The Island of Cebu was inhabited by the same class of natives, and abounded in provisions, mines and gold washings. On the Island of Panay were some large rich towns, and stocks for building ships of large size, and a great plenty of timber

tions, such as tilling the soil, fishing, shipbuilding, stock raising and trading. Their language was the same, and they communicated by speech and writing, and in this had letters and characters of their own, which resembled those of the Arabic. The writing was mostly done on the leaf of a tree.

The language of the natives of Luzon, and neighborhood, was unlike that of the Visayas. There were many different languages in Luzon. That of the Tagals in the province of Manila was elegant, copious, and abundant, and was not difficult to learn or pronounce. In all the islands they wrote well, using characters something like Greek or Arabic. There were fifteen letters used, three were vowels, the rest consonants. They wrote from right to left in the Arabic

fashion and there were very few who did not write well and correctly.

The houses of these natives were fixed, and all built on a similar method or plan, the purpose being to avoid the torridity of the climate, and annoyances of the vermin and rats. These houses were built up on piles, there being sufficient space between the ground and the first floor for the fowls and animals; the roof was thatched with palm leaf, which is considered much more effective in resisting sun and rain than shingles or tiles. Ascent was made to the living apartments by ladders.

ANCIENT FORM OF GOVERNMENT.

They had a well defined form of government, which not only made provision for its permanence, but also for the social well-being and protection of the property and person of the subject.

De Morga says, of the government existing at the time of the Spanish invasion: "There were neither kings nor rulers who governed after the manner of cther kingdoms and provinces, but in each island and province the natives recognized many of their number as chiefs, some greater than others, and each one with his own partisans and subjects, divided into quarters and families. These chieftainships and lordships were inherited by filiation and succession from father to son, and their descendants, and in default of them, the brothers and collaterals succeeded. Their duty was to rule and govern their subjects and partisans, and assist them in their wants and necessities. What these rulers received from their subjects was

respected and revered by the ruler, and a regular system of tribute from the subject. obtained, by means of which the authority of the government was maintained."

THE SYSTEM OF SLAVERY.

The descendants of the rulers were regarded and treated as nobles, and their women had the corresponding rank and respect shown them. The rule of the chief was a kind of absolutism, in which he could, for a trifling offense, make the subject a slave; however, there were certain restrictions, involving a humanity and decency, unknown in our own late slave system. If the owner of a slave had a child by a slave mother, thereupon both mother and child became free, so that no man could traffic, sell, or hold in bondage his own child or its mother. The grievances between subjects involving property interests or damages to the person were held and determined by the "Ancients," that is, certain of the older members of the tribe. The parties were present, and witnesses heard in a manner similar to our regular court procedure, and their determination was a finality, and effect given to the judgment at once. The laws were unwritten, but were well in effect by custom and tradition. There were three distinct classes-the nobles mentioned; the Timaguas, this being the plebeian class; and the slaves belonging to these two. There were many peculiarities in this slave system, which would have been very tolerant if they had formed a part of our own. There was permeating through the whole system the possibility of freedom to the slave. By far the major part of these slaves were only slaves

in part; for instance, a half, third, or minor part of the slave's time only was given to his servitude, and the rest of his time was for his own exclusive benefit, at which time he was absolutely free. Again, when only one of the parents was slave, and the other free, and there was only one child, he would be half slave and half free, and if more than one, the first child would take the condition of the father, whether slave or free, and the other the condition of the mother, and so on alternating. If there were an odd number, he would be half slave and half free. The offspring of such children would still be so apportioned as to being slave or free. These part slaves could also oblige their owner to emancipate them entirely upon payment of a just sum. This was regulated as to price, dependent upon conditions, and ranged from forty to eighty dollars. Much of the time of the courts was taken with the adjudication of these matters.

It is not known how the slave system became inaugurated, but it is supposed to have come in the way of conquest and usurious contracts, which provided for taking the body of a debtor in liquidation, upon forfeiture of debtor. Crimes were punished at the instance of the aggrieved party, and robbery might be

punished by death or slavery. Insults by words might be punished to the same extent. Under certain circumstances such insults were regarded as more aggravating than violence to the person.

MARRIAGE INSTITUTIONS.

The marriages were mostly confined to the same class. Nobles with nobles; Timaguas with their rank; and slaves with slaves. They had a system of contract marriage, agreed to by the parents and relatives, which was celebrated by feasts and a public recognition. There was one real wife, who had property rights, and the children had inheritance and descent; she was called Unasaba. There were other wives called friends; the children of these did not inherit, but usually were apportioned. The marriage portion was brought by the man, and his parents gave him this, but the wife brought nothing till she inherited from her family. Marriage was dissolved by the judgment of the Elders, in which parents and relatives had consideration. If the husband were at fault his marriage would be retained by the wife, otherwise it would be returned to him. The property which they had acquired together was divided equally. There was judicious provision made for the adoption of children, and the inheritance and descent of property.

DETERIORATION OF THE FILIPINO.

The foregoing may suffice to show the attributes and character of the primitive Filipino. His love of home, country and order are strikingly manifest in those early times; his interpretation of rights and wrongs are all in accord with feelings of justice and humanity, and there is not in the characteristics of the native in those early times, a single disclosure of the instinct of savagery. In all

the arts of peace he was certainly quite abreast of his times, while in warfare and defense he had the necessary bravery and fortitude, but without the art of military organization and effective weapons. For centuries this people must have existed as a pastoral peasantry, and were wanting in the polish and tarnish of modern civilized life. If we regard him now, we may find a defacement of his former self. He is as brave now as in those generations past when Magellan, under the direction and supervision of his astrologer, discovered him; for what can be stronger proof of courage than the act of coolly facing death? The Filipino to-day, knowing his inequality, coolly stands in his trenches to receive the fatal bullet of the Volunteer. His institutions now are as they were then, and his impulses the same, but there is in him a timidity and evasion, a wariness and caution, that leads you to watching his deceits. It is scarcely human not to live to profit-even to profit by deception-and a little insight into his past will indicate the cause of his weakened moral fiber. It is said that perjury has controlled the Spanish Courts of Justice

A YOUNG REBEL.

in the Philippines for ages past, and that intrigue and deception is the rule of conduct in the governing class. It is also true that in pursuit of their oppression and exactions, the Spanish not only practiced intrigue and deceit, but fraud and violence, and these, by precept and example, entered largely into the business life of the people. The varied, iniquitous devices to enforce Spanish misrule upon the Filipino cannot be given within the confines of a chapter, but the whole system was a net-work of wrong, entering into the judicial and executive functions, and lowering the social standard of the people. How any residue of manliness and honor could outlive it all is a source of wonder; the fact that much has remained will always bring sympathy and esteem to the native Filipino. His status under the Spanish rule has received the condemnation of all who have written upon the Philippines, other than those of Spanish origin, and their conclusions concur as to the baleful effects of the Spanish policy.

In 1842 Lieutenant Wilkes, in command of the United States exploring expedition, makes the significant statement: "That they (the Filipinos) are an industrious class; that they are extremely hospitable, tractable, and possessed of quick apprehension; that they are intelligent and orderly, and govern themselves without the aid of the military; that their wages then were twelve and one-half cents a day in Manila, and six cents to nine cents a day in the provinces," and he "The government of the Philippines is emphatically an iron rule, and

how long it can continue so is doubtful."

Under the present conditions, with his quiet reticence, the native seldom manifests his true character to those outside his class, and what he is or was before the insurrection must be largely gleaned from those who were his familiars at such time.

Professor Dean C. Worcester of the late Commission to the Philippines, had previously spent some years in the islands in his pursuit as a naturalist. He summarizes the Filipino then, and his relation to Spanish rule, as follows: "As a rule the civilized natives are orderly, and when well drilled they make excellent soldiers. Many of the natives are quick to learn, and are anxious for the opportunity, so that their education reduces itself to a question of ways and means. By centuries of oppression and injustice, this naturally gentle and peace-loving people has been drawn into armed revolt. One of the chief causes," he concludes, "is that a school system is provided for by the Spanish law, but favoritism prevails in the choice of teachers, who are often grossly incompetent, while the practical workings of the schools are frequently interfered with by the friars. The law provides that Spanish shall be taught, but as it suits their convenience in the more out of the way places to be the only means of communication between the government and the natives, they often forbid this. A few prayers, and a little writing and arithmetic, comprise the course of instruction in many of the schools.

The relation of the friars to the free school system naturally leads to the discussion of a delicate question, but it would be idle to treat of the problems of the Philippines without discussing the predominance of the friars, and the character of their influence.

"A clear distinction should be drawn at the outset between the friars and the priests. Some of the priests have accomplished an immense amount of good, as the Jesuits. Their Ateneo Municipal' at Manila is, with possibly one exception, the best educational institution in the archipelago, and numbers among its faculty many able and competent men. For some unexplained reason they are

allowed to do missionary work only in the Morro country, where there is much danger and hardship.

"The priests of the mission are often very superior men, abuses are absent, and much good has been accomplished. Many parishes are held by a class of friars which would not be tolerated in any other country. While it is by no means true that all of these friars are incompetent, it is nevertheless a fact that many of them are ignorant beyond belief, and are given over to open and brutish licentiousness, practice inhuman extortion, especially in connection with the solemnization of marriage and the burial of the dead, while they interfere with the execution of the laws, and themselves openly violate them when it serves their ends to do so. The inevi

table result is the utter demoralization of the communities which they control. There is no doubt that their evil practices have contributed, as much as any other one cause, towards bringing about the present revolution, and one of the demands of the insurgents has been that the friars should be expelled from the country.

"It is true that there exists a large class which has suffered at the hands of the friars wrongs which it is not human to forgive. Spain has purposely kept the natives in ignorance, has prevented them from communicating freely with one another, has removed men who showed capacity and inclination to become