:
21
Telegraphic communications have also been sent to
His Majesty's Vice Consul at Iloilo and His Majesty's
Consul General at Manila asking whether there is any
internal consumption of raw sugar and, if so, for what purposes and to what extent. The former replies in the negative, the latter in the affirmative adding that it is impossible to estimate, but that 6,000 tons are con- sumed by the natives only in confectionery and coffee. The consumption of sugar in the Philippines by the European population must be quite insignificant compared with export. In 1900 the European population numbered 70,000 (including over 62,000 for the Army of occupation) Allowing even the high American rate for consumption
68 lbs per head, this could only account for about
2000 tons.
The consumption by the 70,000 Chinese and Japanese would probably not exceed one-tenth of the above figure.
Such a quantity as here suggested amounts to an altogether too small proportion of the output as indi-
cated by the figures already given for exports to enable a bounty to be derived from the high surtax even if any combination of producers were in existence who could get the most cut of such an advantage. There is no evidence that the price of sugar for native consump→ tions any higher than the price for exportation, and in
bounty it would be order to prove the existence of a
necessary to adauce such evidence.
On the other hand
the following extract from the "Monthly Summary of the Commerce of the Philippines" for October, 1903, suggests. that the price is small and in many instances unramun-
erative.
"The
3
Treas
War
Fisc.