Note 3 — REFORMS NEEDED IN FILIPINAS

[The artillery corps is in better condition than any other part of the military force of the islands; it is under better discipline, and has always been under European officers. The Indians are in great terror of the cannon. When in the tumult of 1820 Folgueras ordered three pieces to be planted at various points outside the walls, the natives implored him to take the cannon away, as the inhabitants were so terrified that they did not dare to cross the streets; and in the disturbances of 1809 in Ilocos, “only one four-libra cannon, fired by a revenue-clerk, the ball from which hit a church-tower, was sufficient to curb and disconcert more than 10,000 insurgents.” To this corps might be added (but as footmen) the company which should be disbanded in the cavalry, since in so rough and broken a country as Luzon horsemen are of little use. The artillery in Manila is of wretched quality: almost all of it was cast there, at various periods, and by unskilled founders; not only the guns but their carriages are irregular, clumsy, unreliable, and are difficult to manage; and for these very reasons the foundry there has been abolished, but since that time no cannon save a small siege battery has been sent thither from Europe. The artillery cast in Manila is sufficiently good to provide for the defense of the provinces against the Moros; but measures should be taken to provide for the better defense of that city. The working of iron and the making of artillery are almost entirely in the hands of the Chinese of Manila,3 and the Indians therefore are unskilled in this industry; some skilled masters should be sent over from Spain to teach them and oversee the manufacture of iron. The country abounds in rich mines of iron, but these have been barely scratched and then abandoned; only some common utensils are made there, and other iron articles are sold to the people at high prices by foreigners, who carry great sums of money out of the country. “The iron of Manila has been examined in the artillery workshops, and has been found to be very soft and fibrous.” Attempts have been made by the Spanish government to utilize the mines and introduce machinery into their operation; but the officials entrusted with these enterprises have been ineffective, caring only to draw their salaries. Bernaldez urges the encouragement of private capital to undertake these works, with concessions, privileges, and protection which shall be adequate to enlist their energies; this would lead to the development of the natural riches of the islands, the population would be increased by skilled artisans and mechanics, and the great increase thus obtained in wealth of the country would likewise bring incalculable benefits to the royal treasury—not only in revenues from the increased commerce and manufactures, but in the great saving in the expenses of furnishing the army with weapons, made in the country at so much less cost than before. In the arsenal reform is needed; all its workmen except the gunsmiths should be replaced gradually by Indians, who are so skilful and work for less wages than the Spaniards; and the gunsmiths should have a regular military organization. Better provision should also be made for a supply of gunpowder. At the beginning of the century, a powder factory was erected, which cost eighty thousand hard dollars, although it was made of only bamboo and nipa; with this a large supply of powder was made, but its quality was poor, on account of the impurities in the saltpetre, which they had to obtain from India. There has been talk of building another factory (the former one being apparently no longer in existence); it is likely to be as costly an enterprise, because the lack of a strong current in the rivers “has rendered impracticable the installation of hydraulic machinery.” The Spanish government ought to take measures to provide the large amount of powder needed for the use of the forts, army, navy, and revenue service. Bernaldez advises that this be done by making contracts (with either Spaniards or foreigners), by which they can secure powder of better quality and at lower prices; and besides this they ought to send immediately to the islands a scientist (whose salary ought to be paid from the funds of the Economic Society and the consulate of commerce)—“whose mission shall be not only to establish in the capital a chair of mineralogy (which is so necessary for exploring the hitherto unknown interior of the islands), but himself to make researches in the provinces of the archipelago for places where the saltpetre can be found—which he will find, without fail.” Then gunpowder can be made in the islands, and they will be independent in the means for their defense.]