The Hastings Standard Published Daily. TUESDAY, DEC. 22, 1896. THE SPANIARDS IN THE PHILIPPINES.

Hastings Standard, Issue 203, 22 December 1896, Page 2

The Hastings Standard Published Daily.

TUESDAY, DEC. 22, 1896. THE SPANIARDS IN THE PHILIPPINES.

For the cause that lacks assistance, For the wrongs that need resistance. For the future in the distance, And the good that we can do.

Fok i lownright savagery the Spaniard seems to be as bad as the Turk, as will be seen by to-day's cablegrams, and by the following narrative : An English planter writing from Manila on Sept. :-JO. says that the province of C'avtio is held by rebels, who had killed all the Spaniards and priests, but did not molest the English. "Great atrocities," he continues, " have been committed on both sides, but more so by the Spaniards, who have shown no mercy to the prisoners caught, and when possible, they have shot down right and left everyone that came within their reach. A perfect reign of terror exists. The Spaniards are torturing especially the more important people in order to force them to declare. I am told they are actually nailing their hands up to the walls and flagellating them, applying the thumbscrew, Ac. There is no doubt it is perfectly true. No telegrams are allowed to go away except after being censored by the Government, and correspondence is violated, but, nevertheless. the Hong Kong and Singapore papers have managed to get an account of the Blaek Hole of Manila, worse than that of Calcutta. In an old dungeon in the fortress some one hundred people were thrown in one night, there being only room for thirty. The miserable wretches were up to their knees in lmi'l. tilthy and putrid, and the next morning fifty-nine corpses, were takeu out. I trust the European papers will take this up. The rebel-

lion is solely due to the utterly rotten and corrupt administration here. Things look very black indeed. Executions have been -wholesale ; yesterday four more unfortunate natives were shot in the public promenade. 1 hope I may never see another such sight. It was simply awful. The rifles were put so close to the heads of the prisoners that these were blown all to pieces. Actually crowds of Spanish women went to see it. The Spanish say they will shoot five hundred of the ringleaders."' It is sail that the natives suffer from lack of leaders, or otherwise they would soon have possession of the islands. The item stating that •' a Protection Committee has been formed " is evidently meant to convey that a patriotic organisation has been started in Madrid to assist the Government in suppressing the revolt. No lover of progress can hope that Spain may succeed in her efforts to retain Cuba and the Philippines.