Note 16 — Mahometans and Southern Tribes

By Royal Order of August 20, 1888, a concession of 12,000 to 14,000 hectares of land in Palaúan was granted to Felipe Canga-Argüelles y Villalba, ex-Governor of Puerta Princesa, for the term of 20 years.

He could work mines, cut timber, and till the land so conceded under the law called “Ley de Colonias Agrícolas,” of September 4, 1884, which was little more than an extension to the Philippines of the Peninsula forest and agricultural law of June 3, 1868 (vide Gaceta de Madrid of September 29, 1888). It appears, however, from the Colonial Ministerʼs despatch No. 515, to the Gov.-General of the Colony, dated May 24, 1890, that the concessionaire had endeavoured to associate himself with foreigners for the working of the concession. I myself had received from him several letters on the subject. The wording of the despatch shows that suspicion was entertained of an eventual intention to declare territorial independence in Palaúan. The Government, wishing to avoid the possibility of embroilment with a foreign nation, unfortunately felt constrained to impose such restrictions upon the concessionaire as to render his enterprise valueless.