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THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND.
in giving an account of the affair is reported have expressed himself in very strong terms of the conduct of the Spanish soldiers. One of his remarks was, it is said, that the thirty
natives" suffered most awful torture."
It is also reported that the natives had arranged a scheme whereby every white man in the Philippines was to be murdered, but for tunately owing to lack of organisation the scheme was not carried out,
MURDER OF FRIARS.
REPORTED DISAPPEARANCE OF THE `GOVERNOR-GENERAL.
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are afraid to take the troops into the interior before reinforcementa of eight thousand soldiers from Spain have arrived. The town and arsenal of Cavite, however, remain in posses sion of the Government forces. If the troops went into the interior now they would be de- feated, owing to the overwhelming numbers of the rebels and their present excellent organisa- tion. And a defeat would carry in its train a consequence which the Spanish authorities are trying to avert. The native soldiers would surely turn upon the Spanish soldiers and annihilate them. Already the natural instinct of the native soldiers has been significantly shown. One day a regiment of natives was paraded. They were asked if they would fight for the Spanish Government, and their ready 21st September. reply was that they would, but that they would The rebellion in the Philippines grows apace. certainly not kill one of their fellow country. News of the rising is no longer founded simply men. On another occasion a Spanish captain on vague and indefinite rumours, for we are and half a dozen native soldiers were turned now able to publish reliable information con- ont to quell a disturbance. Five of the natives cerning the commencement of hostilities and the were killed and the sixth then turned round, oritical condition the country is in at the pre-stabbed his officer to death, and joined the re- sent moment. But although we are in possession bel forces. of the mostafaportant facts we must confess that many more details could be obtained but for the easily anderstood reticence on the part of many people who prefer to maintain a stern silence on the subject. There is no room for the least doubt that the country is in a dire state of insurrection and there is every reason to fear that affairs may in a short time assume
BOMBARDMENT OF VILLAGES.
the proportions of the Cuban revolt. The natives are determined to carry on the civil war with might and main; their organisation is daily becoming more complete and effective, especially in the interior; and their numbers are rapidly increasing. As each man is sworn in on the rebel side he punctures his arm, writes his name on the arm with the oozing blood, and solemnly swears a vow of vengeance on the Spaniards. And the cause of the trouble? That does not
seem to be definitely ascertained yet. On the one hand we hear that the imposition of an increased poll tax on the natives is the primary cause of the insurrection, while from other sources we learn that the outbreak is a long anticipated upshot of the rottenness of the Spanish Government or else a forcible display of the bitter hatred the natives have for the priests.
The story of the original plans for striking the blow is a most startling one. For a long time the natives have been conspiring to over- power the Government and it was finally decided to make a strong attack on the 15th inst. Governor-General Blanco was to have been murdered by oue of the natives on that day, and it was arranged to suddenly swoop down upon the body of officials who attended the funeral, kill as many as possible, then ransack the town of Manila, and take entire possession of the place. It is due to a woman that this diabolical plot was discovered. In the con- fessional she disclosed the plot to the priest, who divulged the secret. The arrest and imprisonment of many natives plainly indicated that the priests were coguizant of all the arrangements, and then, towards the end of August, the fighting commenced in real earnest. From that time up to the middle of this month, the date of the latest news, there were repeated bloody conflicts between the Government forces and the natives. At first the natives were poorly armed; indeed the majority bore no weapons at all. In the vicinity of Manila the Government troops had little difficulty in dispersing the insurgents, but gradually the area of discontent considerably enlarged. The natives, who had before been inefficiently led, were after a while headed by competent officers. The organisation was improved, bolos. or long sharp knives, were distributed to the men, and their confidence in ultimately proving victorious grew greater and greater. Not a few of the men possessed firearms and at the present time it is said that eight thousand Manser rifles, have been handed to them.
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The insurrection quickly spread to the province of Cavite, and it is there that most of the fighting is being carried on at the present timeThe rebels are practically in possession of the province and it is said, and not without substantial foundation, that the Spanish officers
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The timidity of the Spanish offfeers to enter Cavite under these circumstances gave the rebel forces a splendid opportunity to gather in large numbers in the province and to get formidably armed and thoroughly organised. When all was in readiness for an attack they swooped down upon the convent at Imus, a few miles from the town of Cavite, and murdered all the friars who could not manage to escape, but how many were put to death is not known. The Government still refrained from sending troops into the province, but four Spanish men-of-war bombarded Imus and other places where the movement of rebel forces could be detected for several days and the bombardment was still going on at the date of last advices. It does not appear, however, to have done very much damage, as the shells fell short and the rebels continued to hold their positions. It is believed that the whole of the province is in the hands of the rebels, and of course each day's delay in dis- patching troops there means so much loss of power to the Spaniards and an inestimable gain of power to the rebels, as the forces of the re- bels are certain to be augmented with each suc- cess. They are said to have already slain many hundreds in the interior.
In the immediate neighbourhood of Manila, but not in Manila itself, there has been much fighting, and from all accounts the Government troops have been successful, but they have lost several of their officers, who were killed. On one occasion five hundred rebels were dispersed by fifty soldiers and several arrests were made. Further cor roboration is given of the horrible treatment the prisoners had to undergo in the "black hole." One hundred and sixty prisoners were cast into this dungeon, which is in the town of Manila, and by the following morning fifty- four of them were dead. Several prominent men are among the prisoners, and the names and occupations of those who were shot dead in the street on the 9th inst. are given in the Manila papers. Further arrests have been made, one of the men being. Francisco Roxas, who is one of the best known merchants in Manila, but it is reported that he has succeeded in escaping. His brother Pedro Roxas was lucky enough to get away by a steamer which was proceeding to Spain, and it is believed that he left the boat at Singapore.
September
We hear from one quarter i who confessed to the prie 200 bottles of poison in the Diario office, and it things could have been th ledge of the directors, whoar the insinuation is that the the instigators of the sedi
certain par their intention being to rui were to be accused of the offence. there was never a clearer case of the playing with fire. It is further pointed out that the present Governor General has bec office more than the appointed three years the previous Governor, Desponjols, only for a few months, the reason being : would not be influenced by the priests, w Governor-General Blanco submits to be turned at their will.
in
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Many private letters have been recei the colony and they all corroborate serious nature of the rebellion, thoug ferences are for the most part very the letters are, it is believed, subject to examination while in the hands of Port Office. One gentleman writes The re bellion is bad enough now, but it world have been infinitely worse if the rebels had succeeded in keeping the conspiracy secret for a longer time; but fortunately the plot was disclosed by a woman, the wife of an Indian, who told the Goorah (the priest) of Tondo all about it. There is no danger in Manila, but in Cavite the rebels are carrying all before them. The first fighting took place on Sunday Juan, Santa Ana, Mandalayan, and Pandacan: morning, 30th Angust, in Santa Mess Ban The rebels lost about a hundred that morning. Martial law was at once proclaimed and a few days ago four rebels were shot in the Luneta, and to-day (12th September) thirteen were shot in Cavite. Francisco Roxas-I guess you know him--was one of the first to be put in gaol and they say he has compromised
himself."
Another letter says Everything is very unpleasant and fighting is going on every day. Four men were shot in the Luneta on Friday. last (9th September) and I think many more will be shot. Although I think everyone. is safe in Manila I cannot help feeling.
greatly worried. I am like everybody else, very unsettled. San Masa is empty, everybody having left their houses. Pedro Boras, wont to Spain in the mail boat, but it is reported he left her at Manila. There are a lot of stories about Francisco Roxas. They say he is a pri soner with many more. The position is very serious in Cavite, and I understand that soldiers will be coming here every day from the pro- vinces."
TEL
"We understand that telegrams in code are not now allowed to be transmitted from Manila. Firms in Hongkong, have received telegrams lately, but they have not been in code form.
The following private letter, apparently by a lady and dated the first week in September, is published by the China Mail :—“I am very glad you are not here now, as the Manila which has charmed you in days gone by is now dangerous for all white folks. You cannot imagine how frightened we are, although I presume the news has reached you long ere this for the newg= papers will not fail to say something about it. The Indians, until now so mild and gentle, have revolted. I very much fear they will kill all the Spanish, and we have already had many victims of their ferocity. The province of According to a private letter Manila is per- Cavite (which I suppose you know) has risen fectly safe. We are informed, however, that en masse against us, and there is a report every possible precaution is being taken to pro- that no less than twelve thousand people have tect the town from attack and the volunteers risen in the other provinces. I have been sworn in and armed so as to be in have had a few small fights in readiness in case of emergency. The least Mandaloyan, San Juan del M thing creates a scare in the town and the re- attempts have been effectually sidents are naturally in a very excited condi-Cavite, however, up to the pres tion. Nowhere in the island, as far as can be the Spaniards
Is have not been ascertained, has a foreigner been molested, except disturbance (or revolution), for the Spaniards and Chinese. In the interior many very many soldiers; and, as th Chinese have been killed, and ever since the mostly among the wo insurrection started the Chinese have been the soldiers to manage leaving for Amoy in thousands, one steamer on looking at things all a single journey taking 500 passengers. It is befriend us, I don' not known where Governor-General Blanco is. us. In Cavite He has not been seen, in Manila for several Spaniards shelor days, but it is believed that he has shut himself several of up in his palace in the city anxiously awaiting afterwards the arrival of troops from Spain,
two ance young
were