the insular treasury. Besides this there are 179 Filipino teachers paid by the municipalities. The total amount of salaries paid to the latter is 28.620 per year. Besides the high school and the normal established in this city and a high school at Candon, there are 135 public schools throughout the province and 7 or 8 private institutions of learning. The attendance at the high and normal schools of Vigan is 242 and at the other schools some 13,000.

The number of scholars in private institutions is calculated at 800, but it is hoped that after the rainy season is over this number will considerably increase. It has been clearly demonstrated that the people take great interest in availing themselves of the education which the government furnishes.

PUBLIC HEALTH.

The sanitary conditions of this province have somewhat improved, for in spite of the fact that there were some cases of Asiatic cholera during October and November, 1903, the number of deaths in the province was only 4.812. which, in proportion to the number of inhabitants, is an average mortality of 27.36 a thousand.

The prevailing diseases during the year were Asiatic cholera, intermittent fevers, gastro-intestinal catarrh, tuberculosis of the lungs, and a few sporadic cases of smallpox, which were successfully kept down.

I give the following interesting data of marriages and births: Births in the entire province during the past fiscal year, 10,718; average per 1,000 inhabitants, 60.94; number of marriages, 1,326.

CRIMINAL OFFENSES.

According to data before me, during the year 1903 there has been an increase of 20 per cent in criminal prosecutions in course over the number for the year 1902, and, in my opinion, this is due rather to more scrupulous work in the administration of justice, which is improving every year, than to the real increase in criminality.

The criminal prosecutions begun and sentenced during the year 1903, including those pending on January 1 of said year, and during the first six months of 1904 are given in detail as follows:

Criminal causes pending January 1, 1903

Criminal causes begun during the year 1903.

Criminal causes sentenced during the year 1903.

Criminal causes dismissed on account of complainants' failure to prose

cute during the year.

Criminal causes pending January 1, 1904

Criminal causes pending January 1, 1904

Criminal causes begun June 1 to 30, 1904_.

Criminal causes sentenced during the same period..

Criminal causes pending July 1, 1904

15

The majority of the crimes committed were classified as theft, homicide, assault accompanied by physical injuries, and estafa (swindling, embezzlement, obtaining money under false pretenses, etc.).

RECOMMENDATIONS RELATIVE TO AMENDMENTS WHICH SHOULD BE MADE TO THE MUNICIPAL CODE.

First. Subsection (n) of section 18 fixes the month of December of each year as the time when each president shall prepare and make out an annual report setting forth the most important events which have occurred in the municipality within the current year. I believe that it would be advisable to amend this section in the sense that the said report shall be prepared and made out during the month of June instead of December. The reasons for this change are as follows: (a) In order to harmonize said annual report with the provisions of Act No. 1044 amending section 7 of the provincial act relative to the month in

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which the provincial governors must send in their own reports, which changes the time for this work from January to July. In this manner the reports of the presidents will be more timely in furnishing data for the reports of the provincial governors, both referring to events transpiring during the fiscal year. (b) The years that the general municipal elections are held on the 1st of December the presidents are busy with the preliminary work of the elections, and with the mental excitement resulting from same when there are protests on account of alleged irregularities it is impossible for them to find time or opportunity to write these reports.

Second. Subsections (c), (d), and (c) of section 47 designate the month of January of each year as the time when the council shall prepare a report in duplicate of the estimated revenues and ordinary and extraordinary expenses for the current year, and I believe that it would be more convenient to have these estimates prepared in the month of July. The reasons are: (a) To make these municipal budgets conform to the fiscal year. (b) To give an opportunity to the newly elected municipal officials after each election to gain a better knowledge and more experience of the affairs of the municipality before making up these budgets, and not, as now happens, to exact from them the drafting of these estimates of the revenues and expenses of the municipality immediately after taking office.

Third. It would also be advisable to amend subsection (f) of section 47 in the sense that the said reports of revenues and expenses of the municipalities shall be approved by the provincial treasurer with the advice and consent of the provincial board.

Respectfully submitted.

M. CRISÓLOGO, Governor, Province of Ilocos Sur.

The CIVIL GOVERNOR OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.

REPORT OF THE GOVERNOR OF THE PROVINCE OF ILOILO.

OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR, PROVINCE OF ILOILO,
Hoilo, August 23, 1904.

SIR: Complying with the provisions of Act No. 1044 and with the circular letter of the civil government dated June 4, 1904, I have the honor to submit the following report for the province of Iloilo:

If to govern is not an art, but a science--and this has been demonstrated-I may be permitted to refer in this introduction to the general and unchangeable principles of science in order to contemplate man as a natural and necessary inhabitant of the terraqueous globe to which he must necessarily bear moral and physical relations in order to achieve the end predestined for him by creation, an end that is essential and the same for him, in all parts of the earth, whether considered as cosmos in general or as a nation, province, or municipality, because from those general principles emanate, as the branches of a tree spread out from its trunk, the moral and material felicity of the inhabitants of a province the highest aspiration of every good government.

From this viewpoint conditions during the past fiscal year were hardly satisfactory, as no decided or permanent improvement, either moral or economic, was perceived in the general state of the province. And the reason is to be found in that the inhabitants are absolutely ignorant of the fundamental principles of natural law as specified by public legislation condensed in this single phrase, "The common good through order, morality, and justice." And although quite true that this evil existed heretofore and that in this regard the province knows neither more nor less than formerly of fundamental scientific principles, the liberties granted by the basic political legislation (the municipal code and provincial act), which were understood in a captious manner by the unenlightened in the true sense of the word and in an egotistical manner by the absolutely uneducated, whose only thought and tendency is the instinct of the irrational being for self-preservation at the cost of the destruction of others, have rendered the general situation of the province worse than what it was.

The author of this report does not argue, because of the above result, against liberty nor the highly generous and liberal tendencies of the two fundamental' laws mentioned; they are good, pure, and worthy of a good government. The objection lies in their interpretation and application, difficulties which will disappear by hastening the day when education shall become widespread and

general, and by being very careful in enacting secondary laws construing these fundamental laws which shall have the conditions as to timeliness, economy, and facility in application, as I will show under distinct captions in this report. It can be perfectly understood why general conditions might be worse this year than last, as the municipal governments have not become acquainted with their high mission set forth in the two fundamental laws under which they were reconstituted, the municipal code and the provincial act, but, on the contrary, have lived in disorder in a moral as much as in a material sense, and for this reason as each year passes it becomes more difficult to remedy the evils they suffer, for we all know that evil tendencies which can be corrected if suffocated in time become incorrigible if allowed to run on, and if economy is not practiced always ruin will eventually follow. This theoretical conclusion is proven by the following facts: The prosperity of a province depends upon the greatest development of its resources and a decrease in criminality.

The value of the exports of Iloilo this year was $3,066,178 and of its imports $2,419,017.36; but it must be borne in mind that from the figures given for exports $2,754,365 must be deducted as the value of the sugar exported, the greatest part of which was grown in the island of Negros, and that of the value of the imports at least one-half was for the same place. The most notable fact in this connection is that two provinces like Iloilo, with a population of 395,042 inhabitants, and the island of Negros, with about an equal number and 225,000 hectares of arable land, are unable between them to export and import on a larger scale than the above figures indicate on account of their lack of energy and development.

During the past fiscal year the province collected as provincial revenues P93,964.57 and $73,541.80 local currency and disbursed P87,614.65 and $49,599.51 local currency, leaving a balance of 6,359.92 and $23,942.29 local currency. It is well to note that P31,670.76 and $30,396.65 local currency were expended for salaries and wages of employees. It is rather a discouraging outlook for the province to have so small a balance left over when there is so much for it to do in the way of public improvements, among them the construction of a public jail.

In my opinion, it would be very advisable to introduce economy in salaries of employees and in the reduction of their number and to demand the return of the Cotta de Iloilo (fortress of San Pedro) to the province from the military government, in order that it may be used as a public jail as formerly. If to economize is a problem for the province, it is still worse for the municipalities, as scarcely one of them is there that is able to pay the salaries of its employees, who are as numerous as they are useless. To guard against these evils, there is no other remedy than the perspicacity of the provincial board and of the governor in the discharge of their respective duties by raising the administration of the municipalities to a higher moral plane and by applying prompt and efficient remedies to misconduct and abuses by timely warnings and the exemplary corrective measures permitted by law.

The number of cases last year before the courts was 247, against 329 for this year; 227 were disposed of last year, while this year, in spite of the increase in the number, but 149 were disposed of.

It would greatly redound to the definite progress of the province if the municipal code and provincial act were to be taught in the public schools, as in this province not only the children should be educated for the future, but adults also need instruction and education for the public life of the present committed to their charge. It would be a great and lamentable error to permit them through their ignorance and almost absolute lack of education to spoil everything for the present, the only expectation being that the children of to-day who are to succeed them when they are older will correct and amend the evil, when perhaps it will be irreparable, the time for doing so being inopportune. It would also be very advisable, owing to the inability of the inhabitants of this province to appreciate what is best for the common welfare, that the office of governor be held but one term by each incumbent, as the period of two years is quite sufficient, if activity and intelligence are displayed, for a governor to contribute to the improvement and advance of the provincial administration, and if these qualities are lacking in him the inhabitants will have put up with him long enough during the period mentioned. Only in this way can there be avoided the deplorable consequences of a governmental caciquism, which always tends to a practical monopoly of power and collusion with municipal officers, the sole cause of the decadence of the pueblos. On the other hand, the provincial governor, in view of the short time allowed him by law during which he

may profit by the salary attached to his office, will either decide to do good by sacrificing himself to the common welfare and to his own glory or will decline to accept the office, and thus make way for a more able and patriotic man.

PUBLIC INSTRUCTION.

Education is quite complete in so far as the part played by the government is concerned and with relation to the actual condition of the spirit of the people of this province. However, it might be improved by the teaching of the Blbie and morality, both theological and social, inasmuch as a knowledge of these things fortifies and perfects the human soul, whence all suggestions of ideas and acts originate, both of which make for happiness or misery in this life, and will be all the better and surer to reach the desired end of every good government the better informed the spirit is of these matters. Consequently it would be highly praiseworthy to establish a special class, beginning with primary instruction, in public or social morality, persons of all ages and conditions being admitted. In secondary instruction also, classes in social morality, where Biblical precepts or sacred history derived from authoritative sources are taught, should be established. Only in this manner can education be expected positively and efficiently to contribute to the prompt restoration and maintenance of social order; otherwise, we may be able to present in meaningless figures large numbers of well-educated children as a result of the present system of public instruction, but they are of no service to us at present in the social advancement of the people, as their abilities will not be available until the future. It is therefore important that education should be extended to persons of all ages.

The attention of the superior authorities is invited to the following statistics of the public schools: During the fiscal year 1902-3 the number of children attending school was 6,843, at an expense of approximately $6,000 local currency, against an attendance of 8,042 and expenses of about $8,013 local currency for the last fiscal year, according to statistics furnished by the division superintendent of schools for this district. It must be borne in mind that besides the expenditures above set forth for salaries of Filipino teachers there must be added $2,850 for rent of normal school building, the salaries of American teachers, and cost of books, furniture, stationery, and schoolhouses, which results rather expensively in comparison to the number of scholars. Taking this year's attendance with last reveals that there has been little or no progress toward the realization of the Filipino's desire for education, as the increase in one year is only 1,170 for the entire province, which has, according to the census, 97,272 children of school age. All of these difficulties can be overcome by persistently imbuing the people with the urgent importance of educating themselves and to be economical by practicing sobriety, morality, and good habits.

ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.

If education is important for the happy and progressive existence of the body politic, a good administration of justice is no less necessary and useful. The latter demands not only that the laws shall be applied from the standard of logic and morality, but that the laws shall serve as an example to the community and be productive of economy; but these last two requisites are almost impossible of realization in communities that are lacking in culture, as their realization depends upon the assistance lent the judge by the people and his subordinates. The judge may do his part as a man of learning, which is an upright application of the law, but it may also happen that his subordinates and the people do not support the judge, but place obstacles in the way of justice which make it ineffectual; for example, when the lawyers, clerks, sheriff, and police fail punctually to comply with all that the law provides and the judge orders, or the witnesses by not appearing or by appearing late and testifying without due regard for the truth-all of these things vitiate the beneficent action of justice, and then there is no repentance on the part of the criminal, and the public, looking on, loses the force of an example. Meanwhile the province pays for the keep and other expenses of those prisoners whose cases are not disposed of promptly.

These objections have gradually disappeared in this province, except that the public does not yet cooperate for the better administration of justice, and the court of appeals does not dispose of cases brought before it as would be desired. This denial on its part is due partly to its lack of patriotism and partly to the

insufficient help extended to witnesses in the payment of their traveling expenses and maintenance while at the residence of the court. It would therefore appear very important to provide that the judge certify to the presence of the witness at court and the number of days employed by him since he left his home and until his return in order that upon such certificate he may be paid the amount of traveling expenses and per diem due him. It can not be denied that the majority of crimes go unpunished because of the refusal of witnesses to testify who have nature's law on their side against which no human law can exact from them, considering their extreme poverty, the obligation of appearing in the courts.

In addition, these two great necessities, education and justice, that it is the duty of man to improve in society, and which affect his principal part-the spiritual being-we must study that which is most essential to his material being by means of which he conserves and at the same time perfects both the spirit and the body. And from this viewpoint it is my opinion that we ought immediately interest ourselves in agriculture, the original source of all wealth, as is demonstrated to us by history, statistics, and the science of political economy. Man begins to enrich himself by appropriating the products of the soil, and it is only when he has them in abundance that he thinks of transforming them by means of industry, and when he has perfected the latter in quality and quantity he devotes himself to commerce, the pinnacle of his labors tending to his well-being in this life.

AGRICULTURE.

Agriculture, in its rudimentary stage, when man tills the ground in order to take from it what is useful by his own efforts, does not require great elements but only man's intelligence and human determination, but man's desire to improve it impels him to make the production of the soil larger and better, hence the use of mechanics or machinery which demands us to depend upon the aid of political economy, capital, machinery, and an able-bodied population; these two latter elements exist in the region, though not in equal conditions, because the machinery is of foreign importation and its cost here is therefore dear, causing a great falling off in agricultural production, afflicted constantly by the lack of native capital.

This state of affairs is not flattering to agriculture, so that its surest safety would be in a stagnation of its production to the extent that it might cover only the most pressing necessities, this having been proved in practice, farmers lacking capital of their own who increased their production, having ruined themselves.

To have capital of their own it should be the result of the frugality of the producing classes in order to establish an agricultural bank at once and a mercantile one later on, if prosperous, but unfortunately lack of foresight, sobriety, and charity on the part of the inhabitants of these parts, even of the most advanced, has made the foundation of this most prime necessity to agriculture an impossibility, so that it has been left to chance and poverty and with only imported machinery and a population undisciplined for work.

In order the better to understand the positive depression of this principal source of wealth it is necessary to take the preceding logical causes in connection with certain undeniable facts, such as the extreme mortality of all sorts of animals useful for agricultural work-there being but 24,991 carabaos to cultivate the 99,000 hectares of arable lands contained in this province-the presence of bandits in the hills bordering on these lands; the result of the revolution; the bad roads, which prevent an easy and cheap outlet to agricultural production; the inaptitude of the municipal authorities in whose jurisdiction and under whose protection these lands lie; authorities whose only thought is to raise sufficient revenue to eke out their existence, and that burden production with excessive, because unjustly distributed, taxes, and the lack of personal security-these things give a complete idea of the ruinous conditions prevailing in this province.

During normal times the greatest source of wealth here is agriculture. Among its varied products we might point out rice and sugar, in the cultivation of which the planter with capital, personal capacity, and good habits would realize a profit of 60 per cent in spite of the fact that but one crop a year of these products is gathered, but the fertility of the soil is such that it yields twohundredfold. Three crops of corn can be got in the year, in May, July, and December, the latter month being harvesting time of all other products grown in