The government of all the Philippine group, including the Mariana Islands, is intrusted to the charge of a Captain-General, who in virtue of his office is commander-in-chief of the forces, president of the Hacienda, admiral of marine, postmaster-general &c., &c. His power and authority, in short, extend to all those departments, over which his control, should he choose to exert it, is very absolute.

The civil department of Her Most Catholic Majesty’s service, so far as finance, &c., are concerned, is left to the administration of an officer who takes the title of Super-Intendente of the Hacienda; and who, putting the Archbishop aside, is regarded as the second official person at Manilla, or as ranking next to the Governor, the revenue, &c., being the branch he has principal charge of; but his acts are always subject to the control of the Captain-General.

A military officer under the title of segundo Cabo, is under the Governor as acting commander-in-chief of the forces, and, in the event of the governor’s absence from Manilla, is the person who fills his situation and succeeds him in his power. A post-captain of the navy is usually the rank of the person intrusted with the direction and management of the sea force, but he always has, I believe, the local or brevet rank of an admiral.

The internal administration of the country is carried on by officials subordinate to those above-mentioned, the whole of the islands being parcelled out or divided into several provinces, in each of which there is an Alcalde, or Lieutenant-Governor, receiving his orders from, and quite dependent on the Captain-General, to whose favour he generally owes his appointment.

These officers are invested with the chief civil and military authority in their own provinces; but although they have always a small guard of soldiers, the good order and quiet generally prevalent everywhere throughout the country render their military duties very unimportant, and their principal care is now required in the collection of revenue and the administration of justice within their several jurisdictions. These are not very arduous duties, owing principally to the efficient assistance derived from the authorities under them.

Every province is divided into districts or parishes, in which there is some village or town, and in each of these places there is an official whom I shall call the Major, or Capitan Gobernadorcillo, and also some Tenientes or Aldermen, as well as police alguacils. All of these have to report to the alcalde of the province any thing of importance occuring within their districts, and are commanded severally to assist and promote the views of the cura, or priest, by every means in their power. Most of the people who fill these situations are Indians or Mestizos, rather better off in worldly goods than the run of their countrymen.

These gobernadorcillos, or little governors, possess considerable authority over the natives, for, besides having the chief municipal authority in their own districts, they are allowed to decide judicially in civil cases, when the amount in dispute does not exceed the value of forty-four dollars, or about ten pounds sterling, and in criminal cases undertake the prosecution, collecting the evidence and ascertaining the charges against any delinquent within their district, all of which is remitted by them to the provincial-governor and judge for his decision. Their election takes place annually, on the commencement of the new year, all over the country, and their power is exactly defined in a printed commission which they all hold from the Governor of the Philippines.

The half-breeds, or people of mixed Chinese and Indian blood, known by the name of Sangleys, are usually permitted, in districts where their number is considerable, to elect a Major from among their own class, whose power over them is exactly similar to that of the captain of the village where they reside over the aboriginal Indians: they do not interfere with each other, and are quite independent of any one save the alcalde of the province. When there are two gobernadorcillos in the same village, they each look after their own class, whether Mestizos or natives.

In addition to these local officials there is another curious body of men, called Cabezas de barangay; each of whom has under his charge about fifty families, whose tribute to government he has to collect, and for the amount of which he is held accountable.

The persons who fill this office are usually resident in the immediate neighbourhood or in the same street with those from whom they have to collect the tribute, and have some slight authority over those who pay it to them, such as deciding petty quarrels and disputes among them, &c. The institution of this body is uncertain, and is said to have been originated by the aboriginal Indians themselves, and to have been found in full operation at the time of the earliest Spanish intercourse with them. The probability is, however, that at that period it was of a military nature, and their duties then were more to officer the armies of the native kings than for any of the uses it has been subsequently wisely put to by the white man. The office is hereditary in their families; but in the event of the person who exercises it changing his residence, or from other causes becoming unfit to discharge its duties, a successor is elected in his place.

They are recompensed for their trouble in collecting taxes, &c., by being themselves exempted from paying tribute to the state, and have several privileges by virtue of their office. As a body, they are always considered the principal people of their village, and only from among them, and by their votes alone, is the mayor or gobernadorcillo of the pueblo chosen; that is to say, they choose a list of three Indians from among their own number for that office, each of whom should by law be able to speak, read, and write Spanish; and this list being forwarded to the alcalde, he indicates which of them is to be chosen, by scratching his name and filling up his commission. The election of these candidates ought to be made with closed doors, and must be authorized by the presence of an escribano, or attorney, to note the proceedings. The parish priest is allowed to attend if he choose, in order that he may influence the election of fit persons for the office by speaking in their favour, but he has not any vote in the matter.

In the capital, owing to the number of Chinamen there, and in the neighbourhood, they are obliged to choose a capitan from among themselves, in order that he may collect their tribute and arrange their petty disputes with each other, which some one conversant with their customs and language is only fit to do.

There are some fees now attached to this office, but the duties are so troublesome that the industrious Celestials very frequently find them incompatible with the management of their own trade or business, and for the most part are not at all ambitious of the honour of filling the situation, even although some fees accompany it.

At the same time that the capitan is elected, his lieutenant and a head constable are also chosen by their countrymen.

All Chinese arriving at Manilla are registered in a book kept for the purpose, for, as they pay tribute according to their occupation, the amount of it, and their numbers, are at once ascertained from that. Should they leave the country, their passports have to be countersigned by their capitan, who is to some extent responsible for them while residing in it.

The emoluments of government offices are not very high; much too low, in fact, to recompense the class of men who are required to discharge them, and the consequence is, (as usual in such cases), that extortion and improper means are resorted to in order to increase their amount, all of which fall much heavier on the people than regularly collected taxes, sufficient to support their proper or adequate pay, would amount to.

In the province of Cagayan, for instance, the alcalde’s nominal pay is 600 dollars a-year, which sum is of course totally insufficient to recompense any educated man for undertaking and supporting the dignity of governor of a considerable province. But as the best tobacco is grown there, one of his duties is to collect and forward it to Manilla, for which he is allowed a commission, and this, with other privileges, is found to yield him in ordinary years about 20,000 dollars a-year, being in reality one of the most lucrative situations at the disposal of the Government.

I believe that most people will concur with me in the opinion that the system of reducing the fixed official pay below a remuneration that will induce men of standing and education to undertake the duties which their situation requires them to exercise, and to trust to exaction supplying its place, is extremely impolitic, and much more expensive to the country than a more liberal scale of pay would prove.

The alcaldes are allowed to trade on their own account, and for this their position affords them many facilities; but for the permission to do so, they are required to pay a considerable annual fee to Government, ranging from about one hundred to three thousand dollars.

The wisdom of granting them this permission is very doubtful, as it not unfrequently happens that the privilege is abused by rapacious men, eager to make the most of their time and collect a fortune, and occasionally it gives rise to much oppression.

The poor Indian cultivators of the soil, accustomed all their lives to look upon the alcalde of their native province as the greatest and most powerful man they know of, have very little redress for their grievance, should that person, in the pursuit of money-making and trade buy up all their crop of sugar, rice, or other produce, whatever it may be, and in a falling market refuse to receive the articles contracted for, or to complete the bargain agreed upon with them. On the contrary, however, should anything he may have contracted to buy be rising in value at Manilla, the poor Indian, who has sold it too cheap to him, has no chance of getting clear of the bad bargain he may have made with the alcalde, should it appear to that individual worth his while to keep him to it, as every means are at his command or beck, aided by all the force of the executive, and the terrors of a law administered by himself, to compel him to ratify his contract.

In these circumstances the alcalde never makes a bad bargain, or loses money on any of his transactions, and there is little wonder that rapid fortunes are made by men holding these situations, when such scandalous means are constantly resorted to by them, so that generally, after a very few years of office, these people are upon very easy terms with the world, although nominally only receiving a wretchedly low pay.

Notwithstanding these abuses, however, the government of the people is on the whole much more effective, and consequently better, than it is in many places of British India. No such thing was ever known as disaffection becoming so generally diffused among them as to lead to a rebellion of the people, or an attempt to shake off the leeches who suck them so deeply; and this can only be attributed to the sway the priesthood have over the minds of the Indians, as without their influence and aid, beyond a doubt, such an attempt would be made; and if it should ever come about, it would be no very difficult affair for the natives, if properly led, to overthrow the sway of the Spaniards. Although there is very little religion among the Indians, there is abundance of superstitious feeling, and fear of the padre’s displeasure; indeed, the church has long proved to be, upon the whole, by much the most cheap and efficacious instrument of good government and order that could be employed anywhere, so long as its influence has been properly directed. In the Philippines there appears to be little doubt but that it is one of the most beneficial that could be exerted as a medium for the preservation of good order among the people, who are admonished and taught to be contented, while it is not forgetful of their interests, as they very generally learn reading by its aid—so much of it, at least, as to enable them to read their prayer-books, or other religious manuals.

There are very few Indians who are unable to read, and I have always observed that the Manilla men serving on board of ships, and composing their crews, have been much oftener able to subscribe their names to the ship’s articles than the British seamen on board the same vessels could do, or even on board of Scottish ships, whose crews are sometimes superior men, so far as education is concerned, to those born in other parts of Great Britain. This fact startled me at first; but it has been frequently remarked upon by people very strongly prejudiced in favour of white men, and who despise the black skins of Manilla men, regarding them as inferior beings to themselves, as strongly as many of our countrymen often do.