Directory_and_Chronicle_1889 — Page 608

THE PHILIPPINES.

The Philippines are a rich group of islands, situate between lat. 5 and 22 N., and long. 123 and 133 E., and form a Spanish colony. The islands are over five hundred in number and contain an area of 52,617 English square miles, with a population, in 1876, of 6,173,632 souls. At the end of 1883 the population, including the army and navy, was estimated at 7,636,632. The principal islands are divided into twenty- seven provinces, thirteen of which are on the Isle of Luzon, four on the Isle of Negros, three on Panay, and three on the Isle of Mindanao. The islands were formally annexed to the Crown of Spain in 1565.

The early history of the Philippines is a record of continual trouble. Conflicts between the civil and ecclesiastical authorities led to internal contentions, while both Portugal and the Netherlands coveted th se rich possessions and harassed the Spaniards. Attacks were also made at different points by powerful Chinese piratical fleets. In 1762 the capital was taken by the English, but was restored to Spain two years afterwards for a ransom of £1,000,000. The ransom, however, has never been exacted.

After the discovery of the islands ecclesiastics flocked to them in large numbers, and, undisturbed by the attacks on Spanish authority, the work of converting the natives was carried on with great vigour. The clergy at the present time number 1,962, and most of the natives brought under subjection profess the Roman Catholic religion. In the Philippines there has been little of that cruelty to the aboriginal population which so often characterises the process of colonization, and the natives are in general contented and well conducted, the priests exercising the almost unbounded influence they possess with great effect in the preservation of order. In the inaccessible mountainous parts of the islands there are still tribes of unsubdued savages, but their number is comparatively small and the authority of the Govern- ment is being rapidly extended over them. In the last census returns the number of natives not subject to the civil government and paying no tribute is given as 602,853, while the number of natives paying tribute is returned as 5,501,356. There is a considerable number of mestizos or half-castes, some of whom are the children of Spanish fathers by native mothers and some the children of Chinese fathers.

The public revenue is about $12,000,000, of which the larger part is raised from direct taxes, Customs, monopo ies, and lotteries. In addition to the ordinary Cus- toms dues special dues are imposed at Manila for the new harbour works, the figures of which are not included in the above.

t

The chief articles of produce are sugar, hemp, and tobacco. The to al export of sugar in 1887 was about 180,000 tons, of hemp 514,973 bales, of cigars 100,000 milles, and of tobacco 96,828 quintals. The foreign trade is confined to the ports of Manila, Iloilo, Cebu, and Zamboanga.

The climate of the Philippines varies little from that of other places in the same latitude. The range of the thermometer during the year is from a little over sixty degrees to about ninety. The rainy season usually lasts six months, and during this time inundations of rivers are frequent and travelling in the interior almost impossible. Long continued droughts, however. sometimes occur, when the ground becomes parched and the crops are utterly destroyed. Husbandry also suffers from the ravages of locusts, which will sometimes almost entirely denude a whole province of herbage. The principal part of the group comes within the range of the typhoons