With the American dominion came free cult. No public money is disbursed for the support of any religious creed. No restraint is placed upon the practice of any religion exercised with due regard to morality. Proselytism in public schools is declared illegal.1 The prolonged discussion of the friars' position and claims encouraged them to hope that out of the labyrinthine negotiations might emerge their restoration to the Philippine parishes. For a while, therefore, hundreds of them remained in Manila, others anxiously watched the course of events from their refuges in the neighbouring British and Portuguese colonies, and the unpopular Archbishop Bernardino Nozaleda only formally resigned the archbishopric of Manila years after he had left it. Having prudently retired from the Colony during the Rebellion, he returned to it on the American occupation, and resumed his archiepiscopal functions until the end of 1899. Preliminary negotiations in Church matters were facilitated by the fact of the Military Governor of the Islands at the time being a Roman Catholic, an American army chaplain acting as chief intermediary between the lay and ecclesiastical authorities. The common people were quite unable, at the outset, to comprehend that under American law a friar could be in their midst without a shred of civil power or jurisdiction. There were Filipinos of all classes, some in sympathy with the American cause, who were as loud in their denunciation of the proposed return of the friars as the most intransigent insurgents. They thought of them most in their lay capacity of de facto Government agents all over the Islands. It cannot be said that the parish priests originally sought to discharge civil functions; they did so, at first, only by order of their superiors, who were the de facto rulers in the capital, and afterwards by direct initiative of the lay authorities, because the Spanish Government was too poor to employ civil officials. What their functions were is explained in Chapter xii. The complaints of the people against the friars constituted the leading theme of Dr. Rizal's writings, notably his “Noli me tÁngere,” and the expulsion of the four obnoxious Religious Orders is claimed to have been one of the most important reforms verbally promised in connexion with the alleged Treaty of Biac-na-batÓ. The allegation of the prelates and other members of the regular clergy who gave evidence before the American Civil Commission in 1900, to the effect that the Katipunan Society members invaded the parishes only to murder the friars and rob the churches, should be weighed against the fact that two hundred thousand Filipinos were ready to leave glowing life for grim death to rid the country of monastic rule. The townspeople, apparently apathetic, were afraid to express their opinion of the friars until they were backed up by the physical force of the Katipunan legions. It was the conflict of material interests and the friars' censorship which created the breach between the vicar and the people. The immorality of the friars was not general and by no means the chief ground, if any, for hostility against them; the frailties of the few simply weakened the prestige of all and broke the pedestal of their moral superiority. My own investigations convinced me that the friars' incontinence was generally regarded with indifference by the people; concubinage being so common among the Filipinos themselves it did not shock them in the pastor's case. Moreover, women were proud of the paternity of their children begotten in their relationship to the friars.

When, on the American occupation, the friar question could be freely discussed, hot disputes at once ensued between the friar party and the Philippine clergy, supported by the people. In the meantime, an Apostolic Delegate, Monsignor P.L. Chapelle,2 was appointed by the Pope, in agreement with the American Government, to endeavour to adjust the friar problem. The details to be considered were manifold, but the questions which most interested the public were the return of the friars to the parishes and the settlement of their property claims. Monsignor Chapelle so vigorously espoused the cause of the friars that he appeared to be more their advocate than an independent judge in the controversy. Many friars, anxious to quit the Islands, were dissuaded from doing so by this prelate.3 He arrived in Manila on January 2, 1900, and, without having made any personal investigations in the provinces, by the 16th of April he deemed himself competent to declare that “the accusations adduced against them (the Religious Orders) are the merest pretexts of shrewd and anti-American Filipino politicians.”4 As a matter of fact, nothing anti-American, or American, had any connexion with the subject. The struggle to expel the friars from these Islands was initiated years before the Americans contemplated intervention in Philippine affairs. Open rebellion was started against the friars twenty months before the Battle of Cavite. Nozaleda and Chapelle wished to appoint friars to the provincial benefices, whilst protests against this proposal were coming from nearly every Christian quarter of the Colony. The Filipinos desired to have the whole administration of the Church in their own hands and, if possible, to see every friar leave the Archipelago. The representative Philippine clergy were Dr. Mariano Sevilla, Father Rojas, Father Changco, and Father Singson. The great champions of the national cause were the first two, who stoutly opposed Nozaleda's schemes. Fierce discussions arose between the parties; Father Sevilla and party defied Nozaleda to make the appointments he desired, and then sent a cablegram to the Pope to the following effect:—“Archbishop and Apostolic Delegate want to appoint friars to the Philippine benefices. The Philippine people strongly oppose. Schism imminent.” Father Sevilla could not be wheedled into agreeing to Nozaleda's and Chapelle's plans, so he was sent to prison for two months in the Calle de Anda, Manila, and deportation to the Island of Guam was menacingly hinted at. When the reply came from Rome, disapproving of the action of the two prelates, Father Sevilla was released from prison. Nevertheless, Nozaleda's wrath was unappeased. He then proposed that the benefices should be shared between Filipinos and friars, whilst Father Sevilla insisted on the absolute deposition of the friars. At this time there were 472 members of the four confraternities in the Islands, mostly in Manila.5 At a meeting of the Philippine clergy the expulsion of the friars was proposed and supported by a majority; but Father Sevilla vetoed the resolution, and his ruling was obeyed. Moreover, he agreed that the friars should hold some benefices in and near Manila and the ecclesiastical-educational employments in the colleges. “We,” said Father Sevilla, “are for the Church; let them continue their work of education; it is not our function.” Nozaleda then made advances towards Father Sevilla, and endeavoured to cajole him by the offer of an appointment, which he repeatedly refused. Rome, for the time being, had overruled the question of the benefices contrary to Nozaleda's wish. For the moment there was nothing further for the Philippine clergy to defend, but in their general interests Father Sevilla, their spokesman, elected to remain in an independent position until after the retirement of Monsignor Chapelle, when Father Sevilla became parish priest of Hagonoy (Bulacan).

The outcome of the controversy respecting the benefices was that the friars could be sent to those parishes where the people were willing to receive them, without danger of giving rise to public disorder. This was in accordance with President McKinley's Instructions to the Taft Commission dated April 7, 1900,6 which says: “No form of religion and no minister of religion shall be forced upon any community or upon any citizen of the Islands.”

Archbishop Nozaleda left for Spain, but did not relinquish his archbishopric until June, 1903.7 In his absence his office was administered by Father Martin Garcia AlcocÉr, the Spanish bishop of CebÚ, whilst the bishopric of CebÚ was left in charge of a popular Chinese half-caste secular priest, Father Singson,8 who subsequently became vicar of CebÚ on the appointment of an American prelate, Father Hendrichs, to the bishopric.

In the matter of the Friars' lands, it was apparently impossible to arrive at any settlement with the friars themselves. The purchase of their estates was recommended by the Insular Government, and the Congress at Washington favourably entertained that proposal. In many places the tenants refused to pay rent to the friars, who then put forward the extraordinary suggestion that the Government should send an armed force to coerce the tenants. The Government at once refused to do this, pointing out that the ordinary courts were open to them the same as to all citizens. Truly the friars found themselves in a dilemma. By the rules of their Order they could not sue in a court of law; but under the Spanish Government, which was always subservient to their will, they had been able to obtain redress by force. Under the American Government these immunities and privileges ceased.

In 1902 the Civil Governor of the Philippines, Mr. W.H. Taft, visited the United States, and on May 9 in that year he was commissioned by his Government to visit Rome on his way back to the Islands in order to negotiate the question of the friars' lands with the Holy See. The instructions issued to him by the Secretary of War contain the following paragraphs, namely9:—

One of the controlling principles of our Government is the complete separation of Church and State, with the entire freedom of each from any control or interference by the other. This principle is imperative wherever American jurisdiction extends, and no modification or shading thereof can be a subject of discussion. . . . By reason of the separation, the Religious Orders can no longer perform, in behalf of the State, the duties in relation to public instruction and public charities formerly resting upon them. . . . They find themselves the object of such hostility on the part of their tenantry against them as landlords, and on the part of the people of the parishes against them as representatives of the former Government, that they are no longer capable of serving any useful purpose for the Church. No rents can be collected from the populous communities occupying their lands, unless it be by the intervention of the civil government with armed force. Speaking generally, for several years past the friars, formerly installed over the parishes, have been unable to remain at their posts, and are collected in Manila with the vain hope of returning. They will not be voluntarily accepted again by the people, and cannot be restored to their positions except by forcible intervention on the part of the civil government, which the principles of our Government forbid....It is for the interest of the Church, as well as for the State, that the landed proprietorship of the Religious Orders in the Philippine Islands should cease, and that if the Church wishes...to continue its ministration among the people of the Islands...it should seek other agents therefor. It is the wish of our Government, in case Congress shall grant authority, that the titles of the Religious Orders to the large tracts of agricultural lands which they now hold shall be extinguished, but that full and fair compensation shall be made therefor. It is not, however, deemed to be for the interests of the people of the Philippine Islands that...a fund should thereby be created to be used for the attempted restoration of the friars to the parishes from which they are now separated, with the consequent disturbance of law and order. Your errand will not be, in any sense or degree, diplomatic in its nature; but will be purely a business matter of negotiation by you, as Governor of the Philippines, for the purchase of property from the owners thereof, and the settlement of land titles.”

Governor Taft arrived in Rome in June, 1902, in the pontificate of His Holiness LeoXIII., whose Secretary of State was Cardinal M. Rampolla. In Governor Taft's address to His Holiness, the following interesting passage occurs: “On behalf of the Philippine Government, it is proposed to buy the lands of the Religious Orders with the hope that the funds thus furnished may lead to their withdrawal from the Islands, and, if necessary, a substitution therefor, as parish priests, of other priests whose presence would not be dangerous to public order.”

In the document dated June 22, in reply to Governor Taft's address to His Holiness, Cardinal Rampolla says: “As to the Spanish religious in particular belonging to the Orders mentioned in the instructions, not even they should be denied to return to those parishes where the people are disposed to receive them without disturbance of public order . . . The Holy See will not neglect to promote, at the same time, the better ecclesiastical education and training of the native clergy, in order to put them in the way, according to their fitness, of taking gradually the place of the Religious Orders in the discharge of the pastoral functions. The Holy See likewise recognizes that in order to reconcile more fully the feelings of the Filipinos to the religious possessing landed estates, the sale of the same is conducive thereto. The Holy See declares it is disposed to furnish the new Apostolic Delegate, who is to be sent to the Philippine Islands, with necessary and opportune instructions in order to treat amicably this affair in understanding with the American Government and the parties interested.”

In the same document the Holy See asked for indemnity for “the acts of vandalism perpetrated by the insurgents in the destruction of churches and the appropriation of sacred vestments,” and also for the damage caused by the occupation by the American Government of “episcopal palaces, seminaries, convents, rectories, and other buildings intended for worship.” The Holy See further claimed “the right and the liberty of administering the pious trusts of ecclesiastical origin, or of Catholic foundation, which do not owe their existence to the civil power exclusively”; also “suitable provisions for religious teaching in the public schools, especially the primary.”

Governor Taft, in his reply to the Holy See, dated July 3, expressed regret at the suggested appointment of a new Apostolic Delegate, and sought to bring the Holy See to a definite contract. For the settlement of the friars' land question he proposed “a tribunal of arbitration to be composed of five members—two to be appointed by His Holiness, two to be appointed by the Philippine Government, and one, the fifth, to be selected by an indifferent person, like the Governor-General of India”; the expenses to be defrayed wholly by the Philippine Government, and the tribunal to meet in the City of Manila not later than January 1, 1903. He further proposed that the lands should be valued in Mexican dollars, and be paid for in three cash instalments of three, six, and nine months after the report of the award and the delivery of the deeds. Furthermore, that “the payments ought to be made to the person designated by the Holy See to receive the same,” on the condition that “no money shall be paid for the lands to be purchased until proper conveyances for the land shall have been made to the Philippine Government.” Another condition was “that all the members of the four Religious Orders of Dominicans, Agustinians, Recoletos, and Franciscans now in the Islands shall withdraw therefrom after two years from the date of the first payment. An exception is made in favour of any member of those Orders who has been able to avoid hostility of the people and to carry on his duties as parish priest, in his parish outside Manila, from August, 1898, to date of this agreement,” because “it is certain that such a priest is popular with the people.” Governor Taft adds: “Nothing will calm the fears of the people.... except the definite knowledge ... that the Spanish friars of the four Orders are to leave the Islands at a definite time, and are not to return to the parishes.”

Cardinal Rampolla replied on July 9 to Governor Taft's communication of July 3, which covered his proposed contract and enclosed a counter project of convention, explaining as follows:—“The Holy See cannot accept the proposition of the Philippine Government to recall from the Archipelago in a fixed time all the religious of Spanish nationality ... and to prevent their return in the future. In effect, such a measure ... would be contrary to the positive rights guaranteed by the Treaty of Paris, and would put, consequently, the Holy See in conflict with Spain ... Such a measure would be, in the eyes of the Filipinos and of the entire Catholic world, the explicit confirmation of all the accusations brought against the said religious by their enemies, accusations of which ... the evident exaggeration cannot be disputed. If the American Government, respecting, as it does, individual rights, does not dare to interdict the Philippine soil to the Spanish religious ... how could the Pope do it? The Holy See, in accord with the diocesan authorities, will not permit the return of the Spanish religious ... in the parishes where their presence would provoke troubles.”

The Holy See's counter-proposal was cabled to the Secretary of War, who, in his reply dated July 14, which was tantamount to a rejection of it, remarked: “The lay Catholic population and the parish priests of native and non-Spanish blood are practically a unit in desiring both to expel the friars and to confiscate their lands ... This proposed confiscation, without compensation for the Church lands, was one of the fundamental policies of the Insurgent Government under Aguinaldo.” As an alternative, the Secretary of War accepted the proposal of the Holy See to send a new Apostolic Delegate, with necessary instructions to negotiate the affair amicably. Therefore, in transmitting this reply to Cardinal Rampolla on July 15, Gov. Taft closed the negotiations by stating: “I have the honour to request ... that the negotiations concerning the various subjects touched upon in the proposals and counter-proposals be continued in Manila between the Apostolic Delegate and myself, on the broad lines indicated in this correspondence.... I much regret that we cannot now reach a more precise agreement....”

The receipt of this last communication was courteously acknowledged by Cardinal M. Rampolla on July 18, 1902, and Gov. Taft then continued his journey to the Philippines.10

Monsignor Chapelle's mission had entirely failed to achieve its purpose, and he retired from the Islands on the appointment of the new Apostolic Delegate, Monsignor Giovanni Battista Guidi. Bora on April 27, 1852, this prelate was a man of great culture and a distinguished linguist, who had travelled considerably. From Rome he proceeded to Washington, and, with the United States exequatur, he entered Manila on November 18, 1902, and died there on June 26, 1904. During his mission the conditions of the friars' land settlement were embodied in a contract dated December 28, 1903, whereby the United States undertook to pay, within six months from date, the sum of $7,227,000 gold in exchange for the title-deeds and conveyances of all the rural lands belonging to the three corporations possessing such—namely, the Dominicans, Agustinians, and Recoletos.11 To cover this purchase, bonds were issued in America for $7,000,000 bearing 4 per cent, interest per annum; but, as the bonds obtained a premium on the money market, the total amount realized on the issue was $7,530,370. It remained, therefore, with the corporations themselves to deliver the title-deeds, but on personal inquiry of the Gov.-General in the month of July following I learnt that up to that date they had only partially fulfilled this condition. This, however, concerns them more than it does the American Government, which is ready to pay for value received. The approximate extent of the friars' lands is as follows12:—

The purchase negotiations became all the more complicated because, from 1893 onwards, the Religious Orders had sold some of their lands to speculators who undertook to form companies to work them; however, the friars were the largest stockholders in these concerns.

As the lands become State property they will be offered to the tenants at the time being at cost price, payable in long terms with moderate interest. The annual compounded sum will be only a trifle more than the rent hitherto paid.13

As Governor Taft stated before the United States Senate, it would be impolitic to allow the tenants to possess the lands without payment, because such a plan would be promotive of socialistic ideas. The friars' land referred to does not include their urban property in and around Manila, which, with the buildings thereon, they are allowed to retain for the maintenance of those members of their Orders who still hope to remain in the Islands. In July, 1904, there were about 350 friars in the Islands, including the Recoletos in Cavite and the few who were amicably received by the people in provincial parishes, exclusively in their sacerdotal capacity. At this period, at least, the Filipinos were not unanimous in rejecting friars as parish priests. Bishop Hendrichs, of CebÚ, told me that he had received a deputation of natives from Bojol Island, begging him to appoint friars to their parishes. In May, 1903, the Centro CatÓlico, a body of lay Filipinos, well enough educated to understand the new position of the clergy, addressed a memorial to the Papal delegate, Monsignor Guidi, expressing their earnest desire for the retention of the friars. In the localities where their presence is desired their influence over the people is great. Their return to such parishes is well worth considering. Their ability to restrain the natives extravagances is superior to that of any lay authority, and it is obvious that, under the new conditions of government, they could never again produce a conflict like that of the past.

The administrator of the archbishopric of Manila, Father Martin Garcia AlcocÉr, retired to Spain (October 25, 1903) on the appointment of the present American Archbishop, Monsignor Jeremiah J. Harty, who arrived in the capital in January, 1904. He is a man of pleasing countenance, commanding presence, and an impressive orator. Since 1898 churches and chapels of many denominations and creeds have been opened in the Islands. Natives join them from various motives, for it would be venturesome to assert that they are all moved by religious conviction. In Zamboanga I had the pleasure of meeting an enthusiastic propagandist, who assured me with pride that he had drawn quite a number of christian natives from their old belief. His sincerity of purpose enlisted my admiration, but his explanation of the advantages accruing to his neophytes was too recondite for my understanding.

The limpid purity of purpose in the lofty ideal of uplifting all humanity, so characteristic of the Roman Catholic Church in Europe, was unfortunately obscured in the latter days of Spanish dominion in these Islands by the multifarious devices to convert the Church into a money-making channel. If the true religious spirit ever pervaded the provincial Filipino's mind, it was quickly impaired in his struggle to resist the pastor's greed, unless he yielded to it and developed into a fanatic or a monomaniac.14

Astute Filipinos, of quicker discernment than their fellows, did not fail to perceive the material advantages to be reaped from a religious system, quite apart from the religion itself, in the power of union and its pecuniary potentiality. As a result thereof there came into existence, at the close of Spanish rule, the Philippine Independent Church, more popularly known as the Aglipayan Church. Some eight or nine years before the Philippine Rebellion a young Filipino went to Spain, where he imbibed the socialistic, almost anarchical, views of such political extremists as Lerroux and Blasco-YbaÑez. By nature of a revolutionary spirit, the doctrines of these politicians fascinated him so far as to convert him into an intransigent opponent of Spanish rule in his native country. In 1891 he went to London, where the circumstance of the visit of the two priests alluded to at p. 383 was related to him. He saw in their suggestion a powerful factor for undermining the supremacy of the friars. The young Filipino pondered seriously over it, and when the events of 1898 created the opportunity, he returned to the Islands impressed with the belief that independence could only be gained by union, and that a pseudo-religious organization was a good medium for that union.

The antecedents and the subsequent career of the initiator of the Philippine Independent Church would not lead one to suppose that there was more religion in him than there was in the scheme itself. The principle involved was purely that of independence; the incidence of its development being in this case pseudo-religious, with the view of substituting the Filipino for the alien in his possession of sway over the Filipinos' minds, for a purpose. The initiator of the scheme, not being himself a gownsman, was naturally constrained to delegate its execution to a priest, whilst he organized another union, under a different title, which finally brought incarceration to himself and disaster to his successor.

Gregorio AglÍpay, the head of the Philippine Independent, or Aglipayan, Church, was born at BÁtac, in the province of Ilocos Norte, on May 7, 1860, of poor parents, who owned a patch of tobacco land on which young Gregorio worked. Together with his father, he was led to prison at the age of sixteen for not having planted the obligatory minimum of 4,000 plants (vide p. 294). On his release he left field-work and went to Manila, where he took his first lessons at the house of a Philippine lawyer, Julian CÁrpio. Two years afterwards, whilst working in a menial capacity, he attended the school of San Juan de Letran. Through a poor relation he was recommended to the notice of the Dominican friars, under whose patronage he entered Saint Thomas's University, where he graduated in philosophy and arts. Then he returned to his province, entered the seminary, and became a sub-deacon of the diocese of Nueva Segovia. In 1889 he was ordained a priest in Manila, Canon Sanchez Luna being his sponsor, and he said his first mass in the church of Santa Cruz. Although the friars had frequently admonished him for his liberal tendencies, he was appointed coadjutor curate of several provincial parishes, and was acting in that capacity at Victoria (TÁrlac) when the rebellion of 1896 broke out. About that time he received a warning from a native priest in another parish that the Spaniards would certainly arrest him on suspicion of being in sympathy with the rebels. In fear of his life he escaped to Manila, where he found a staunch friend in Canon Sanchez Luna, who allowed him to stay at his house on the pretext of illness. Canon Luna, who was a Spaniard, obtained from Gov.-General Blanco papers in favour of AglÍpay to ensure his safety back to Victoria. AglÍpay then left the capital, making use of the safe-conduct pass to go straight to the rebel camp, where, with the title of chaplain to General Tinio's forces, he was present at several engagements and enjoyed the friendship of General Emilio Aguinaldo. The Malolos Government appointed him Vicar-General, and after the War of Independence broke out he assumed command of a large body of insurgents in the mountain region of his native province. In 1899 he proclaimed himself chief of the Philippine Independent Church, whereupon the Archbishop publicly excommunicated him. Later on he voluntarily presented himself to the military authorities, and obtained pardon under the amnesty proclamation.

Dr. Mariano Sevilla and several other most enlightened Philippine priests were in friendly relation with AglÍpay for some time, but eventually various circumstances contributed to alienate them from his cause. In his overtures towards those whose co-operation he sought there was a notable want of frankness and a disposition to treat them with that diplomatic reserve compatible only with negotiations between two adverse parties. His association with the lay initiator of the scheme, unrevealed at the outset, incidentally came to their knowledge with surprise and disapproval. Judging, too, from the well-known tenets of the initiator's associates, there was a suspicion lest the proposed Philippine Independent Church were really only a detail in a more comprehensive plan involving absolute separation from foreign control in any shape. Again, he hesitated openly to declare his views with respect to the relations with Rome. Conscience here seemed to play a lesser part than expediency. The millions in the world who conscientiously disclaim the supremacy of the Pope, at least openly avow it. In the present case the question of submission to, or rebellion against, the Apostolic successor was quite subordinate to the material success of the plans for independence. It is difficult to see in all this the evidence of religious conviction.

Dr. Sevilla had been requested to proceed to Rome to submit to the Holy Father the aspirations of the Philippine people with respect to Church matters, and he consented to do so, provided the movement did not in any way affect their absolute submission to the Holy See, and that the Philippine Church should remain a Catholic Apostolic Church, with the sole difference that its administration should be confided to the Filipinos instead of to foreigners, if that reform met with the approval of his Holiness.15

Only at this stage did AglÍpay admit that he sought independence of Rome; thereupon the Philippine clergy of distinction abandoned all thought of participation in the new movement, or of any action which implied dictation to the Holy See. Nevertheless, two native priests were commissioned to go to Rome to seek the Pope's sanction for the establishment of an exclusively Philippine hierarchy under the supreme authority of the Pope. But His Holiness immediately dismissed the delegates with a non possumus. The petition to His Holiness was apparently only the prelude to the ultimate design to repudiate the white man's control in matters ecclesiastical, and possibly more beyond.

Gregorio AglÍpay then openly threw off allegiance to the Pope, went to Manila, and in the suburb of Tondo proclaimed himself Obispo MÁximo (Pontifex Maximus) of his new Church.

His sect at once found many followers in the provinces of Rizal, Bulacan and Ilocos, and eventually spread more or less over the other christian provinces. The movement is strongest in Ilocos, where several parishes, indeed, have no other priest than an Aglipayan. This district is part of the bishopric of Nueva Segovia, now administered by the American Bishop Dougherty. As to the number of Aglipayan adherents, no reliable figures are procurable from any source, but it is certain they amount to thousands. I found Aglipayans as far south as Zamboanga. Just a few priests ordained in the Roman Catholic Church have joined the schismatic cause. One of these repented and offered his submission to the administrator of the archbishopric (Father Martin AlcocÉr), who pardoned his frailty and received him again into the Church. No period of preparation was necessary, at least in the beginning, for the ordination of an Aglipayan priest. He might have been a domestic servant, an artisan, or a loafer shortly before; hence many would-be converts refused to join when they saw their own or their friends' retainers suddenly elevated to the priesthood. At YlÍgan (Mindanao Is.) an American official arrested a man, tonsured and robed as a priest in an Aglipayan procession, on a charge of homicide. In 1904 they had not half a dozen well-built churches of their own, but mat-sheds for their meetings were to be seen in many towns. In the year 1903 these sectarians made repeated raids on Roman Catholic property, and attempted to gain possession of the churches by force. Riots ensued, religion seemed to be forgotten by both parties in the mÉlÉe, and several were given time for reflection in prison. In April, 1904, at Talisay and Minglanilla (CebÚ Is.), they succeeded in occupying the churches and property claimed by the friars, and refused to vacate them. In the following month an Aglipayan priest, Bonifacio Purganan, was fined $25 for having taken forcible possession of the Chapel of PeÑafrancia (Paco suburb of Manila). In the province of Yloilo the Aglipayans were forcibly ejected from the church of La Paz. In 1904 they entered a claim on the novel plea that, as many churches had been subscribed to or partially erected at their expense before they seceded from the Catholic Church, they were entitled to a restitution of their donations. The Catholics were anxious to have the contention decided in a formal and definite manner, and the case was heard at the Court of Guagua (Pampanga). The decision was against the sectarians, on the ground that what had been once given for a specific purpose could not be restored to the donor, or its application diverted from the original channel, notwithstanding any subsequent change in the views of the donor. It was probably in consequence of these disputes that in January, 1905, the Secretary of War approved of a proposed Act of the Insular Government conferring authority upon the Supreme Court of these Islands to hear cases relating to Church property claims and pronounce a final decision thereon.

Up to the middle of 1904 the particular doctrines of the Philippine Independent Church were not yet defined, and the Aglipayans professed to follow the Roman ritual. It was intended, however, to introduce reforms of fundamental importance. For two days and a half I travelled in company with the titular Aglipayan ecclesiastical governor of the Visayas, from whom I learnt much concerning the opinions of his sect. It appears that many are opposed to celibacy of the clergy and auricular confession. My companion himself rejected the biblical account of the Creation, the doctrine of original sin, hereditary responsibility, the deity of Christ, and the need for the Atonement. His conception of the relations between God and mankind was a curious admixture of Darwinism and Rationalism; everything beyond the scope of human reasoning had but a slender hold on his mind.

It is most probable that the majority of Aglipayans have given no thought as to the possible application of the power of union in this particular form, and that their adhesion to the movement is merely a natural reaction following the suppression of sacerdotal tyranny—an extravagant sense of untrammelled thought which time may modify by sober reflection when it is generally seen that the clergy of the Roman Catholic Church henceforth strictly limit themselves to the exercise of their proper functions. With the hope of re-establishing peace and conformity in the Church, His Holiness Pope Pius X. sent to the Islands his new Apostolic Delegate, Monsignor Ambrose Agius, who reached Manila on February 6, 1905.16

It is doubtful whether the native parish priest, bereft of the white man's control, would have sufficient firmness of character to overcome his own frailties and lead his flock in the true path. Under a Philippine hierarchy there would be a danger of the natives reverting to paganism and fetichism. There have been many indications of that tendency from years back up to the present. Only a minority of native Christians seem to have grasped the true spirit of Christianity. All that appeals to the eye in the rites and ceremonies impresses them—the glamour and pomp of the procession attract them; they are very fervent in outward observances, but ever prone to stray towards the idolatrous. A pretended apparition of the Blessed Virgin is an old profitable trick of the natives, practised as recently as December, 1904, in the village of Namacpacan (Ilocos), where a woman, who declared the Virgin had appeared to her in the form of the Immaculate Conception and cured her bad leg, made a small fortune in conjunction with a native priest. In May, 1904, a small party of fanatics was seen on the Manila seashore going through some pseudo-religious antics, the chief feature of which was a sea-bath. Profiting by the liberty of cult now existing, it is alleged that the spirits of the departed have made known their presence to certain Filipinos. A native medium has been found, and the pranks which the spirits are said to play on those who believe in them have been practised, with all their orthodox frolic, on certain converts to the system. Tables dance jigs, mysterious messages are received, and the conjuring celestials manifest their power by displacing household articles. The Coloram sect of the southern Luzon provinces has, it is estimated, over 50,000 adherents whose worship is a jumble of perverted Christian mysticism and idolatry. The Baibailanes of Negros are not entirely pagans; there is just a glimmer of Christian precept mingled in their belief, whilst the scores of religious monomaniacs and saint-hawkers who appear from time to time present only a burlesque imitation of christian doctrine.

Great progress has been made in the direction of Education.17 Schools of different grades have been established throughout the Archipelago, and the well-intentioned efforts of the Government have been responded to by the natives with an astonishing alacrity. Since September 3, 1900, night-schools have also been opened for students to attend after their day's work. The natives exhibit great readiness to learn, many of them having already attained a very high standard—a fact which I had the opportunity of verifying through the courtesy of Dr. David P. Barrows, the able General Superintendent of Education, and his efficient staff. Both the higher schools and the night-schools are well attended. A special eagerness to learn English is very apparent, and they acquire the language quickly up to a certain point. In September, 1903,18 out of the 934 towns in the Islands, 338 were supplied with American teachers, the total number of teachers in the Archipelago being 691 Americans and 2,496 Filipinos. The night-schools were attended by 8,595 scholars. The percentage of school-children who frequented the day-schools was as follows: In Manila, 10 per cent.; in Nueva Vizcaya Province, 77 per cent. (the highest); and in ParÁgua Island, 5 per cent. (the lowest). The average attendance throughout the provinces was 13 per cent. of the total population of school-children.

Education has received the greatest solicitude of the Insular Government; and Dr. Barrows informed me that at the end of June, 1904, there were 865 American teachers in the Islands (including about 200 female teachers), 4,000 Philippine teachers of both sexes, and a school attendance throughout the Colony of 227,600 children. For the youngest children there are now seven kindergarten schools in Manila, and more applications for admission than can be satisfied.

The Normal School, situated in the Manila suburb of Ermita, is a splendidly-equipped establishment, organized in the year 1901 with a branch for training Filipinos to become teachers in the public schools. The buildings are four of those (including the main structure) which served for the Philippine Exhibition some years ago. They contain an assembly hall, fourteen class-rooms, two laboratories, store-rooms, and the principal's office. In the same suburb, close to the school, there is a dormitory for the accommodation of forty girl boarders coming from the provinces. The school is open to both sexes on equal terms, subject to the presentation of a certificate of character and a preliminary examination to ascertain if they can understand written and spoken English and intelligibly express their thoughts in that language. The training covers four years, with the following syllabus, viz.:—

The training-class for children ranging from five to eleven years serves a double purpose by enabling student-teachers to put into practice the theory of professional training under supervision. For the training of youths who intend to follow a trade, there is a branch School of Arts and Trades equipped with class-rooms, workshops, mechanical and architectural drawing-rooms, and the allied branches of industry. The subjects taught are:—

There is also a night-class for those working in the daytime who desire to extend their theoretical knowledge.

The Nautical School (vide p. 195), established in Spanish times, is continued with certain reforms, additions having been made to the equipment. American naval officers have undertaken its superintendence from time to time, and it is now under the direction of a civilian graduate of the United States Naval Academy. The instruction ranges from history and geography to practical seamanship, with all the intermediate scientific subjects. Graduates of this school obtain third-mate's certificates, and many of them are actually navigating in the waters of the Archipelago.

A course of study in Vocal Music is also offered to Normal School students, and this may possibly lead to the first discovery of a fine Philippine musical voice.

There is also a Public School for Chinese situated in the Calle de la Asuncion, in the business quarter of Binondo (Manila).

In the Saint Thomas's University (vide p. 194) there are few changes. The diplomas now issued to students in Law and Medicine are only honorific. With or without this diploma a student must pass an examination at the centres established by the Americans for the faculties of Law and Medicine before he can practise, and the same obligation applies to Americans who may arrive, otherwise qualified, in the Islands. Practical instruction in the healing art, or “walking the hospitals,” as it is called in England, is given at the San Juan de Dios Hospital as heretofore. The theoretical tuition in these faculties is furnished at the College of San JosÉ. Besides the Government schools, there are many others continuing the Spanish system, such as the Colegio de San Juan de Dios, where, besides the usual subjects taught, the syllabus is as follows:—

The Seminario Central de San Javier, under Jesuit superintendence, is really intended for students proposing to enter the Church. Many, however, follow the course of study and enter civil life. In the large provincial towns there are Spanish schools, and at DagÚpan the Colegio Instituto follows the same curriculum as that established in the Manila College of San Juan de Letran. In Spanish times Jaro was the educational centre of the Visayas Islands. Since the American advent Yloilo has superseded Jaro in that respect, and a large school is about to be erected on 75 acres of land given by several generous donors for the purpose. The system of education is uniform throughout the Islands, where schools of all grades are established, and others are in course of foundation in every municipality. Including about ?1,000,000 disbursed annually for the schools by the municipalities, the cost of Education is about 20 per cent, of the total revenue—a sum out of all proportion to the taxpayers' ability to contribute.

According to the Philippine Commission Act No. 1123, of April, 1904, the official language will be English from January 1, 1906. It will be used in court proceedings, and no person will be eligible for Government service who does not know that language.

In general the popular desire for education is very pronounced. American opinion as to the capability of the Filipinos to attain a high degree of learning and maintain it seems much divided, for many return to America and publicly express pessimistic views on this point. In daily conversation with young middle-class Filipinos one can readily see that the ambition of the majority is limited to the acquisition of sufficient English to qualify them for Government employment or commercial occupations. The industries of the Islands are relatively insignificant. The true source of their wealth is agriculture. In most, not to say all, tropical countries, the educated native shuns manual labour, and with this tendency dominant in the Filipino, it is difficult to foresee what may happen as education advances. The history of the world shows that national prosperity has first come from industrial development, with the desire and the need for education following as a natural sequence. To have free intercourse with the outside world it is necessary to know a European language. This is recognized even in Japan, where, notwithstanding its independent nationality, half the best-educated classes speak some European tongue. If the majority of the Filipinos had understood Spanish at the period of the American advent, it might be a matter of regret that this language was not officially preserved on account of the superior beauty of all Latin languages; but such was not the case. Millions still only speak the many dialects; and to carry out the present system of education a common speech-medium becomes a necessity. However, generations will pass away before native idiom will cease to be the vulgar tongue, and the engrafted speech anything more than the official and polite language of the better classes. The old belief of colonizing nations that European language and European dress alone impart civilization to the Oriental is an exploded theory. The Asiatic can be more easily moulded and subjected to the ways and the will of the white man by treating with him in his native language. It is difficult to gain his entire confidence through the medium of a foreign tongue. The Spanish friars understood this thoroughly. It is a deplorable fact that the common people of Asia generally acquire only the bad qualities of the European concurrently with his language, lose many of their own natural characteristics, which are often charmingly simple, and become morally perverted.

The best native servants are those who can only speak their mother-tongue. In times past the rustic who came to speak Spanish was loth to follow the plough. If an English farm labourer should learn Spanish, perhaps he would be equally loth. One may therefore assume that if the common people should come to acquire the English language, agricultural coolie labour would become a necessity. In 1903 one hundred Philippine youths were sent, at Government expense, to various schools in America for a four-years' course of tuition. It is to be hoped that they will return to their homes impressed with the dignity of labour and be more anxious to develop the natural resources of the country than to live at the expense of the taxpayers.

Since the Rebellion, and especially since the American advent, a great number of Filipinos have migrated to the adjacent British colonies, China, Japan, America, and Europe. There is a small colony of rich Filipinos in Paris, and about 50 or 60 (principally students) in England. They have no nationality, and are officially described as “Filipinos under the protection of the United States.” When the Treaty of Paris was being negotiated, the Spanish Commissioners wished to have the option of nationality conceded to all persons hitherto under the dominion of Spain in the ceded colonies; but the American Commissioners rejected the proposal, which might have placed their country in the peculiar position of administering a colony of foreigners.

In 1904 the Government sent selected groups of the different Philippine wild and semi-civilized races to the St. Louis Exhibition, where they were on view for several months; also a Philippine Commission, composed of educated Filipinos, was sent, at public expense, to St. Louis and several cities in America, including Washington, where the President received and entertained its members. Many of the members of this Commission were chosen from what is called the Federal Party. In the old days politics played no part in Philippine life. The people were either anti-friar or conformists to the status quo. The Revolution, however, brought into existence several distinct parties, and developed the natural disintegrating tendency of the Filipinos to split up into factions on any matter of common concern. The Spanish reform party, led by Pedro A. Paterno, collapsed when all hope was irretrievably lost, and its leader passed over to Aguinaldo's party of sovereign independence. To-day there is practically only one organized party—the Federal—because there is no legislative assembly or authorized channel for the legitimate expression of opposite views. The Federal Party, which is almost entirely anti-clerical, comprises all those who unreservedly endorse and accept American dominion and legislation. They are colloquially alluded to as “Americanistas.” Through the tempting offers of civil service positions with emoluments large as compared with times gone by, many leading men have been attracted to this party, the smarter half-caste predominating over the pure Oriental in the higher employments. There are other groups, however, which may be called parties in embryo, awaiting the opportunity for free discussion in the coining Philippine Assembly.19 Present indications point to the Nationalists as the largest of these coming opposition parties, its present programme being autonomy under American protection. The majority of those who clamour for “independence” [I am not referring to the masses, but to those who have thought the matter out in their own fashion] do not really understand what they are asking for, for it generally results from a close discussion of the subject that they are, in fact, seeking autonomy dependent on American protection, with little idea of what the Powers understand by Protection. In a conversation which I had with the leader of the Nationalists, I inquired, “What do you understand by independence?” His reply was, “Just a thread of connexion with the United States to keep us from being the prey of other nations!” Other parties will, no doubt, be formed; and there will probably be, for some time yet, a small group of Irreconcilables affiliated with those abroad who cannot return home whilst they refuse to take the oath of allegiance prescribed in the United States President's peace and amnesty proclamation, dated July 4, 1902. The Irreconcilables claim real sovereign independence for the Filipinos; they would wish the Americans to abandon the Islands as completely as if they had never occupied them at all. It is doubtful whether entire severance from American or European control would last a year, because some other Power, Asiatic or European, would seize the Colony. Sovereign independence would be but a fleeting vision without a navy superior in all respects to that of any second-rate naval Power, for if all the fighting-men of the Islands were armed to the teeth they could not effectively resist a simultaneous bombardment of their ports; nor could they, as inhabitants of an archipelago, become united in action or opinion, because their inter-communication would be cut off. When this is explained to them, there are those who admit the insuperable difficulty, and suggest, as a compromise, that America's position towards them should be merely that of the policeman, standing by ready to interfere if danger threatens them! This is the naÏve definition of the relation which they (the Irreconcilables) term “Protection.”

However, the cry for “independence” has considerably abated since the Secretary of War, Mr. W.H. Taft, visited Manila in August, 1905, and publicly announced that America intended to retain the Islands for an indefinitely long period. Before America relinquishes her hold on the Colony (if ever) generations may pass away, and naturally the Irreconcilable, will disappear with the present one.

That the Filipinos would, if ever they obtain their independence, even though it were a century hence, manage their country on the pattern set them by their tutors of to-day, is beyond all imagination. “We want them to learn to think as we do,” an American minister is reported to have said at a public meeting held in Washington in May, 1905. The laudable aim of America to convert the Filipino into an American in action and sentiment will probably never be realized.

Why the Philippines should continue to be governed by a Commission is not clear to the foreign investigator. Collective government is inconsonant with the traditions and instincts of these Asiatic people, who would intuitively fear and obey the arbitrary mandate of a paramount chief, whether he be called Nawab, Sultan, or Governor. Even as it is, the people have, in fact, looked more to the one man, the Mr. Taft or the Mr. Wright as the case may be, than they have to the Commission for the attainment of their hopes, and were there an uncontrolled native government, it would undoubtedly end in becoming a one-man rule, whatever its title might be. The difficulty in making the change does not lie in the choice of the man, because one most eminently fitted for personal rule in the name of the United States of America (assisted by a Council) is in the Islands just now.

The Philippine Assembly, which is, conditionally, to be conceded to the Islanders in 1907, will be a Congress of deputies elected by popular vote; the Philippine Commission, more or less as at present constituted, will be practically the Senate or controlling Upper House. The Filipinos will have no power to make laws, but simply to propose them, because any bill emanating from the popular assembly can be rejected by the Upper House with an American majority. The Philippine Assembly will be, in reality, a School of Legislature to train politicians for the possible future concession of complete self-government. In connexion with the public schools a course of instruction in political economy prepares youths for the proper exercise of the right of suffrage on their attaining twenty-three years of age. The studies include the Congress Law of July 1, 1902; President McKinley's Instruction to the Civil Commission of April 7, 1900; Government of the United States, Colonial Government in European States, and Parliamentary Law.

The question of the Filipinos' capacity for self-government has been frequently debated since the Rebellion of 1896. A quarter of a century ago the necessary 500 or 600 Filipinos, half-caste in the majority, could have been found with all the requisite qualifications for the formation of an intelligent oligarchy. The Constitution drawn up by Apolinario Mabini, and proclaimed by the Malolos Insurgent Government (January 22, 1899), was a fair proof of intellectual achievement. But that is not sufficient; the working of it would probably have been as successful as the Government of Hayti, because the Philippine character is deficient in disinterested thought for the common good. There is no lack of able Filipinos quite competent to enact laws and dictate to the people what they are to do; but if things are to be reversed and the elected assembly is to be composed of deputies holding the people's mandates, there will be plenty to do between now and March, 1907, in educating the electors to the point of intelligently using the franchise, uninfluenced by the caciques, who have hitherto dominated all public acts. According to the census of 1903, there were 1,137,776 illiterate males of the voting age. In any case, independently of its legislative function, the Philippine Assembly will be a useful channel for free speech. It will lead to the open discussion of the general policy, the rural police, the trade regulations, the taxes, the desirability of maintaining superfluous expensive bureaux, the lavish (Manila) municipal non-productive outlay, and ruinous projects of no public utility, such as the construction of the Benguet road,20 etc.

The Act providing for a Philippine Assembly stipulates that the elected deputies shall not be less than 50 and not more than 100 to represent the civilized portion of the following population, viz.21:—Civilized, 6,987,686; wild, 647,740; total, 7,635,426. The most numerous civilized races are the Visayos (about 2,602,000) and the TagÁlogs (about 1,664,000).

Population of Manila (Approximate Sub-divisions)22

Total in the Census of 1903 ... 219,928

(Exclusive of the Army and Navy.)

The divisions of the Municipality of Manila stand in the following order of proportion of population, viz.:—

The total number of towns in the Archipelago is 934.

Populations of 40 Provincial Towns of the 934 Existing in the Islands

(Exclusive of Their Dependent Suburbs, Districts, and Wards)23

Civilized Population, Classified by Birth

According to the Census of 1903

The regulations affecting Chinese immigration are explained at p. 633. Other foreigners are permitted to enter the Philippines (conditionally), but all are required to pay an entrance fee (I had to pay $5.30 Mex.) before embarking (abroad) for a Philippine port, and make a declaration of 19 items,24 of which the following are the most interesting to the traveller:—(1) Sex; (2) whether married or single; (3) who paid the passage-money; (4) whether in possession of $30 upward or less; (5) whether ever in prison; (6) whether a polygamist. The master or an officer of the vessel carrying the passenger is required to make oath before the United States Consul at the port of embarkation that he has made a “personal examination” of his passenger, and does not believe him (or her) to be either an idiot, or insane person, or a pauper, or suffering from a loathsome disease, or an ex-convict, or guilty of infamous crime involving moral turpitude, or a polygamist, etc. The ship's doctor has to state on oath that he has also made a “personal examination” of the passenger. If the vessel safely arrives in port, say Manila, she will be boarded by a numerous staff of Customs' officials. In the meantime the passenger will have been supplied with declaration-forms and a printed notice, stating that an “Act provides a fine of not exceeding $2,000 or imprisonment at hard labour, for not more than five years, or both, for offering a gratuity to an officer of the Customs in consideration of any illegal act in connexion with the examination of baggage.” The baggage-declaration must be ready for the officers, and, at intervals during an hour and a half, he (or she) has to sign six different declarations as to whether he (or she) brings fire-arms. The baggage is then taken to the Custom-house in a steam-launch for examination, which is not unduly rigid. Under a Philippine Commission Act, dated October 15, 1901, the Collector of Customs, or his deputy, may, at his will, also require the passenger to take an oath of allegiance in such terms that, in the event of war between the passenger's country and America, he who takes the oath would necessarily have to forfeit his claim for protection from his own country, unless he violated that oath. No foreigner is permitted to land if he comes “under a contract expressed, or implied, to perform labour in the Philippine Islands.” In 1903 this prohibition to foreigners was disputed by a British bank-clerk who arrived in Manila for a foreign bank. The case was carried to court, with the result that the prohibition was maintained in principle, although the foreigner in question was permitted to remain in the Islands as an act of grace. But in February, 1905, a singular case occurred, exactly the reverse of the one just mentioned. A young Englishman who had been brought out to Manila on a four years' agreement, after four or five months of irregular conduct towards the firm employing him, presented himself to the Collector of Customs (as Immigration Agent), informed against himself, and begged to be deported from the Colony. The incentive for this strange proceeding was to secure the informer's reward of $1,000. It was probably the first case in Philippine history of a person voluntarily seeking compulsory expulsion from the Islands. The Government, acting on the information, shipped him off to Hong-Kong, the nearest British port, in the following month, with a through passage to Europe.

Since the American advent the Administration of Justice has been greatly accelerated, and Municipal Court cases, which in Spanish times would have caused more worry to the parties than they were worth, or, for the same reason, would have been settled out of court violently, are now despatched at the same speed as in the London Police Courts. On the other hand, quick despatch rather feeds the native's innate love for litigation, so that an agglomeration of lawsuits is still one of the Government's undesirable but inevitable burdens. There is a complaint that the fines imposed in petty cases are excessive, and attention was drawn to this by the Municipality of Manila.25 After stating that the fines imposed on 2,185 persons averaged $5 per capita, and that they had to go to prison for non-payment, the Municipality adds: “It shows an excessive rigour on the part of the judges in the imposition of fines, a rigour which ought to be modified, inasmuch as the majority of the persons accused before the Court are extremely poor and ignorant of the ordinances and the laws for the violation of which they are so severely punished.” Sentences of imprisonment and fines for high crimes are justly severe. During the governorship of Mr. W.H. Taft, 17 American provincial treasurers were each condemned to 25 years' imprisonment for embezzlement of public funds. In February, 1905, an army major, found guilty of misappropriation of public moneys, had his sentence computed at 60 years, which term the court reduced to 40 years' hard labour. The penalties imposed on some rioters at Vigan in April, 1904, were death for two, 40 years' imprisonment and $10,000 fine each for twelve, 30 years' imprisonment for thirty-one, and 10 years' imprisonment for twenty-five.

The American law commonly spoken of in the Philippines as the “Law of Divorce” is nothing more than judicial separation in its local application, as it does not annul the marriage and the parties cannot marry again as a consequence of the action. The same could be obtained under the Spanish law called the Siete PartÍdas, with the only difference that before the decree nisi was made absolute the parties might have had to wait for years, and even appeal to Home.

On May 26,1900, the Military Governor authorized the solemnization of marriages by any judge of a court inferior to the Supreme Court, a justice of the peace, or a minister of any denomination. For the first time in the history of the Islands, habeas corpus proceedings were heard before the Supreme Court on May 19, 1900. Besides the lower courts established in many provincial centres, sessions are held in circuit, each usually comprising two or three provinces. The provinces are grouped into 16 judicial districts, in each of which there is a Court of First Instance; and there is, moreover, one additional “Court of First Instance at large.” The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, some of his assistant judges, several provincial judges, the Attorney-General, and many other high legal functionaries, are Filipinos. The provincial justices of the peace are also natives, and necessarily so because their office requires an intimate knowledge of native character and dialect. Their reward is the local prestige which they enjoy and the litigants' fees, and happily their services are not in daily request. At times the findings of these local luminaries are somewhat quaint, and have to be overruled by the more enlightened judicial authorities in the superior courts. Manila and all the judicial centres are amply supplied with American lawyers who have come to establish themselves in the Islands, where the custom obtains for professional men to advertise in the daily newspapers. So far there has been only one American lady lawyer, who, in 1904, held the position of Assistant-Attorney in the Attorney-General's office.