Cabangan Nueva has a good tribunal, a fair school building, a park and band stand, streets and bridges in good condition. In fact, everything in the town shows a spirit of progress and enterprise.

Echague: This town is now building a tribunal and schoolhouse and is now improving the streets and parks, and there is a general tendency to improve not only the public but private buildings.

Naguilian: This town has a fair tribunal and is improving the schoolhouse and has sufficient funds on hand to place the public buildings in good condition. Gamu: This town is repairing the old tribunal, which is in bad condition, and is building a new schoolhouse, improving the streets, etc.

Cabangan Viejo, Andaganan, Santo Tomas, Cauayan, Santa Maria, Tumauini have no public buildings, but are all erecting schoolhouses. Some of them are of a substantial character and others necessarily small, owing to lack of funds. Within a year or two with the increased revenue the municipalities have, they will be enabled to erect tribunals and other public buildings needed. The old barracks in the town of Cauayan were turned over to us by order of the department commander, and we are now using the material for the erection of public schools in that town. Santo Tomas is without public buildings, churches, stores. In fact there are no buildings of any value within the municipality, and as it is less than 2 miles distant from the town of Cabangan Nuevo, where most of the property holders of Santo Tomas reside and where all the people do their trading, I would recommend that Santo Tomas be consolidated with Cabangan Nuevo, and that the money now on hand be turned into the treasury of Cabangan Nuevo to be used for the erection, of the necessary school buildings in Santo Tomas. They have nearly $2,000 Philippine currency on hand, which is sufficient to erect the necessary school buildings, and a school teacher and a couple of policemen is all that will be needed in the barrio of Santo Tomas in the event of its consolidation with Cabangan Nuevo. The provincial board agrees with me in this recommendation.

POLICE.

There has been a marked improvement in both the discipline and efficiency of the municipal police of this province. Each presidente wants a much larger police force than in my opinion is necessary, and we expect to reduce the number of police materially and add to the efficiency of same, leaving them, however, under the control of the local presidente, as in my opinion the presidente loses prestige with his constituents if he does not control the local police. I make frequent inspections of the police of the province myself and a constabulary officer also inspects them once a month and reports on their efliciency, condition of arms, etc. The old custom of having a large number of policemen, paying them a very small salary and using them almost entirely as messengers or servants is being gradually done away with, and the policemen, being better paid and used for the purpose of policing the towns, are drawing better material to their ranks than heretofore, and I feel satisfied that within three months more the police of this province will be in such condition that we can maintain law and order with the presence of a small well-officered force of constabulary.

SCHOOLS.

This province is backward from an educational standpoint, having had very few American school-teachers in the past and the authorities appeared to take very little interest in school work. At the last meeting of presidentes they passed a resolution requesting the establishment of a provincial high school at Ilagan, which request I transmitted at once to the division superintendent of schools, who has established the school as requested, and assigned two American and several native teachers to the same. Four more American teachers have been assigned to this province and they will be assigned to the most important towns to teach and also supervise the large number of Filipino teachers that have been employed for the coming year. Schoolhouses are being built in all the towns and in a great many of the important barrios; the people in the barrios, in many instances, contributing labor free, and I have every reason to believe that great advancement will be made in educational work in this province during the coming year. The division superintendent and his assistants are all energetic and are doing everything they can to build up the public schools, and they are not only receiving the assistance of the provincial officials, but the municipal officials seem to be taking great interest and are rendering every possible assistance. In fact, at the last meeting of presidentes they requested

that a compulsory school law be passed, which request I forwarded to the honorable civil governor disapproved, as, in my opinion, a compulsory school law is not needed at the present time, as the Filipino people in this province are taking great interest in having their children taught English and are asking for a great many more American teachers than it is possible for us to supply. In a few years, when we will have a sufficient number of Filipinos graduating from our normal and high schools to furnish the number of teachers that will be required it may be necessary to pass a compulsory school law, but this I doubt very much, as my five years' residence in the Philippine Islands has shown me that the Filipinos, almost without exception, are anxious to educate their children.

LADRONISM.

Ladronism has practically ceased to exist in this province, and there is at the present time no armed resistance to the authority of the United States. Sibley, the American deserter, with four Filipinos, is the last of the old gang of ladrones; they have been driven out of this province, and at the present time are supposed to be with a wild tribe in Nueva Vizcaya. I have every reason to believe that should he return to this province the people will refuse to aid him and will assist the authorities in his capture. Sibley himself has committed no overt act except being out in the mountains with arms. He has never been in a fight and simply has put in his time eluding the officers of the law. He seems to have money and at one time had great influence with the Ilocanos, who inhabit the southern part of this province. He speaks their language fluently, and after he was driven out of the Ilocano country by Captain Long of the constabulary he took refuge with the Elongotes, a wild mountain tribe, and exercised great influence over them; but we have succeeded in winning the Elongotes over and Sibley has been compelled to leave the province. They have promised that should he return they will bring him in. The constabulary has worked hard to bring this result about and deserve great credit. Captain Long, who had charge of field operations in Isabela until after the capture of Tomines and his gang, is an officer of ability and courage and is competent to fill a much higher position than the one he now holds. Captain Owens, the present senior inspector of the province, is a man of ability and has the constabulary of the province under good discipline. He has contributed largely to bring about the good feeling whuch now exists among the people of the province.

HEALTH.

During May and June smallpox broke out quite badly at Iligan and vicinity. A large number of vaccinators were sent to the province by the board of health. The president of the provincial board of health, Doctor Toribio, is a very energetic young man and took all measures possible to prevent the spread of this disease and has been successful, and at the present time there is little or no smallpox in the province. The sanitary conditions in the various towns are being improved, and the health of the inhabitants of the province, as a rule, is good.

FINANCES.

The financial condition of the province is not as good as desired. However, the money borrowed from the insular government has been returned, and all debts are paid. The province has sufficient funds to pay current expenses, but is unable to erect the necessary provincial office buildings and school buildings without assistance from the insular government. I feel satisfied, however, that the revenues of the province will gradually increase.

ROADS AND BRIDGES.

The roads and bridges of this province are in rather bad condition, and it is impossible, with the funds received for that purpose, to keep all the roads in good condition unless a compulsory road law is passed. All of the towns in this province are situated on or near the Cagayan River, and most of the transportation is by water, so that the provincial board has decided to keep up a few roads that are absolutely necessary, leaving the others in their present condition, for the present at least.

MAIL SERVICE.

The effort to have the mails carried on the Cagayan River by the coast guard steamer Sentinel has proven a failure; owing to the low water and constant change of channels it is impossible to run a steamboat, or even a launch, to this place more than six months in a year. The director of posts has made arrangements for a weekly service from Aparri by Barangay, which, although slow, will be sure and regular, leaving the Sentinel to carry supplies for the civil commissaries, passengers, and also mails when practicable. I, however, think that a contract could be made with some of the companies owning boats on this river to bring the supplies required at less cost than it takes to maintain a steamer like the Sentinel. Post-offices have been established in every municipality in this province, and the administration of this department is to be commended.

WILD TRIBES.

The wild tribes of this province are located in the mountain region. Those who live nearest the Christian settlements are semicivilized, and have traffic with the people of the province, while those who live in the remote sections of the province are quite wild and remain to themselves entirely. The largest tribes are Igorrotes, and known as the Mayoyo and Bulsian, numbering about 5,000. They live on the Nueva Vizcaya line. The second largest tribe is the Elongotes, numbering about 1,500, and living on the headwaters of the Cagayan River. There are various other small tribes of Gadanes, Calingas and Negritos, numbering from 2,000 to 3,000, scattered all over the province. I visited all of these tribes and established crude governments among them, which I shall try to perfect from time to time, and endeavor to group them together as much as possible for administrative purposes, and, later on, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, will assign them lands. I have also purchased, with the permission of the Secretary of the Interior, canes, which are used as emblems of authority by their chiefs, and taken up the canes which were given them by the Spanish and Filipino governments.

TELEGRAPHS AND TELEPHONES.

The most important towns of this province are connected by telegraph, and we are now arranging with Captain Davies, constabulary officer in charge of this division, to put in telephones to all of the municipalities not connected by telegraph, the municipalities aiding by furnishing the posts and maintaining the line, the telegraph division to furnish the wire and instruments; and I hope that within the next six months we will have a complete system in the province, which will greatly facilitate business on the municipalities 'as well as being of great aid to the business community.

AGRICULTURE.

An excellent crop of tobacco was grown this year, which is the only crop raised for export. Corn and rice are raised to a limited extent for home use only. Great fears were entertained by the people with regard to the new internal-revenue law, but as soon as its provisions are thoroughly understood it will prove a popular measure. There are no manufactories of any kind in this province, all of the tobacco being shipped to Manila. I procured a large amount of corn, cotton, and other seeds for the people of this province, as well as a lot of maguey, as the people desire to raise other crops than tobacco. The locusts have done a little damage to crops in the northern part of the province, but it is not general.

RECOMMENDATIONS.

At the last assembly of presidentes a resolution was unanimously passed recommending the enactment of a compulsory road law, in which I heartily concur. Compulsory labor was undoubtedly abused during the Spanish régime, as people were compelled to work on public roads and buildings and churches an unreasonable length of time; but I feel satisfied that a law compelling all able-bodied male residents to work three days each of each year on the public highways in their own municipalities, or pay 50 cents Philippines currency each day in lieu thereof, would be a just and a popular measure, and this labor, together with the revenue now derived for roads and bridges, would enable the

province to keep the roads in good condition without aid from the insular government.

In view of the fact that the only source of revenue the residents of this province have is tobacco, which is sold during the months of July, August, and September of each year, I recommend that the time of payment of the land tax be changed from April, May, and June, as it now is, to July, August, and September. This would save many farmers from borrowing money at ruinous interest and would not otherwise affect the province. I think this recommendation should apply to all provinces in which the only source of revenue is tobacco.

I recommend the erection of a suitable provincial office building and a provincial school building at this place. As stated heretofore, the revenue of this province is barely sufficient to meet current expenses at the present time. If this request is granted the province will be able to take care of itself in the future, and in the course of a few years will be in a position to refund the money spent on these buildings.

Firearms.—I recommend that hereafter no permits be granted to carry or have in possession rifles or carbines. The possession by responsible persons of a revolver to use in stores or residences is in my opinion sufficient for personal protection. Shotguns could be used for hunting without any great risk, but I think it dangerous to have rifles or carbines in the possession of anyone in these islands except the Army, the constabulary, and the authorized police. This is not intended to deprive the Filipino of the rifle any more than the American, and I am opposed to allowing them in possession of anyone. My past experience as a criminal oflicer in the western part of the United States has taught me that the less arms in possession of people the easier it is to maintain law and order.

GENERAL REMARKS.

The provincial treasurer, provincial secretary, president of the board of health, and provincial fiscal are all performing their duties well, and entire harmony prevails among the officials of this province. Mr. Wood, the teacher, who is designated as the third member of the provincial board, is not only an excellent school-teacher, but a man of exceptional ability, and is a useful member of the provincial board. The province loses an excellent official in the transfer of Mr. Stewart from this province to Sorsogon. The office is now in charge of his chief deputy, Mr. Killan, acting treasurer, who is both a competent and popular young man, and is deserving of promotion. Mr. Eliseo Claravall, provincial secretary, has, in my opinion, done more to bring about the good feeling toward our government which now exists in this province than any other individual. He is honest, courageous, and a strong advocate of the principles of the American Government here. The Filipino clerks and deputy treasurers are a competent set of young men, and during the past year there has not been a single defalcation either by the treasurer's deputies or by any municipal treasurer of this province a record which speaks for itself. The residence in the valley of Judge McCabe has had a good moral effect. Speedy trial has followed arrest and the judge's well-known sympathy for and interest in the people of his district has endeared him to all. My short term as governor prevents me from giving a more detailed report. I will submit a supplementary report in September, dealing with the conditions and proposed form of government for the wild tribes, giving statistics of the value of this year's tobacco crop, which will be marketed by that time.

Every possible assistance has been rendered me by the Tabacalera Company and other firms doing business in this province. The best of feeling exists toward our government with the Filipino people here, and I am sure this province will cause the government no trouble hereafter. The people are law-abiding, and are satisfied with their form of government and the officials appointed over them.

I thank the governor and Commission for their confidence in assigning me to the honorable position I now occupy, for their support at all times of my administration, and for their good will and assistance to the people I have endeavored to the best of my ability to serve during my brief term of office. Respectfully submitted.

GEORGE CURRY,

Provincial Governor Province of Isabela,

The CIVIL GOVERNOR OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.

REPORT OF THE GOVERNOR OF THE PROVINCE OF LAGUNA.

OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR, PROVINCE OF LAGUNA, Santa Cruz, June 30, 1904. SIR: In compliance with the provisions of Act No. 1044, amending section 7 of Act No. 83, I have the honor to send you the present report of the province of Laguna, covering the period embraced between January 1, 1903, and June 30, 1901.

PUBLIC INSTRUCTION.

During the time embraced by this report, public instruction in this province has been benefited not only by the great attention paid to it by the provincial and municipal authorities, but also by the activity and work accomplished by the industrious and intelligent division superintendent of schools, Mr. W. E. Lutz.

There are at present in the majority of the pueblos American teachers, and in all of them Filipino teachers, who, to everybody's satisfaction, have displayed great interest and skill in their work, demonstrating the greatest ardor in tryng to secure the moral and material advancement of the boys and girls who attend their schools. It is worthy of admiration to note that the said teachers, aside from holding classes during the day, devote a few hours at night to teaching adults desiring to study or perfect themselves in English, and, bearing in mind the goodly number of the latter, it is to be hoped that in the not distant future there will be a sufficient number of competent teachers to increase the number of schools in the barrios of the pueblos of the province.

To give some idea of the conditions of public instruction, the following statement is given to show in a detailed manner the number of schools, teachers, and the attendance during the year 1904 as compared with the two previous years: