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MANILA
1345
same river. The Escolta, the main business street, traverses this suburb, and in it most of the American and European stores and bazaars are to be found. The Rosario, another broad thoroughfare in Binondo, is occupied chiefly by Chinese shops, and is a busy quarter. San Miguel, Ermita and Malate are the aristocratic suburbs, being the seat of the residences of the wealthy merchants and other residents. Around the walls and the edge of the bay is a fashionable drive lined with almond trees, where the well-to-do inhabitants walk, drive, and meet their friends. The streets present the greatest animation in the evening when the government offices, business houses and cigar factories are closed and the autoinobiles and carriages of the upper classes are out for the customary promenade. There are several ancient churches which are worthy of notice. The Cathedral, founded originally in 1578, has been several times destroyed by earthquakes, and did not escape in 1863. It has been since rebuilt, but again sustained considerable damage in 1880, when the tower was so much shattered that it had to be pulled down. There are several theatres, but none worthy of the place. The opera is well supported in Manila. There are many statues and monuments erected in Manila. A statue of Charles IV. stands in the centre of the Palacio Square, one of Isabella II. in the Plaza of Isabella II., Malate, one to Legaspi and Urdañeta the discoverers of Manila and one to Jose Rizal, Filipino hero and martyr, on the Luneta, and one to Magallanes (Magellan) the discoverer of the Islands, on Plaza de Magallanes. The Observatory, admirably managed by the Jesuit Fathers, is well worthy of a visit. There is a good English Club and several American Clubs. Of the hotels the Manila Hotel is the principal, and ranks among the best in the Orient. The city and its suburbs contain a population of 300,000 and are the seat of a con- siderable and yearly increasing commerce. The principal articles of export are hemp, sugar, tobacco, cigars, coffee, and indigo, while of the imports cotton goods form the chief item. Modern piers and a breakwater facilitate shipping. The river presents a scene of great aniniation, being crowded with native craft interspersed with vessels of foreign build. The hot season commences in March and continues until July. The rains commence in August and continue to December, but most of the streets are so well constructed that they withstand even the most prolonged rainy seasons.
The max- imum annual rainfall recorded is 114 inches and the minimum 84 inches. The inaximum of the thermometer is about 92; a cool sea breeze sets in at night, reducing the heat to an endurable temperature for sleeping. Improvements effected in the sanitation of the city since the American occupation have had the satisfactory result of reducing the death rate from 61 per mille in 1902 to about 29 per mille for recent years. The population numbers 272,454 made up as follows: Americans, 5,474; Filipinos 236,940; Spaniards 4,406; other Europeans, 1506; Chinese, 16,657; all others, 1960; Filipino transients in Manila, 5,511.
In 1880 special dues were imposed on the trade of the port for the construction of a new harbour, namely, 2 per cent. on imports, 1 per cent. on exports, tonnage dues and a tax on fishing boats. Up to the time of the American occupation a large sum had been collected, but comparatively little progress had been made with the works. In 1900 a sum of one million gold dollars was voted for the work.
Electric Tramways run in the principal streets of the city, and a railway to Dagupan was opened to traffic throughout its entire length, 123 miles, on the 23rd November, 1892. The same company has also opened and is now working several branch lines. Tenders for the construction of other lines have been invited by the U.S. Government. There is also an electric railroad to Malabon; and electric lights have been placed in the public squares and walks, in business houses, and in the principal streets. Under American control, the roads and the sanitation of the city have been vastly improved. There are a marine arsenal, a patent slip at Cavite, on the opposite side of the Bay, and a marine railway on the Manila side.
The city and its suburbs receive their drinking water by pipes leading from the municipal reservoir at Montalban in the mountains about 15 miles N. E. of Manila. The water is carried to fountains, distributed in convenient places through the streets, and laid on to almost every house, both domestic and business. The telephone system extends throughout the city and out as far as Malabon. Manila possesses many educational and charitable institutions, among others the Government University of the Philippines, in which are Colleges of Liberal Arts, Medicine and Surgery, Engineering, Agriculture, Veterinary Science and Law. The Royal and Pontifical University of St. Thomas is managed and maintained by the Dominican Fathers. In this there are schools of theology and church law, jurisprudence, notarial law, medicine, and pharmacy. The College of St. Thomas, which belongs to the Univer- sity, maintains forty free scholarships for Spanish boys, who may pursue both primary
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