ons inhabita
CHINA OV
D TRADE REPORT
ERY
the
portant olues, and numerous arrests
ide.
Strait Times had Mr Mencarini, a has just arrived in ence of about eighteen During that period, cial study of the state to impart to the inter. ormation, not only as ion and the strength the present posi- the campaign, and the panish military comman- 15 employed on the Indoor ese Maritime Customs. He | enjoying two years' leave of And the rebellion is mostly confined to this in touring through the Malay province P-Yes. The rebels attacked a few lands of the Malay Archipelago, places in the provinces of Batangas and Laguna, ranon possessions, in order to make but they have been driven back into Cavite, uainted with the different political At Calamba they were repulsed by General ial systems as adopted by the Aguirre and forced to retreat from Laguna, olonial Governments. The know-and General Jaramillo forced them from Ba hus acquires he intends placing at tangas in the celebrated battle of Nasughi, in of the Spanish Government. Mr.which three hundred insurgents were killed. arini is not altogether a stranger to Sin- He was here nineteen years ago as a in the Christian Brothers' School, his ving been at the time, and for eleven all, Spanish Consul in Singapore, going to Hongkong. Mr. Menca
in-law is chief of the personnel
Admiralty |||
Three or four days after the seizure of the documents, continued Mr. Mencarini, the rebels attacked the Guardia Civil post at Calocan, a suburb of Manila. Two days later, Manila was declared in a state of siege, and very soon whole of the province of Cavite was ablaze, of twenty-one towns and villages in this pro- vince, nineteen were and still are in the posses- sion of the insurgents...
What is the area of Cavite P-It is about three hundred square miles, and very moun tainous.
1 in Manila, Mr. Mencarini com- in 1895, on a tour through the I stayed till the end of November
What was the state of affairs when you Everything seemed very quiet. hout the provinces there seemed to be of discontent. The outbreak, in fact, urprise to everybody. Nobody had any that there was such thing fermenting. like to say at the outset that, through- rebellion, there has not been found a or half-caste Spaniard engaged.
atives and Chinese half-castes. lion broke out in August last P- the 19th. It was discovered in this way: employed at the printing office aro de Manila newspaper suddenly payments to his mistress by one The woman, with native jealousy, to be unfaithful, and quarrelled thereupon confessed that the bscribed to masonic lodges, who a conspiracy to overthrow murder all the Spaniards, and ives. The woman pledged once to Father Gil, of Tondo, of Manila, and reveal the The man went. Father Gil heard the and communicated what he had heard to the ment.” mm steps were taken. The was searched, and a lamations and rules ession of the workmen. ely no knowledge these incriminating docu-
or s moment
What is now being done ?-General Aguirre is about to march on Indan, the headquarters of the rebels in the central province, and Ge- neral Jaramillo upon Silang. The object is to take these two places, and to force the insur- gents seawards. The great thing is to cut off the rebels' retreat to the mountain fastnesses and the jungle, and to hem them in between the Spanish army, whose headquarters are at Cavite, and the two divisions in their rear.
|
J
You are, of course, aware that there has been some comment on what has appeared to be the inactivity of the Spanish military authorities? Yes, General Blanco, the officer who has just been recalled, has been blamed for not taking active steps somewhat sooner, but he was really not in a position to do so. He found himself at first with only about fifteen hundred Spanish troops, and he was unable to rely on the native troops. In addition to that, the rainy season only just being concluded, the roads were impracticable, and it was impossible to carry on auy military operations. The Spanish Government certainly did not approve of General Blanco's conduct, and he was also the victim, to some extent, of public sentiment at home. Personally, I do not think that General Blanco could have done better than he did.
who owe allk of them have back withe
How are the rebels situated for arms and ammunition -Very badly. From what I have been able to gather from Chinese prisoners who have escaped, they only seem to have about seven hundred firearme among the whole of them. About three hundred of these they have taken from the civil guard stations, and the remainder they have taken from the convents, and from the planters on the sugar and coffee estates. The firearms from the convents are of a very ancient pattern, and were used by the friars on the occasions of saints' days and similar occasions. The story that the rebels are well armed is perfectly untrue. Among all the rifles captured not one of them has been a Manser. Recently, the rebels have resorted to numerous expedients to is the
make up their deficiencies. They have, for instance, appropriated the bells of the churches, abs in the eal of mig- and have made a primitive sort of cannon out unfortunate of them Their ammunition they also took were well supplied, very short by this
ators from the guard
order to but they must
Arst time.
The insurgents do any great preparat The whole thing was
sed at the disc ent were at
of western
discontent
Do you think
they
longer ?—I believe it will b end of January The rebel are lot of people
have no orga to carry on What the natives Spanish Gover
ment, their.. the religious orders. But ignorant, and cannot disting two. Up till now the friars control of the Philippines. Lately lodges have declared against them, has been a general feeling of anta among the people towards them.
much
the
How do you account for this ? It is pally due, I think, to the question and to the wealth of the friars. discovered the Philippines, the amongst themselves the best por land. This land still belongs to natives have to pay canon, a fee the for the land they occupy or best situated and most fertile of the land held by the orders. The two most orders are the Dominican and the A and the three other orders in the the Franciscans, the Recoletos, and the In some cases they pay their
rent in There are no natives among the orders. are very few secular priests in the Philippines and among these are a few natives who have been involved.
here
Certainly I should say, continued Mr. Men- carini, that the friars have done nothing but good to the kind of men who are now the leaders of the rebellion. They have educated law, in medioine, and in European knowledge generally. But, whatever may be the grievan of the natives, no patriotic Spaniard with them. The friars have done an imı amount of good; they are Spaniards, are entitled to all the protection that give them. Until lately, the only foreigner that was to be in the interior and
he was
mattei
in every civil and religious, the natives. Lately however, the have lost much of their old owing to the new and discontented that were being spread abroad are reputed to be enormously has no doubt aroused the envy of the leaders.
Has the rebellion resulted damage to property paratively speaking Wha tivated land in the province. devoted to rice, and that was
જામકાની before the rebellion assumed seri There 18 VOLV
ittle ou the island. På
foulty
not appear to have made : I believe,
for the struggle
the premature.. They
cognises
of the plo
The Span
and cupidity.
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