The art of weaving, or that of crossing threads so as to produce a wearable tissue, is one of the evidences of a transition from savage towards civilized life. In cold countries the painting the body, or covering it with furs and skins, or bark of trees, is the resource of a wild people; but the necessity for dress of any sort is so little felt in tropical regions that the missionaries claim the credit of introducing the loom, and of instructing the natives in all the matters most conducive to their comforts. For their houses they taught them to make lime and brick and tiles—staircases, windows and chimneys—and better to protect themselves against rain and storms; chairs, tables and domestic utensils followed; carriages for conveyance of commodities; but, above all, the friars boast of the application, and devotion, and success of the Indians in decorating the Christian churches, building and ornamenting altars, sculpturing virgins and saints, and generally contributing to the splendours of ecclesiastical ceremonials.

The science of ship-building made great advances. To the canoes (barotos is the Indian name) scooped out of a single trunk, and used only for river navigation, succeeded well-built vessels of several hundred tons, by which a commerce along the coast and among the islands was established. At first the planks were the whole length of the vessel, but European improvements have gradually been adopted, and the ships now built in the Philippines are not distinguishable from those of the mother country. We found many on the stocks on the banks of the river Agno, and the Indian constructors were desirous of looking into all the details of H. M.’s ship Magicienne, in which the captain and officers most courteously aided them, in order to avail themselves of any improvements which our vessel exhibited. The cost of construction was reported to be about 15l. sterling per ton. The Bella Bascongada, a vessel of 760 tons, built in Pangasinan, cost 54,000 dollars, or about 11,000l. sterling.

Little has been done for the introduction of improved machinery for the manufacture of tissues, which are made of silk, cotton, abacÁ, and, above all, the exquisitely fine fabrics produced from the fibre of the pine-apple leaf, called piÑas. These are worked on the simplest looms, made of bamboos, and of a thread so fine that it is necessary to protect it, by the use of a fine gauze, from even the agitation of the wind. The Bisayan provinces, and especially the neighbourhood of Iloilo, are most distinguished for the manufacture of this beautiful tissue, which is sent to the capital for embroidery, and prices which seem fabulous are paid for the more elaborate specimens—one or two ounces of gold being frequently given for a small handkerchief. In Zebu handsome cotton rugs are made, and in Panay a variety of stuffs of sundry materials.

The Indians have the art of softening and manufacturing horn. In metals they make chains of silver and gold of great fineness, for which formerly there was a great demand in Mexico, but I believe European jewellery has supplanted the Indian craftsman.

Mats are a remarkable production of the islands. Many of them are very beautiful, of various colours, and are ornamented with gold and silver patterns. As mattresses are never used for beds, everybody sleeps on a mat, which in some cases, but not generally, is provided with a sheet and a long soft pillow, which is placed between the legs and deemed a needful appliance for comfortable repose.

Fibre-wrought hats and cigar-cases of various colours, the white, however, being the most costly and beautiful, compete with similar productions of the natives of Panama.

The tools and instruments employed by the Indians in manufacture are all of the simplest and rudest character.

The alcoholic beverage called vino de nipa is largely produced in the Philippines. It was made a monopoly as early as 1712 in the provinces near the capital, and then produced 10,000 dollars of annual revenue; the farm was abolished in 1780, and in 1814 the collection was transferred to the general administration. The juice is obtained by cutting a hole in a pulpy part of the palm, introducing a bamboo cane, and binding the tree over the receiving vessel. The sale of the nipa wine is a monopoly in the hands of the Government. The monopoly is much and reasonably complained of by the Indians. Excise duties leading to domiciliary visits, and interfering with the daily concerns of life, have been always and in all countries deemed one of the most vexatious and disagreeable forms of taxation. Man, whatever be his colour, is everywhere man, and everywhere exhibits, though in different forms, the same general dislikes and sympathies. The heavy hand of extortion and oppression does not crush the Filipinos, but a redistribution of the forms of taxation would be beneficial to the fiscal interest and satisfactory to the people.