my family was that they found it necessary to send me Mr. Pio Valenzuela under an assumed name, at great expense, when on the same boat were five members of my family and two servants besides. If what they alleged were true, what need had Mr. Valenzuela to call the attention of anybody and incur great expense? Moreover, the mere fact that Mr. Valenzuela went to inform me proved that I was not in correspondence with them, for had I been I should know it, because to prepare an uprising was a very serious thing for them to conceal it from me. When they took the step of sending Mr. Valenzuela to me, it proved that they were aware that I didn't know, that is, that I had no correspondence with them. Another negative proof is that they cannot show any letter of mine. 350

351 Third.-They have abused cruelly my name and at the last moment they wanted to surprise me. Why did they not communicate with me beforehand? They might have heard perhaps that I was, if not contented, resigned with my place of residence, for I have turned down various propositions that many persons had made to me to get me out of that place. Only in these last months, as a result of certain domestic affairs, having had certain controversies with a missionary priest,l I requested to be allowed to go to Cuba as a volunteer. Mr. Pio Valenzuela came to advise me to put me in safety, for, according to him, it was possible that they would complicate me. As I considered myself entirely innocent and I didn't know the how and the wherefore of the movement (besides I believed I had convinced Mr. Valenzuela), I took no precautions, except that when the Most Excellent Governor General wrote me advising me of my departure for Cuba, I embarked immediately, abandoning all my affairs. And I could have gone elsewhere or I could have simply stayed on in Dapitan, for the letter of His Excellency was conditional. It said: "If you still persist in your plan to go to Cuba, the Commander . . . . " When the movement started, I was on board the Castilla and I placed myself at His Excellency's service unconditionally. Twelve or fourteen days later I sailed for Europe, and had I an uneasy conscience I would have tried to slip away at any seaport, especially Singapore where I went ashore and where other passengers who had passports for the Peninsula remained. My conscience was clear and I expected to go to Cuba. From W. E. Retana, Vida y Escritos del Dr. Jose Rizal, Madrid, 1907, pp. 404-408. 1 Fr. Antonio Obach, S. J., parish priest of Dapitan. The question was his projected marriage with Miss Josephine Bracken. The priest would not solemnize it unless Rizal made a public recantation of all his anti-clerical writings. When Rizal declined to do so, Fr. Obach refused to perform the ceremony.

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Fourth.-At Dapitan I had vessels and I was permitted to go on excursions along the coast and in the settlements, which lasted as long as I wished, sometimes a week. Had I any intention to engage in politics, I could have sailed away on the Moro vintas that I knew at the settlements. Neither would have I built my little hospital nor bought lands nor summoned my family to live with me. Fifth.-Someone has said that I'm the chief. What kind of a chief is that who is not consulted about the plans and is only informed so that he may escape? What kind of a chief is that who, when he says "No", they say "Yes"? With respect to the Liga: Sixth.-It's true I drafted its by-laws and its aims were to stimulate commerce, industry, arts, etc. by means of union. Witnesses who are not inclined towards me, rather who are against me, have confirmed that. Seventh.-The Liga didn't live nor was it established, for after the first meeting, it didn't hold another again. It died because I was banished days afterwards. Eighth.-If it was reorganized by other persons nine months later, as they now say, I didn't know it. Ninth.-The Liga was not an association with harmful purposes and that is proven by the fact they had to abandon it to organize the Katipunan, which perhaps was the one that fulfilled their purposes. For the little that the Liga might have served for the rebellion they would not have abandoned it. Instead they would have simply modified it, for, if, as someone alleges, I'm the chief, out of consideration for me and for the prestige of my name, they would have preserved the name Liga. For having rejected it, name and all, for creating the Katipunan, clearly proves that neither did they count on me nor did the Liga serve their purposes, for another association is not formed when there is one already established.

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Tenth.--With regard to my letters, I beg the Council, if there are in them some acrimonious criticisms, to consider the times in which I wrote them. At that time they had stripped us of our two houses, warehouses, lands, etc. and in addition banished all my brothers-in-law and my brother as a result of a litigation brought about by a question of the Department of Finance-a litigation in which the law was on our side, according to our lawyer Mr. Linares Rivas. Eleventh.-That I have endured my deportation with resignation not for the reason alleged, which was not accurate, but for what I had already written you. And, as to my behavior during the four years of my deportation, inquire from the politico-military commanders of the District, from the people, and even from the missionary priests themselves, despite my; personal controversies with one of them. 2 Twelfth.-All tliese facts and considerations destroy the groundless accusations of those who have declared against me and I have askeq the judge of instruction to confront me with my accusers) Is it possible that in one night alone I could have brought all the filibusterismo to a meeting at which commerce, etc. was taken up, a meeting that didn't go beyond there for it died afterwards? If the few who were present had taken my words seriously, they would not have allowed the Liga to die. Did those who form part of the Liga that night organize the Katipunan? I don't believe so. Who went to Dapitan to talk with me? Persons entirely unknown to me. Why did they not commission a person known to me so that I would have more confidence? Because those who knew me knew too well that I have given up politics, or being aware of my manner of thinking with regard to rebellions, had refused to take a useless and likely unsuccessful step. I hope to have demonstrated with these considerations that neither have I established an association for revolu2

Fr. Antonio Obach, S.J.. parish priest at Dapitan. nn~411~_?~

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tionary purposes nor have I taken part in others nor participated in the rebellion but rather on the contrary I have been opposed to it, as has been shown with the publication of a private conversation.

JOSE REAL FUERZA DE SANTIAGO

26 December 1896

}

RIZAL

THE PHILIPPINES AS A SPANISH COLONY The following is an English translation of a fragment of a Rizal MS, without title, apparently a rough draft, for 1he two pages, whose photostatic ~y is before us, have many corrections by him. '!'he idea here treated is also found in his published essay, "Filipinas dentro de cleo mos" (The Philippines a Century Hence.)

colors, would be worth as much or more than the dreamed of independence which, perhaps troubled by internal discords, would place the Metropolis in a favorable situation. And let not some people say that because the country and its inhabitants ~re hated, the latter would pay in excess and in the same coin the insults and injuries they have received, that the feeling of affection (for the Mother Country) is already completely dead. Of course it should be already dead if the Filipino people were not a young people that forgets the harshest offense when it sees that there had been no bad intention and if Machiavelli's keen observation were not true: "La natura d'oumini e cosi obligarsi per Ie beneficii che essi fanno come per quelli che essi ricevono." (For it is the nature of men to be bound by the benefits they confer as much as by those they receive.) 1 We therefore say that the modification of the colonial policy in the Philippines is not impossible so that the Philippines can remain as a colony as she ought to remain as such. N ow we need to find out what kind of colony the 1 Nicolo Machiavelli, The Prince, translated by W. K. Marriott. 1920 edition, p. 87.

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356 Philippines shall be. For this purpose it is necessary for us to examine the different kinds of colonies. Colonies peopled the world, and if we are to accept the Biblical belief of a single human couple as the origin of all mankind, we have to conclude that all nations passed through the status of colonies. In fact these colonies originated in some overpopulated region that departed thence for other regions in search of means of subsistence. The colonies that left the Tower of Babel perhaps had the same motive, as well as a great number of the Greek colonies. Greece used to send out her ships under the auspices and inspiration of Apollo to spread the Greek name, her fame, and put an end to barbarism, or to get rid of some personages of certain political parties. Commerce was also the motive of the Venetian colonies of the Middle Ages, which were ephimeral, owing to the over-weening ambition and arrogance of the Metropolis and to the discovery of new trade routes. In our times we have the Portuguese, Dutch, and Germans, and above all the "English who, combining in themselves the Roman genius and the nautical and commercial intrepidity of the Phoenicians, people and dominate a sixth part of the globe, bringing into life desert regions, forming new and vigorous nations which will give evidence of Old England when she shall one day disappear from history, after having accomplished her sacred mission. Religious fanaticism also created colonies, or at least served as a pretext: The Mohammedan colonies formed following the preaching of the Koran; the Spanish colonies on the New Continent, preceded by monks and fol!owed by an army craving for gold; the Indian colonies in the Malay Archipelago to spread Brahmin beliefs, Buddhist beliefs that reached as far as Japan; and others.

357 The demands of strategy and navigation give rise to colonies, small indeed, but of transcendental importance, such as Gibraltar, Malta, Aden, EI Cabo, and others, where the number of houses is almost equal to the number of fortresses and the number of inhabitants to the number of cannons. Lastly, at the present time colonies are established in territories supposedly "free", or not belonging to any lord, like those formed in the center and on the east and west coasts of Africa, with more modesty and less hypocrisy, in order to exploit the wealth fOllnd in those virgin lands. The old pretext of Christian conversion disappeared.

)

THE PARENTS OF RIZAL *

Genealogy

On 28 June 1848 were married Mr. Francisco Mercado, age 30 yrs. 2 months, and Miss Teodora Alonso, age 20 yrs. 7 months. Mr. Francisco Mercado is a native of Biiian, the youngest in a family of thirteen children: seven men and six women alternating in the following order: Petrona, Gabino, Potenciana, Leoncio, Tomasa, Casimiro, Basilisa, Gabriel, Fausta, Julian, Cornelio, Gregorio, and Francisco. The parents of these thirteen children were Captain Juan Mercado and Cirila Alejandra. Juan Mercado was the older of two brothers-Juan and Clemente--sons of Francisco Mercado and Bernarda Monichao The father of the Rizals was named Francisco in memory of his grandfather. Cirila Alejandra was the daughter of Maria Guiiio. Mrs. Teodora Alonso, mother of the Rizals, was the second daughter of Mrs. Brigida de Quintos (Narcisa, Teodora, Gregorio, Manuel, and Jose): daughter of Mr. Manuel de Quintos, famous family of Pangasinan, and of Regina Ursua of the family of the Ursuas. The brothers of Brigida de Quintos were Joaquina, (Brigida), Jose Soler, and Maria Victoria. Regina Ursua was the daughter of Mr. Eugenio Ursua and of Benigna. Her brothers were Father Alejandro, Jose Ursua, Benito Ursua, Pio UNlua. â&#x20AC;˘ These notes on the parents of Rizal were written by Rizal at Dapitan for his nephews. The original manuscript is no longer extant. This translation is based on a typescript copied from Dia. Filipino, 30 December 1920, with the title of Historia de la Familia Rizal de Calamba (History of the Rizal Family of Calamba), which seems to this translator exaggerated , the notes referring only to his father and mother.

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MANILA IN THE MONTH OF DECEMBER 1872

To a traveler in the month of December 1872 Manila would be always the same: to a Manilan it offered numerous and very new hues. The most Catholic country-according to the reverend friars, the first and last inhabitants of the Philippinescontinues, it is true, ever so Catholic, but it has undergone notable changes in its morality. It is still called-and it will be called for a long time-the meek flock of the Church, the most suitable ephithet that always reminds one of the poetic idea of goats, bucks and sheep nibbling grass while the s epherds play the flute, stretched on the grass under the sha ow of leafy trees . . .. It seems the same country with its pre-Christmas Masses, with its music and orchestras, with its dinners and banquets; but to one who knew it two years before, it is undoubtedly not the same. He will suffer what the Chinese shopkeeper does to an unwary provincial shopper, showing and selling him a piece of good cloth and then gives him another entirely similar but althogether different. And in fact the preChristmas Masses are no longer so animated nor so wellattended; the musicians are no longer so numerous and if they play at all, it is for the payor as a duty, and the dinners were very dry affairs and with little spontaneous gaiety. The Manila people, as if depressed by a sad recollection, by an inner mourning, receive their guests, with a smile indeed, but what a smile! Like the way a hospitable woman whose children had died In an epidemic would â&#x20AC;˘ This seems to be a rough draft.

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receive travelers: with sadness, with misgiving, but with resignation. Their thoughts are divined, they hide their sentiments, and the walls of the confessional do not get wet with sweat and tears. The memories of January and February drive away even the most sanctimonious from those courts of justice. _ . of penitence. And nevertheless, 1872 has been a great year for the Philippines! "A rio revuelto ganancia de pescadores," (In troubled waters fishermen catch fish.) The fisherman does not pay attention to the river nor to the fish, which is the only loser for the moment at least. The omnipotent persons, those with value and virtue, that is, the reverend friars, the military, the governor general, have each one taken his net from the river and all depart satisfied. The first won souls for heaver_, the others, crosses, and the last, eternal renown as savior of the mother country_ It is evident to us that they boast officially of rectitude, justice and magnanimity. The governor general was a great politician and modest. Having failed to win laurels in Europe, he wanted the Philippines to offer him wreaths, a truly difficult enterprise there where the evergreen oak and laurel do not abound. He had to content himself with banana leaves which did not impede that the merit be great and the work immense. A colonel, excited by the memory of eminent deeds and not wanting to remain behind nor to die in obscurity without winning fame, struck with his saber right and left a crowd attending the most moral and edifying spectacles, in the very place where the illustrious religious fulfilled with pleasure their Christian mission-it is always pleasant to comply with one's duty-wishirig their fellowmen a holy and good death that Heaven concedes always to the enemies of religion. An unheard of charity is to wish well even those who have done us evil!

361 Earning no little fame with them was Adobo, the popular Adobo, a parrot by his dress and divine by his functions, minister of men and of the God of Vengeance, though he ought to receive more peS(lS than blessings at least from the people--that people which always have a tear for the unfortunate, a blessing for a noble deed, and many goods for the ambitious aspirations of the powerful. Strange and curious anecdotes circulated in a low tone among the populace. A story is told of a poor old man, deaf like a bonze, who is saluted but whose hand is not kissed, as he goes home at nightfall. At that time it was very dangerous to walk through the streets, and above all groups of more than one person nor more than one pair even were not permitted in public places. A soldier sees a bundle stir, a shadow approach slowly and carefully. He cries, "~Quien 'vive?" (Who is there?), and trembling with emotion, a mute shadow advances. With the vision before his eyes of a condecoration, galloons, a pension of three pesos, he aims and fires. The mother country has been saved! Long live the mother country! They approach carefully to examine the terrible disturber and they see a poor old man rolling on the ground and vomiting blood . . . From this I deduce that in countries like the Philippines, without doubt on account of climatological influences, deafness is a predisposing cause of violent death. Thus began this year and as it began well, it ought to end in the same manner. The king of Cambodia Ghra Norodon I with various princes of royal blood visited the Philippines. He carne attracted by the desire to know the heroes, lost in those solitudes. There were reviews, parades, promenades, feasts, etc. The chivalrous governor placed the royal guest at his left, giving a patent proof of hospitality as well as of arrogance, dignity, and decorum. In much later times another governor. competitor for glory,

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made the Jolo ambassadors dance at his palace the wardance that they call mora-mora. Public tranquility was now and then disturbed by the vulgar and little varied news that late at night was searched the house of Mr. So and So, a subscriber to European periodicals and therefore wicked and impious. I remember that three years afterwards-I was still a child-I lived in the house of a good man whom they called at the University Doctor of Moral, very religious, incapable of incurring the hatred of a friar. This gentleman was terribly horrified when he saw in my hands a piece of newspaper that looked European. He made the sign of the cross and jumped, though he walked like a turtle, he snatched the paper from my hand, and that day he was not able to eat well. There were four or five names that could not be uttered in public and a picture that could not be shown to anybody with impunity. Nevertheless all kept the names in their memories and in their hearts, and the picture was kept in the sanctuary of the home. The people regarded certain individuals with rancor for being the cause of so many evils, and they asked if there was justice. The whole country was disarmed. Not even a poor rifle .remained in the hOllses to defend properties from bandits or thieves who infested the countryside, like a bearded bandit whom they called Castila, bloodthirsty and ferocious, irreconcilable enemy of the government rather than of private citizens, who seemed to have escaped from the theater of events of January. The news that were received from the distant and unwholesome islands of the exiles were the most disheartening and sad. The families, who had courage and resignation, received them in public silent and taciturn, but in the quietness of the home, they shed abundant tears; the more pusillanimous went to the palaces bringing gifts and money

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in order to see if thereby they could get the freedom of their parents or brothers. Not lacking also was a loving wife who, desirous of living chastely, accused her husband of being a filibustero. If he was rich, he was immediately arrested, leaving his wife free and alone ; if he was poor, they paid no attention to him and the most that they did was to send him to exile without bothering him with trial. Sometime it was a father who had a pretty daughter. The town parish priest, young and of sanguine temperament, saw in him an obstacle to the happiness of the girl whom he forbade to frequent the sacraments, especially the most healthful of all, the confessional, and then the good shepherd sent that sheep to his exile from which he would probably not come back. The Philippines was governed thus. Our desire now is to lift the veil that covers this corpse whose shape we have seen vaguely outlined through these words, so that by their aspect we may see the emptiness of human vanities and impostures. If there is some philosopher among my readers who wishes to penetrate the mystery enclosed in the corpse, we shall make the autopsy and we shall ask the matter all its past. He who has valor or wishes to know the truth of things may follow us in our analysis. He who wants to live in peace on pain of not knowing in what environment he lives may close the book and content himself with bending his body, bowing his head, and walking with circumspection. When, after long hot days, the atmosphere is loaded with electricity and the clouds threaten to break up in frightful crashes, it is very dangerous to ignore metereologicallaws and place oneself in high places that attract lightning. There death can be said to be certain.

THE PEOPLE OF THE INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO â&#x20AC;˘

To give a general survey of the ethnography of the Malay peoples is in more ways than one a difficult task. Until now little that is accurate has been found about the relationship between the peoples of the Indian archipelago. Hardly do we know by name many of the peoples that inhabit it, especially those of the interior of the larger and smaller islands, little visited by Europeans. Finally, the old as well as the new traffic between the peoples of the coast has produced such varied mixtures that easily disconcerts the judgment concerning their ethnographic relations, whether with reference to the physical or to the language, more so when at the same time are seen great differences in culture within the same tribe. The contact with numerous foreign elements has transformed in many points these peoples externally as well as internally so much so that in these later times it has been possible to recognize with some certainty the primitive Malayism and point out safely the foreign additions. In order to facilitate the exposition we shall dispense for the present with the effect of foreign influences, which later we shall have occasion to treat, and we shall confine ourselves only to the examination as a whole of the Malayan peoples. We shall touch in passing on the historical events whenever they can give us light in understanding ethnographic relations. â&#x20AC;˘ This was first published in a Manila weekly called The Independent on 4 May 1918, pp. 20, 21. It is apparently a rough dra..ft or notes taken by Rizal from the books cited by him. In his correspondence with Ferdinand Blumentritt, Rizal mentioned he was studying the origins of the Malay race and was buying books on the subject.

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The classifications of the Malayan peoples which have been hitherto tried can be considered very weakly founded, if not failures. Jungjuhn distinguishes the Battaks as strictly of the Malay race, including the people of the same name together with the Passumhas and apparently the Lampongs, the Orangs Abung and Orangs Rubu of Sumatra, then the inhabitants of Western Sumatra, Sumba, Timor, and the surrounding islands, the Alfuros of Celebes, Banda, Ternate, Aru and Sangir, the Macassar and Buginese, the Dayjaks and the Balinese of Bali and Lombak. However, neither in their physique do these peoples appear sufficiently different from the Malays so that they may form a distinct race, nor are these differences general and exclusive to justify their being so. It is easier to clarify the physical differences between Malays and Battaks principally from their multiple m'xtures that since the remotest antiquity they have had wit4 foreign peoples. The same thing happens with the "Malay Negroes" that Crawford (a 17,296) wants to place besid~s the Malays as a distinct race, only that this opinion is very much less founded. To these should belong the peoples of Eastern Celebes and Sumbawa, particularly those of Flores, Timor, Ombay, and Wetter (a 307, 447) Gilolo, and Ceram; otherwise, there would be found Malays in Sumba (Sandalwood Island) and Rotti, and in Moluccas there must have taken place varied mixtures of these two races. The physiognomy of the inhabitants of Flores reveal the features of the Malays mixed with those of the Papuans of New Guinea (idem., 138) that since time immemorial seem to have been brought to these regions as slaves, but Crawfurd is also of the opinion that that type cannot be explained as true mixture. Both divisions here presented are mutually contradictory and perhaps no definite opinion on this matter will be formed until after the linguistic relations can be studied accurately. Wilhelm von Humboldt (II, 288) divided their languages into three classes: first the Polynesian, second the Tagalog

366 and Malagasy, and the third the Malay properly so-called. Crawford divided these languages into five distinct groups, the first of which embraced from Sumatra until Borneo and Lombok, the second extended from Celebes until the Moluccas, while the others belong to the Philippines, Polynesia, and Madagascar. However, it is easily recognized that this distribution is more geographical than linguistic. The one introduced by Leyden (Asian Researches, X, 158) appears also to be due to the same idea, for in the meantime it is accepted by Lassen (I, 465) and inasmuch as until now there is no other one better founded, we do not hesitate to use it as a basis of our exposition. The inhabitants of Malaka are called Malayu, or Malayo, Orang Malayu, their country J anah Malayu. They are called thus singly without mentioning their country "because they pass for the legitimate and primitive Malays" in contrast to the other Malays to whose name is usually added the name of their country: patani, Padang, Djohor, etc. <Valentyn VII, 316). For the primitive meaning of the word "Malay" in the languages of Java and Bali no ambiguity exist according to Friedrich l\1iiller in zeitschr, d.d morgend. Ges. (IX, 259) 1 It means "to escape" , used as a substantive, "vagabond" was originally a nickname 2 1 The full name of the author is Friedrich Max Miiller; the journal is Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenlandischen Gesselschaft (Jourr.al of the Gennan Oriental Society) . 2 We shall mention later another meaning which seems to us more acceptable, according to de Barros. Magellan had with him a slave from Malaka, not from Moluccas, as Oviedo asserts erroneously, a slave who even served . him as an interpreter in the P.hilippines. (Navarrete IV, p. LXXXV to 57). The same was proven by Forrest much later (168, 210). Also he made himself understood in Malay by the natives along the coasts of Indostan on the China Sea as well as in some parts of the islands of Aru. In general there exists a great unifonnity of the Malay language in the Malaka Peninsula and in the islands of the Archipelago. (Marsden, Malayan Diet. Preface, p. VI.) According to Crawford (11, 5) , it is in Quedah where this language is spoken better and with greater purity. Valentyn (II, 244) has distinguished two dialects in the same language: High Malay, as he calls it, which is the language of the court and the

367 whose derogatory meaning is still understood in the interior of both islands, although the term admits also a favorable connotation, referring to "a rash, enterprising spirit" and perhaps to the skill of that people in navigation. In the XV and XVI centuries their language was generally current in the commerce of the whole qrchipelago and it served as the sole means of communication from Malaka and Sumatra until the Moluccas (Crawford a. 213), inasmuch as the name "Malay" is now often used loosely in such a way that it is applied solely to the Muslim population of the archipelago without considering its language (Marsden 3rd edition 42). They are called either Christians or pagans, but not Malays, even though they speak the language (v.d. Funk a. to 0.). And inasmuch as the true Malays who have settled on the coasts of many islands of the East Indies and had come to rule the majority of the natives are of different origin, we should not omit to speak accurately about its proRagation. The annals of the Malays (sejara Malayu) say nothing about it, as J. Low claimed without foundation, saying that these, upon immigrating to the Malaka Peninsula ( about (Continuation

of footnote

cultured, notwithstanding the Bahasa Djawie, the primitive language to which de Hollander called attention (a. 138) , and the common language which was mixed with diverse foreign words from different countries; however, he adds, that even in the court they use the first only in official writings. Much later Marsden distinguished the language of the court and of the educated class and that of the merchants and the people, of which the first two are distinguished from each other by a few words. Both are often used in writing, but the last one is very much joined to foreign words. Dulaurier, comparing vulgar Malay with the written, finds almost in the middle the court language. Very rightly de Hollander, who took a great deal of trouble to divide the Malay into various tongues, calls attention to its similarity to Javanese and it seems than Van der: Funk agrees with him (in Bijdrage-n N. V. I. 172) when, noting the confusion with respect to what are called high and low Malay, he wishes solely to occupy himself with the Malay as the lingua franca of the Archipelago, the language of the educated class in Malaka Peninsula, which will be the same written language, and the isolated dialects among which the most important are the Menangkabau and the Malaka, differenl from each other to the place. (Rizal.)

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which we shall speak later), found the Siamese in possession of the country until the extreme south. It seems that they found no opposition anywhere, though in the innermost part they might have met some rude hordes. The country farther to the north of the Peninsula which they reached was Ligor whose principal town was however Siamese (Crawford a. 217). The rule of the Siamese must have extended there until the 7째 North latitude, until Prang and Sangora to the South (Newbold I, 420). They did not succeed to take possession of the Mergui Archipelago inhabited by a population of poor fishermen of Silong whose language seems to be related to Siamese (O'Riley in Journal LV, 411). However, they are found farther westward, though not in great numbers, in Ceylon, where they are scattered, witho~t forming river-bank settlements (Schamarda I, 480). Probably it is the Gulf of Martaban, the point furthest northward until which they C!ould travel (Crawford a. 271). The city of Juthia (Siam) is partly Inhabited by them (Op. cit., 385), and above all they are found in large numbers as slaves in Siam (W. Earl a. 170). Only in the southern part of Malaka have they formed independent states of their own. These are as follows: Quedah (Reddah) in the N. W. has probably been inhabited since the middle of the XIII century by Malays of Malaka until the arrival of the Portuguese (XV) in whose power it remained (Newbold II, 6). It is not clearly deduced from the chronicle of this kingdom published by J. Low (Journal m), though since antiquity it was under the rule of Siam, as Low supposes (Idem. 486), and it tried to make itself independent upon the introduction of Islamism (1501), or, that at no time was it a subject of that kingdom, as Anderson tried to prove (Journal VIII, 149). The first is probably the truth, inasmuch as Barbosa (1516) mentioned the country as belonging to Siam and in the language is noticeable the effect of the mingling in

369 ancient times of the Malays of that region with the Siamese (Crawford a. 362). Some of the latter were converted into Islamism in Quedah and they were called Samsam (Moor 242). To these elements of the population were added in 1619 Atjins who conquered the country and subjugated Perak in the extreme south, which since 1867 had been in a state of dependence with respect to Atjin, since its own sultan, Kansur Schah, had gone over to Atjin to rule (Anderson a. a. 0). Later, it is true Quedah recovered her independence again, but later suffered jointly with Perak repeated attacks by the Siamese (that is, in 1818, 1821); that also they penetrated until Patani, easternmost part, and despite the obligation imposed upon them by the English to consider both countries independent, nevertheless they considered and treated them as conquered territory (Newbold, Moor 'a. a. o. o. uud bei Moor, Append. 72 90.). Farther away toward the south, on the western coast of the Peninsula, follow the states of Salangor and Malaka. It is said that at the beginning of the XVIII century, in Salanger and Lingin they established principally Bugis, and they rose to rule (Newbold). They also took for themselves Galang that formerly belonged to Johor (Idem. bei Moor, 259). Their presence in these territories however dates probably from remote times, for Seyara Malayu speaks of a king of Nakase and by the year 1420 he sailed with 200 ships to conquer Malaka. (Brandel in Journal V, 646, Budding in Typeschrift V, I, 425). If perhaps Malaka never has been truly a dependency of the Siamese (Anderson a. a. 0, 156), nevertheless, already in former times, this state, the most famous Malay state in the Peninsula (1340, according to Valentyn, VII, 319) suffered from them repeated and serious attacks (Cf. Typeschrift VI, 3, 256). To its present population belong also a number of Telingas of Coromandel, European and Chinese mestizos living with the natives (Moor 244). 0034!l3- -

370 According to the opinion of the Malays themselves, the foremost and most notahle of their states in the Peninsula is Surgie Ujong, the second is Rumbowe, and then follow Johole (Djohor) and Soimenante (Newbold bei Moor Append. 77). According to tradition, these four states as well as Naning received their population directly from Menangkabau, the principal region of the Malays in Sumatra and would certainly be in the XIII century, that is, almost a century after the first arrival of the Malay immigrants in the Peninsula (Newbold II, 74, 73 , and in Moor, 255) . An important confirmation of that tradition gives the fact that some tribes of Rumbowe bear names of places of Menangkabau (Newbold bei Moor Append. 64) and the population there resemble perfectly the Malays of Sumatra in language, customs, and form of government (Logan in Journal III, 40). Consequently, there is found here in Malaka the purest Malayism, Johor, one of the most powerful states and founded in 1512 (1526, according to Braudel in Journal IX, 68) , after its destruction by the Portuguese (1608) , conquered by the Atjins (1613, Anderson a. a. O. 154). In the year 1719 it was in danger of falling under the attack of the Malays of Menangkabau, who came passing through Siak. However, it was able to repel the enemy principally with the help of the Buginese there residing (Newbold 11, 47, Braddelas 0). The population of the Strait of Malaka is the most mixed in the world. It consists besides the Malay and Chinese, of Siamese, Bugis, and Balinese to which have been added some Arabs, Jews, and Armenians, and finally a number of Chulias and Klings (Zelingas) from Cisgangetic India. At the extreme south of the Peninsula the mixture of the Malays with the Javanese dates from antiquity. They say that the country was a tributary of Madjapahit, a Javanese kingdom (Dulaurier ) in the XV century and that the attacks of the Javanese on Singapore, founded by the Malays in the year 1252, according to Valentyn (VII, 318) must

371 have compelled the latter to go toward the West and found Malaka. With regard to this there are two traditions, one of which attributes that attack to a prince of Madjapahit, while the other says it was from a Javanese prince called Ardhi Vidjojo (MUller, a. p. 27 note). On the eastern coast of the Peninsula the Siamese have penetrated farther to the south than to the west. Like Patani they were also oppressed by them. Calantan and Tringano seem to have been dependencies of Siam since very early times. (Anderson a. a. 0 151) . Toward the middle of the XIV century, as a result of a war they waged against Malaka, they penetrated Muar and they established themselves there (Newbold bei Moor, Append. 74). At the beginning of the XVI century, Sejara Malayu tells of an attack in Pahang by the Siamese of Ligor (J our-naZ, VI, 40).

* I

NOTES ON MELANESIA, MALAYSIA AND POLYNESIA *

The great region extending from Malaka and the Andaman Islands to the West until the Christmas Island and from the Sandwich Islands to the North until New Zealand and the Island of Tasmania is divided with regard to its population into two principal groups: One of them, called "Melanesia" for being inhabited by black men, or at least of dark color with wolly hair, embraces the continent of Australia with Tasmania and the long succession of islands that extend to the north of this continent in the form of an arch bent toward the south from New Guinea until New Caledonia; the other, whose inhabitants are of lighter color with straight hair, is formed partly by the islands of the archipelago of the East Indies, or properly Malaysia, and partly by Polynesia whose farthest territories are the Marianas Islands, and Sandwhich Islands, Christmas Island, and New Zealand. The people of the last two regions of the archipelago of the East Indies or Malaysia and Polynesia is called in ordinary language "Malay", though the name "Malay" in its primitive and exact meaning applies only to. the native people of the Europeans found in the Peninsula of Malaka and in the greater part of Sumatra when they first visited these regions, a people that has founded colonies in the greater part of the large islands of Malaysia, whose language, because of their commercial activity, became the general medium of communication in these seas, and conâ&#x20AC;˘ This is another rough draft. or notes taken by Rizal from various books cited therein that he intended perhaps to use in tracing the origins of the inhabitants of the Philippines in which he was deeply interested. This translation is based on the copy published in The Independent, Manila, 27 April 1918, pp. 19-21. For the exact data on the situation, boundaries and population of the above-mentioned Malay states, see Newbold II, and Moor, appendix 57. (Rizal.)

372

373 verted into Islamism not very long ago they ruled then or at least made their superior influence felt on all the pagan tribes with whom they came in contact. More perfect studies revealed later that this people, although very much more civilized than the majority of their neighbors and very different from them externally, were only a branch of a big trunk whose ramifications extend all over the archipelago of the East Indies. Since then it was correct to name this archipelago the country of the Malays, although they do not form its exclusive population, and after Wilhelm von Humboldt and Buschmann 1 had proved that the principal languages of Polynesia were related originally to those of the Malays, the islanders of the Pacific could already be counted among them. If the spread of this name was originally due to the accidental coincidence that it was the first and most civilized people of the whole family that the Europeans knew, it was very natural that the Europeans should fall also into the error of considering that Malay people the true type and even the primitive trunk from which had come the other related peoples. Linguistic studies reject this opinion: The languages of the islands in the Pacific are of a more primitive type and preserve an older form. Truly they have not come from the cultivated Malay languages, grammatically and phonetically rich. From this circumstance alone it should not be deduced that the inhabitants of the Indian archipelago might have come from the Pacific islands, rather the contrary is more likely. The Polynesians remained a long time in their primitive culture because of their isolation. Ahead of them had advanced the majority of the other peoples of the West, their fellow primitive men.:? 1 We should not omit that Buschmann (36 f.) while inclined to regard :the phonetical and grammatical poverty of the Polynesian languages as decadence of the ancient vital force, since they only offer here and there 'traces of a more perfect. and ancient civilization that can still be seen 'among the Malays, nevertheless considers these manifestations so isolated that it cannot be deduced safely from them that the more perfect forms are plder. (Rizal.) " It is called Malagasy. (Translator.)

374

The onlv famous opponent of these VIews is Crawford. He had formerly claimed that in ancient times the language of a civilized people, that probably had its original home in Java, spread among the rude primitive inhabitants of the Pacific. He called this supposed language, which later disappeared, Polynesian, and he believed that the common elements in the languages in the Pacific could be considered its remains, while he would like to reduce and attribute the differences to the primitive language of the primitive population. In opposition to this artistic hypothesis Marsden offers one more natural and simple that says that those common elements rather belong to the common primitive language of the Polynesians, which has not disappeared, but has chiefly been altered in different ways with time and place, inasmuch as it does not seem at all credible that in very ancient times the Polynesians had spoken a. greater number of languages than in later epochs. A later opinion 0 Crawford (Journal II, 191 , 212 s) is in open contradiction to the first-a circumstance that in itself and by itself can no longer inspire any confidence in it. He helieves the racial relationship between the principal peoples of the Indian archipelago, as the Polynesians are, hitherto admitted, should be completely rejected and the Malayan words that are found in their languages be declared as foreign, being only a benefit derived from outside. This is applicable, he says, to the languages of the Buginese, Celebes, and the Taga]ogs of Luzon, that the language of Madagascar, which was regarded as a Malay tongue, is only a language of Negroes, and that this would be demonstrated by the fact that as one moves away from the center of Malay life, from Malaka and Java, diminis~es also in consLant proporiion the number of Malay terms that have passed onto the other languages. Neither can it be daimed that these languages have common words for th(' mosi simple and necessary objects, but rather for certain concepts that make one believe in a definite civilization.

375 The last opinion would have a greater weight, if Crawford had not been compelled to understand by "the concepts that acknowledge a certain civilization", such concepts that are found in all the peoples of the world with the exception of some rude hordes in the lowest cultural level . In the Polynesian language, for example, (according to Crawford a. 358) Malay names are given not to the few domestic animals that the islanders of the South possessed, but to yam, coconut, sugarcane, then the numerals, then the expression .for board, roofing, comb, hatchet, meshwork, the "isolating" languages of Indochina, and that they are for eign to the languages of the Asiatic continent. Often with truth and without doubtful r easons the physical similarity of the Malays to the Indochinese in Siam, Burma, and Cochinchina has been pointed out. However, if one does not want to go too far with Pichering (The Races of Man, 105 s, 134) , who, 'excepting t~e inhabitants of Maldive Islands that etnographically belong to Hindostan, counts among the Malays for this sole resemblance the Japanese, Californians, Mexicans, and other peoples of America, one is obliged to recognize as the limit of the race the boundary of the language that separates the Indian archipelago from the Continent. Neither would our judgment on this matter be altered by the story of the Javanese that the first inhabitants of their island were the Siamese (de Barros in Raffles I p. XXL). Here is manifested only the desire to trace one's origin to a g!:eat and powerful people, as we find here quite often. And the Javanese do not want, according to another tradition, even to suppose that they came in ships from the Red Sea along the coast of Hindostan that was then still joined with the islands (Raffles LL. 65). The last legend that Sumatra and Java and principal1y the islands of the archipelago had formed a continent and not in very remote times-Hageman (I, 11) supposes this was jn the XIII century, according to myth-and they were

376 separated from one another is often found in Javanese tradition; but geological characteristics of both large islands and the diversity of their fauna give to this also a fabulous character. (ZeIlinger in Typeschrift 1847, I, 33). We deduce from this quite clearly how little trust the native traditions deserve, even among the most advanced peoples of this archipelago, when they concern very remote times. If, according to this, we look at the circle traced before around the Malay race that embraces the islands of the Indian archipelago and Polynesia but does not extend beyond this territory, then both principal groups of the race will appear as ironbound, that despite the various considerable differences in their physical qualities (Enlargement in Latham, Natural History of the Race of Man, 1850, p. 183, 191), nevertheless they present much resemblance in their manner of being. (See Tlembro in d'Urville V, 408 s). If now it is asked how and when the Malay peoples came to take possession of these lands, it must be made clear that there was no known cause from where it could be deduced that they had emigrated from the continent to here. In Asia until now no people is known to be related to them by their origin. Inasmuch as since very remote times the Australian Continent and its nearest Deighbors were inhabited by another race, it makes it impossible to make the Malay-Polynesians come from there. In view of this, nothing more remains to us than Asia to be considered their primitive home, if we incline towards the opinion that they had come from afar. Therefore the epoch of their immigration into Malaysia was at the time when the southern coasts were not yet in the possession of their present inhabitants. Crawford deduces from this is a rather strange way that the Polynesians had received some civilization only from the Malays. Neither is there the shadow of any proof that these Malays, who at present have no notion of the existence of the peoples of the Pacific, could have made

377 here in pre-historic times widespread conquests, founded colonies, and promoted a lively traffic, which Crawford ought to admit frankly. Hardly could it be understood what motive must have impelled the Malays to abandon their blessed lands in order to conquer a heap of wretched little islets, or bring them articles of commerce, and it would almost seem even more marvellous that their influence should have extended with sufficient regularity until the Sandwich Islands on one side and on the other until New Zealand, even until the Christmas Island. Everywhere can be found the phenomenon of a greater number of common words among peoples who live close to each other than among those which are distantly separated whether they are related or only come in contact with one another in their shifting commerce. At any rate, it should not be deduced from this any r eason against their relationship through a c0IIl{ll0n origin. But the objection to the point of view of Crawford is that he relies exclusively on linguistic reasons, without himself being a linguist. It is a universally admitted truth, and often expressed by philologists in Germany at least, that it is not enough to form a judgment on the relationship of languages by the mere inventory of words that sound alike or in a way are similar together with some knowledge of the grammatical construction of the same. For this it is necessary beforehand to have an exact analysis of phonetics and of all the material that forms the language from the grammatical and etymological point of view. Only one who has taken special courses in this line and acquired the ability through proper preparatory studies ' can attempt to undertake the task. For this reason, we believe we ought to have much greater confidence in the results obtained in this matter by Wilhem von Humboldt and Buschmann than in the researches of Crawford, done without doubt with great care and in its kind very meritorious.

378

For the same reason also no weight should be given to the classification of languages made by Logan (Journal V, 226 a) , to the thesis ' maintained by him with linguistic reasons that the basin of the Ganges and Transgangetic India were largely inhabited since very remote times by peoples who were relatives of Malay Polynesians, although that many of the islands of the Indian archipelago were originally populated by people from Siam and Cambodia and that the language of Cochinchina was only a dialect of their language (Dalton in Moor, 46). Until now linguistic research has resolutely supported his thesis that the Malay languages have no relationship whatever with the minor orientals of Asia. One can imagine they might have been driven from there by peoples who pressed on from the interior until the coasts, but not a shadow f historical evidence can be found to support this opinion. The only t~ing that gives it a certain verisimilitude is the physical resemblance that the Malay race has with the inhabitants of South Asia. It is also true that the population of the islands received a stream of people from those countries often and from time to time. He who considers these reasons sufficiently powerful b guarantee the continental origin of the Malays ought also to incline toward regarding Malaysia as the insular region first populated on account of its greater proximity to Asia and to conjecture that here took place a successive advance toward Polynesia passing through the Caroline Islands, for without them "the propagation of this race throughout the great insular world does not compel one to advance the hypothesis" that already in very remote antiquity navigation among these peoples had reached considerable development. Whoever believes in it can explain the differences between Malays and Polynesians, besides the diversity in natural environment, the greater promotion on one hand that the islands of the South Sea received from Asiatic

379

countries located northward (China, Japan) , on the other the influence of the continuous traffic between the islands of Malaysia with Hindostan and Indochina. Above all this opinion would lead to the following conclusion that the Melanesians ought to be considered the most active inhabitants, if not of the Malay countries, at least of Australia and the surrounding islands, not only because their territory altogether until today is isolated and they do not seem to have ever been in similar degree capable of maritime expeditions like the peoples of the Malay race, but also because the routes the latter had taken nowhere seemed to have crossed the Melanesian territory from one extreme to the other; but only on the North have they passed near it. That it is undeniable that the Malayan Polynesians have undertaken various and diverse expeditions to the territory of the Melanesian peoples not only cannot be proven but also seem to be incredible. For this reason it cannot be admitted that the latter could have come from Asia. By no means can it be believed that they could have crossed completely the territory of the Malays, who by any standard were superior, but more especially on the sea. Consequently, it only remains to compare them with these, or consider them an older population, or in any case, not immigrants who came much later. Dumond d'Urville (a Philol. 301) and Hoerenhout (II, 250) have expressed the opinion that probably the Polynesians did not receive their population from the west of the land of the Malays, but on the contrary the Malays from the land of the Polynesians. They support this presumption despite Humboldt who reject.s such conclusion based on his data that Polynesian languages in comparison with those of the Malays have preserved the most primitive forms , and on the circumstance that the Polynesians also exhibit in their physical constitution more robust, more beautiful and more primitive forms. Setting aside the

380

aforementioned doubt with regard to what has been related concerning that linguistic relation, both adduced reasons could very well be explained by the great isolation the Polynesians maintained during a long period in their scattered islands, thanks to which they could preserve "their primitive qualities for a longer time than the Malays who, as it is known, had come into varied and multiple contact since ancient times among themselves as well as with foreign peoples, and they had assimilated a greater number of foreign elements. I A second reason that proves the emigration from the West toward the East is the maritime currents that have that direction in these regions, ten degrees to the north and south of the equator and in the east winds that blow during ten months. In the meantime S. Perouse had already noted tha in the Pacific zone, which is between 6 0 and 7 0 N. and as many degrees E. distant from the equator, the winds from the west are so common as those of the east. Captain Fitzroy later found this observation contradicted, and Beechey added other such observations, as the one that the west wind extended from time to time over all the islands east of Polynesia. Later we shall have to give an account of a number of examples of these involuntary voyages in Polynesia, which will demonstrate (which has also been confirmed by experts) that the winds are so inconstant in these regions that they render difficult in the same way the voyage toward an entirely opposite direction. If it is further added that the southwest wind reaches until the north of the equator to 14.5 0 longitude E. Greenwich and until the Mariana Islands, and that the northwest wind reaches until the south of the equator until New Guinea west of which the most common are the west winds (Hersburgh, East India Directory), then it will be conceded that in this case the expeditions and emigrations from the Indian archipelago until Polynesia in no way

381 presented insuperable obstacles to peoples accustomed to navigation (Cf. Humbron, Zool. 1326 in d'Urville 6). Similar opinions have also been expressed by Beness (a II, 106), who moreover calls attention to no less important causes to explain the question under discussion that also the fauna and flora of Polynesia resemble closer those of Asia and he considers this as their place of origin. And indeed it seems to prove with sufficient certainty that the geographical propagation of plants had been from Asia to Polynesia and not viceversa. Finally, it is asserted that there was an immigration of Polynesians into the islands of the Indian archipelago, probably for the fact that in East Melanesia, that is, in Nitendi, New Hebrides, and the Solomon Islands, mixture of the black race and Polynesian has been proven more definitively than in the west, as similar cases, it is assured, have been found also, though in a minor degree, in New Zealand and New uinea. However, inasmuch as the coming of the Polynesians from the west in ancient times does not exclude a later or intimate communication with the Melanesians of the east, no great significance in the sense claimed can be given to that cause. The presumption of d'Urville (a II, 626) that the languaยงes of the Alfuros in Celebes, of the Dyaks, Battaks, and Lampong have greater resemblance to that of the Polynesians than to that of the Malays is until now a plain supposition which, though it could be proved, would yield very different deductions. Well now, if the countries of the Malays is considered the most probable homeland of the Polynesians, it will be found that we have no indication whatever about the period when they might have left it. Wi~h regard to this matter only the study of languages can furnish a solution. Wilhelm von Humboldt (II, 228) has pointed out with respect to this that it has not yet been investigated sufficiently the quantity of the mixture of Sanskrit words and

382 Malay languages, but it is beyond doubt that these contain such words and that some of these words were common in various languages, and others, on the other hand, are found only in Malay (in the strict sense of the word) that therefore they were introduced in a period relatively posterior, aft~r the subdivision of the trunk. Much later Bopp. (Abhh. der Preuss. Akad. 1840) has gone further to the point of asserting that the same Polynesian languages might be a branch of the Sanskrit, but this conjecture does not seem to have met the approval of other philologists, rather Buschmann has found a capital difference between the Malay and Polynesian languages in the complete lack of Sanskrit terms in the latter, while such terms are evident even in the language of the Tagalogs and the Madagascans, though already in rather small quantity. Presupposing the correctness of this fact, from it is deduced the conclusion that the Polynesian branch separated from the common trunk at a time when Sanskrit did not yet have any influence on it, that is to say,-as it will be proven later-before the beginning of the Christian Era. However, it must not be forgotten that this supposition is still open to objection that the breaking off might have taken place also only in much later times, if for example, the influence of Sanskrit was felt only perhaps on a po:ttion of the land of the Malays, and the later emigration of the Polynesians came precisely from the islands of the Indian archipelago that had felt little or no Sanskrit influence. '"'.'

APPENDICES

) 38~

APPENDIX A

AN ADDRESS TO THE SPANISH NATION *

The Philippines, agomzmg in her decadence, is on the verge of complete ruin, because the government, instead of attempting to solve her problems, drags itself behind the friars, laying aside every humane consideration, and converts these Islands into an inexhaustible lode for their exploitation. The friars are the permanent calamity in the Archipelago. The Philippine towns are constantly clamoring against them before the governments at Madrid and Manila. Their complaints are never heeded; on the contrary, their moans, their sighs, are smothered by terrible threats; their demand for justice is reviled; their sane desire to progress is encouraged by cruel persecutions. Bilibid, l\1:arianas, Bagumbayan 1 are the ergastula, the hell, to which the government condemns the Filipino who â&#x20AC;˘ According to Mariano Ponce: "An Address to the Spanish Nation" was written by Rizal while at Hong Kong in 1891 and was printed in the form of a handbill on 11 November 1891. The names appended to the Manifesto: Magellan who claimed our Archipelago for the Spanish crown (1521); Ruy Lopez de Villalobos who gave the name FILIPINAS to the Bisayan Islands and later applied to the entire Archipelago (1543); Miguel LOpez de Legazpi, first governor general of the Philippines (1571); Simon de Anda y Salazar, who defended this Spanish colony against the British (1762-1764); and Fernando Manuel de Bustillo y Bustamante, an upright governor general who wanted to give this Spanish colony a clean government and consequently met a tragic end, together with his son, at the hands of a mob led by friars on 11 October 1719. This is a strong plea for the expulsion of the friars from the Philippines. 1 Bilibid was the prison at Manila; Mariana Islands, to which the Spanish government exiled Filipino political prisoners; Bagumbayan, the open field just outside the walled city of Manila, or Intramuros, where condemned Filipino political prisoners were executed. OOS483-2G

385

386 dares to ask for justice against the friars-the powerful God Pluto of the Philippine Islands! Bearing in mind these elements of torture, without protection, without personal security, without a free press to have recourse to, deprived of every legal means to expose the iniquities of the friars and of the government, the people resort to seemingly strange measures in order to unmask them before public conscience to which they always bring their case because it is the only one that administers true justice, being the court of supreme impartiality. The series of iniquities perpetrated by friars and administrations that on another occasion were narrated in different handbills, pamphlets, and in history will not be repeated here; only the recent perversities which they have committed within the last year and which they are committing in the present time will be mentioned. Weyler, taking advantage of the last moments of his administration, is making large despoliations, among which the public voice cites his shameful demands from the Manila-Dagupan Railroad Company (foreign certainly 2) to see if it would loosen, as a condition for its inauguration. The correspondent of The Hong Kong Telegraph in reporting its inauguration, without explaining these things that are being said, mentions the great obstacles that Weyler's administration has created and the prolix excuses it has given to render difficult and delay the opening to the public service of this railroad. The Mindanao campaign is a subterfuge to prolong his term of office, another pretext to juggle something from the appropriation, because there, neither are there Moros who resist, nor outrages to the flag to avenge. To this â&#x20AC;˘ Manila Railway Company, Limited, an English company, obtained the concession to build a railway from Manila to Dagupan by royal order of 24th March 1884. The construction of the railway lasted from 31st July 1887 to 24th November 1892.

387

military expedition of Weyler can be applied that adage: "Even hares can insult a dead lion." In the meantime the Marchioness of Tenerife, the Most Excellent Madame Governor General of the Islands,3 a devotee of the friars, a star extortioner of the first magnitude, from Malinta 4 or Malacaiiang, invents deviltries to squeeze the pockets of the Chinese and Filipinos, now collecting taxes on lotteries through her husband's office, now granting permission for" the lease of all kinds of gambling, and on diverse occasions trains for little boys to ask for Christmas presents of money from the Chinese, from store to store, from shop to shop, to obtain gifts from the gobernadorcillos on days when they are received at the palace and they transact official business. Now she appropriates the rich curtains of Malacaiiang Palace to make them into her gowns, now she establishes agencies to replace employees, to obtain favors, graces, and official credentials from her equally cunning husband. The civil guards commit great outrages at the instigation of the friars to remove from their midst those who obstruct them. Bulakan, Negros Island, La Laguna, and Pampanga are eloquent testimony of their excesses. The Madrid government, with Fabie as minister of colonies blindly believing in the tooted predominance of the friars in the Islands, does nothing, executes nothing, without the previous advice of the procurators of the religious corporations. A reactionary he ignores the liberal reforms of Becerra, and as the limit of ill-luck, as the height of ignorance of the politico-econo"mic condition of the country, he decrees in an unlucky hour the tariff reform charging a 3 In accordance with Spanish custom, the wife of a public official enjoys the honor of being addressed with the feminine form of her husband's title. â&#x20AC;˘ Hacienda de Malinta (Malinta Estate) was within the jurisdiction of Tambobong, now Malabon.

388 tax on inter-island shipping, a fatal decree for the Philippines, as it has paralyzed her business, has deprived her of her foreign trade, which is her life, that for a long time has been the lever of her commercial progress. The ruinous condition of this province in Oceania is due to the blunders of both governments-insular and metropolitan-for following for their convenience the ideas of the friars. There is no doubt that the government protects the friars and the friars help the government, and both, in loathsome combination, neatly exploit the country. The diocesans, instead of ruling and administering their flock, spend their time conspiring against the interests of the Archipelago. Hevia Campomanes, from his Vigan see, hammers his brains in lucubration to raise a rumpus, a new conflict similar to the Binondo one long ago, in his desire to be promoted to archbishop. The archbishop, Bernardino Nozaleda, following the example of his predecessor Payo, of unhappy memory, holds continuous meetings with his brothers, the friars. He has no time to administer the sacrament of confirmation to children, but he has more than enough time to make visits. Malinta, Imus, and Navotas are their excursion places. There they hold their conventicles among the Recollects, Franciscans, Augustinians, and Dominicans. They form a club wherein they plot their conspiracies against the progress of the Philippines, against the Filipinos. What will come out, what will result, from those very secret conferences? Will they inaugurate a new era of persecutions in the Philippines? Note particularly: Malinta is the favorite place of Weyler and his wife from which have come forth plots of rebellion of salaried bandits, suggested by the friars, in order to perturb public order-plans luckily abortive.

389 N ozaleda brings something tremendous in his hands, his comings and goings, his restlessness, betraying it. He has the looks of becoming a Mazarin or Machiavelli. The friar-curates, prostituting widows, married women, and young women in the towns, trilling against the masons, preaching from the pulpit against progress, against the educated sons of the country, clamor for blood and revile the Mother Country by saying: "Catholics first before Spaniards." Complying with the instructions of their bishops, of their priors, and provincials, they keep the people in continuous anguish. The voice of the people points to them as the abettors of the fires that frequently occur in Manila and the towns. Making use of despicable and mercenary hands, they sow panics, terror, destroying homes and community life. They even become arsonists in the pursuit of their nefarious aims! It is truly surprising how very easy it is for them to capture a watch thief or a wretched man who steals a piece of bread. The Veteran Civil Guard has a watchful eye on these; but on the other hand, the wretched incendiary is never caught: The wick, the corpus delicti is almost always found in the scene of the crime, but the despicable criminal is not, and it is because a powerful protector shelters him. Finally, they indulge in all kinds of vices and commit infamies, so much so that an English newspaper in reviewing the book, The Philippine Islands, by J. Foreman, was moved to say: "Rapacious orders under whose baneful influence that distressful Colony is a hotbed of vice and venality." It is a shame for the Spanish government that foreigners should be the ones to notice the disorder and evils in their colonies and to regret so much negligence.

390 The Philippines is going backward in quest of nothing. All resorts, all methods of denunciation, petition, demand for justice before the administration and courts of law against the excesses of the religious orders being exhausted and instead of being rewarded with justice, were met with imprisonment, persecutions, and banishment; the expulsion of the friars having been asked since the time of Simon de Anda y Salazar, of imperishable memory, until our courageous goberriadorcillos of Tondo, Binondo, Santa Cruz, and nearby towns, seconded by the multitudes in public manifestation, whose patriotic efforts were rewarded with imprisonment and ostracism; their uselessness being exposed by public opinion whose clamors are unheeded and unheard: Of the Nation, of Spain, that during a long time has been equally a victim of the predominance of these very same religious communities, whose very powerful influence has been the cause of gr eat havocs-now causing the loss of the Americas, now provoking and stirring up the horrors of the two long civil wars that the nation has suffered; of Spain who experienced the terrible shakings of the barbarous Inquisition conceived by these same friars , but who at the end was able to overthrow through her virile energy that oppressive yoke, sanguinary and fanatical; of Spain who, overcoming her generous and merciful sentiments, her gaze fixed on the welfare of her children, decapitated them in the year '35 (1835) in the streets of Barcelona and burned their convents, who, in the glorious revolution of '68 (1868) expelled them from her territories and confiscated their properties, IT IS ASKED AND IT IS ENTREATED that she expel likewise those same religious orders from Philippine territory for being troublesome, for being unpatriotic. Otherwise, the Filipino people, their calmness lost and their centuries-old patience .exhausted, imitating the glorious past of their Mother Spain, will take justice into their own hands.

391 To ameliorate their distressful condition, if Spain does not heed them, on the day least expected, they will proclaim the Lynch Law 6 in Philippine towns and the heads of the friars will be hung on the windows of their convents, of their parishes, to become the object of jeers, of mockery of the people. In summary: The Philippines, in the midst of her pitiful plight and desolation, directs her last, her pained gaze to the Nation, to Spain, because, convinced of the iniquities of the friars and of their rule, she will let fall implacable on both the weight of her sovereign justice. God save the Mother Country!

God save the Philippines!

HERN ANDO DE MAGALLANES

Ruy

LOPEZ DE VILLALOBOS MIGUEL LOPEZ DE LEGAZPI

SIMON DE ANDA Y SA: AZAR

FERNANDO DE BUSTILLO Y BUSTAMANTE

5 A practice employed in Virginia, U.S.A., using extralegal methods of trial and punishment. Now it is the practice of private persons of inflicting punishment for crimes or offenses without due process of law.

.,.','

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APPENDIX B

SOME NOTES ON BOHOL AND GUAM

BOHOL

We asked the Indios whom we brought from Cabalian where the cinnamon island could be and they pointed towards the S.W. from here, from Masagua, and which was said to be Cameguen. At this port (in Bohol) there are many fishponds built in the sea, the small ones being one or two fathoms , made of split bamboo and driven into the bottom. Once inside, the fish cannot get out except through a narrow tip where there is a large trap and in trying to get out the fish has to enter the trap. When we entered this town we found in it an image of the infant Jesus. It was found by .a sailor named Aternico. It was in a poor hut and was covered with a white gauze in his little box, with a tiny cap on, and the peak of his nose is slightly gone and the face somewhat flayed. The friars took it and carried it in a procession on a feast day from the house where it was found until the church which they had built. . . . . they took more than 20 Indios, men and women. Among the women was the niece of Tupas, daughter of his brother. The soldiers found here gold and cloth. Brought to the general he freed the nurse of the girl, who was an old India, and sent her to Tupas to tell him that he had h!s niece and he would not do her 'any harm, that he may send for her any time he wishes, and the same with the other people he has taken. After the nurse has reached Tupas â&#x20AC;˘ Photostat copy used. Bureau of Public Libraries.

392

393 and delivered the message, the brother of Tupas came to fetch his daughter and entered the encampment with six other Indios. GUAM

The Patax was called San Lucas with a tonnage of 40 tons. The pilot was Lope 1vlartin, a resident of Ayamonte. Ship master Nicolao Griego. Boatswain Moreto . . . . they brought palm wine and rice tamal . . . Their weapons are blowguns and arrows. With the blowguns they hurled very light, small, and slender darts. At the tip of the blowgun is a long iron spear with which they hit the enemy when their darts were all used up. They carried spear, shields, and two small pieces of ordnance. In their junk they had gold, bundles of linen, colored blankets, copper bells in their own fashion, porcelain ware, cuirasiers, copper, iron, lead, s}altPetre, and many other things for barter. THE LANGUAGE OF GUAM

Amigo-Chamor = good give me rna uri bakimaki = delectable mani = take jo = oil rana = rice juay = land tana = dry coconut sir micha churu = fresh coconut azenban = sweet potato nica = small puga = thirst ragua = painted paper triacabo-tali = eyes

mimi = deep atripe leg achumpa = crab mana = iron yrizo = jug 0 = squash coca = ship botus = nail ruro salt azibi = sugarcane tugotipor = fish bran no eri = salted fish achulu this achi = cigar case

394 macha = stone tapia = ears penucha = paper afui puri = teeth nifi-= mat guaj al = hair chuzo = ginger asinor = hands catecha = she reben = feet ngmicha = wicker basket pian = chin or beard segu = timber or wood tagayaya = green., banana regue = water ami = tarnal enft = banana jeta = acorn

agu = pitcher burgay = come here hembean = star vitan = moon uran = sun ataon = to eat mana = big, laughter acha = 1 gua = 2 tero = 3 farfur = 4 nimi = 5 guanan = 6 pintin = 7 gua=8 agua = 9 manete ' 10

THE LASH OF LA DEFENSA •

La Defensa sol-fas badly, very badly, in defending the article liThe Philippines is Ruined" in El Er:o Franciscano. Its reply to our article, besides being candid, shows plainly that it does not drink in good fountains in the matter of the civilizing influen~e of the religious orders on the Filipino people. The four vulgarities, as it says, that we have confined in three columns of close type, are four monumental truths which we have permitted ourself to expound to the public conscience so that here 1 they may know who are the friars or missionaries in the Philippines, so that public opinion may no longer remain deceived. In our article there are no prodigies of imagination; all that it contains is a aint picture of the great evils that the monastic orders are doing to that oceanic people and consequently to Spain. We assert things that we do not prove? Well, if what we have stated in our article is not enough for La Defensa, we shall furnish it other new proofs to confirm our assertion. See them here: The treacherous seizure, the painful martyrdom of the illustrious go":ernor general of the Islands, Salcedo, 2 who died on the high seas, taken to Mexico in chains; and the • Published in La Solidaridad, Vol. I. 24-25. 15 March 1889. Spain. • Diego de Salcedo, governor general from 1663 to 1668. His administration caused discontent among certain elements. Following a premeditated plan, on 9 October 1668, between 1: 00 and 2: 00 in the morning, the commissary of the court of the Inquisition, Fr. Jose Patemina, accompanied by various persons, entered the palace of the governor, and seized him, putting a pair of irons on him and in his night dress, as they found him sleeping, they put him in a hammock, taking him as prisoner to the convent of St. Francis. From. there they took him to the house of Captain Diego de Palencia and thence to the convent of St. Augustine where he was kept 1

395

396 illustrious Bustamante !l and his son-these are incontestable arguments that confirm the not very clean history of the monastic orders in the Philippines. As its Achilles argument La Defensa recommends to us the perusal of Mr. Patricio de la Escosura's Memoria sobre Filipinas. ~ In passing, we permit ourself to say to La Defensa that Don Patricio has never been governor of our oceanic possessions but that he went to the Islands as royal commissary before the revolution, in the time of Isabella II. Having stated this, we have the honor to inform La Defensa that we know that Memoria, and we consider it of little authority on this particular point, not because it is badly written-a work of no less than an illustrious academician that he was-but because it was written under the alluring impressions of a false illusion. Escosura did not know the Philippine Islands, because as royal commissary, in his visits to the towns, the Islands appeared to him dazzling, amidst trappings and feasts, and the friars, like well-behaved boys of the kind, as it is commonly said, who have never broken a dish. But see them in their ordinary life and in their interference in politico-administrative matters: How much wretchedness! How much wickedness! In reciprocity, we permit ourself to recommend to La Defensa the perusal of documents and reports on the religious orders sent forth by the immortal Simon de Anda y Salazar, the no less illustrious Hortado de Corcuera, and ·incomunicado in irons and chained to the wall. Governor Salcedo was sent to Mexico, and off the American coast he died on 24 October 1670. The court of the Inquisition of Mexico years later declared his imprisonment unjust and ordered the return to his heirs of all his confiscated property. Manuel Artigas y Cuerva, Historia de Filipinas, Manila, 1916, pp. 129-130. • He was Fernando Manuel de Bustillo y Bustamante, governor general from 1717 to 1719. In his zeal to clean the administration he aroused the hatr€d of the friars and government officials. On 11 October 1719 an armed mob of friars and their partisans rushed to his palace and murdered him and his son who had come to his· aid. 'Memoria sobre Filipinl1B 11 Jo16, written in 1863 and 1864. Second edition, Madrid, 1882; third edition, Madrid, 1883.

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the Pastoral Letters and other works of the Archbishop of Manila, Basilio Sancho de Santa Justa y Rufina; in those documents La Defensa will find a complete study on the history of the iniquities committed by the religious orders in the towns of the Philippines. See then that neither all the captains general nor archbishops intone praises to the religious orders in the Philippines, as it is a~serted, nor do we believe that Terrero or Quiroga Ballesteros is on the side of La Defensa.. Lastly, we are going to take into consideration what is said, that our friars in those latitudes have erased the frontiers and have destroyed all racial antagonisms. We understand the contrary of what the Catholic weekly of Villanueva y Geltru 5 asserts. The religious orders keep alive more than ever racial divisions; it counts a great deal in their egoistic purposes to foment this antagonism; the scandalous religious dispute in the rich district of Binondo between Chinese, Indios, and Chinese mestizos attests it. As to the rest we don't wish to answer the errors in syntax that La Defensa points out to us, because it is not our purpose to discuss grammatical points but to see the manner of remedying so many evils as monasticism produces in the Philippines. In view of these considerations and others that we omit for the present, is it possible to affirm that hatred of the friars will ruin those islands? This is the question. 5 Villanueva y Geltru. is the name of a small town in Cataluiia where La Defensa, a Catholic weekly, was published. In this town was the Biblioteca-Museo Balaguer, established by its distinguished citizen, the former minister of colonies and Catalan poet, Victor Balaguer. He built it with his own money and placed in it his library of some 30,000 volumes, among which were works by Filipinos, and his art collection including Juan Luna's La Mestiza, and others by Miguel Zaragoza, Pio G. Lakandola, and Regino Garcia. The museum contained numerous objects of importance to the study of Philippine culture.

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.. E R I TAG E Political and historical writings I Jose Rizal