The Inhabitants of the Philippines

The writer feels that no English book does justice to the natives of the Philippines, and this conviction has impelled him to publish his own more favourable estimate of them. He arrived in Manila with a thorough command of the Spanish language, and soon acquired a knowledge of the Tagal dialect. His avocations brought him into contact with all classes of the community--officials, priests, land-owners, mechanics, and peasantry: giving him an unrivalled opportunity to learn their ideas and observe their manners and customs. He resided in Luzon for fourteen years, making trips either on business or for sport all over the Central and Southern Provinces, also visiting Cebu, Iloilo, and Other ports in Visayas, as well as Calamianes, Cuyos, and Palawan. Old Spanish chroniclers praise the good breeding of the natives, and remark the quick intelligence of the young. Recent writers are less favourable; Canamaque holds them up to ridicule, Monteverde denies them the possession of any good quality either of body or mind. Foreman declares that a voluntary concession of justice is regarded by them as a sign of weakness; Other writers judge them from a few days' experience of some of the cross-bred corrupted denizens of Manila