ANOTHER GIBRALTAR

Hokitika Guardian, 27 August 1921, Page 4

ANOTHER GIBRALTAR

j AMERICA IN THE PHILIPPINES. | (By T. J. Henry). I As we- steamed into Manila Bay I j had an excellent view of* the Isle of ■ Corrcgidor, “the Gibralt%)‘ ol the East, j which stands sentinel in the fairway ot I the wide entrance. America lias ntil- • ised its splendidly strategic situation j to transform it into what aims to be an | impregnable turtress. It is a mile or so ; long, by, say, half a mile wide. It rises well out of the water, and bristles •with barracks, military workshops, storehouses, wireless masts, hangars for ’planes, and immense sheds, in which ! can be seen captive balloons inflated 1 ready for instant service. Should a ! hostile squadron attempt to enter the capacious bay it would find more difficulty than did that of Admiral Dewey I un May Day, 1893, when, without the : loss of a single man, it destroyed the ; Reina Christina, the Don Juan de Austria, and other proud galleons which ! made feeble efforts to repel it. Some j hold that Corrcgidor is not exclusively { for defence against foreign foes. Prior to the H ispano-American war the i Philippines revolted against Spain. ; After an abortive rising in 1*9(5 Dr Jose i Ili/.al, the most prominent revolutionist, , was shot as a rebel ; to-day his statue j stands on the Luneta, commemorating i him as a martyr in the cause of his | country. In 1897 Aquinaldo formed a j nominal republic, and sought recogni- ! tion from the United States. This was j refused, but the following year, when war broke out, Aquinaldo joined America against Spain. The outcome was not the establishment of an autonomous republic. The United States occupied the islands, proclaimed the group a territory, and set about governing it. Hut they avowedly took this step because the Filipinos were not considered sufficiently advanced in political culture to govern themselves. America regards it as her mission to act as mentor and guardian mini she trains the people to run their own country. This she is honestly endeavouring to do. But amongst the Filipinos the idea of absolute independence lias never died. The great war fanned the flame, and ol late the agitation for •‘self-determination” and for America to "quit” has become persistent in certain quarters. Therefore. Corrcgidor stands ready to offer an asylum to Americans, and to turn a frowning face town fils the Filipinos should a rising be attempted. America bears this agitation with equanimity. She permits the disgruntled portion of the native vermicular Press to air its views so long as a definite line is not passed. At the present time she has a special emn- _ mission, headed by Ucneral Wood, an ex-Gmernor and a distinguished am tf popular soldier,. tra vers.ng the islands, lisirnmt*; to wi ;i evur representiilions 9 the inhabitant?, make. She lias insti--9 tuted m!n ids throughout the islands. “ She lies founded a university a medical 1 school, secondary seminaries and eolI leges, as well as all kinds of Government and civic institutions necessary to | the v.ell-being of a country. Nor has g -be aiteiupeil to foist Americans 111 Ull- - no 'cssnry numbers on tin- country. At 9 first it was necessary to employ .them | 1 .rgely, but gradually the Filipinos , have been rendered capable of oeeupyH ing most subordinate and certain siiI perior positionsi • In some departments almost all but 1 the i out rolling beads are Filipinos. | When tiie Taiyuan, on wliie.lt I travelled. » dropped anchor uo were boarded by the | port medical officer. He was an Amerif ran. hut Ids assistant was a Filipino. 1 The Customs officers who followed were | Filipinos. We found the clerks i?i the 1 postal and telegraph offices and most ? employees in every bank, office, or shop 1 to ho natives. They are intelligent and j adaptable. Not is America omitting to I train ilieni for soil- defence. A striking illustration is afforded by Fort W illiam M’Kinloy, a military centre, nine miles trom Manila. A party ol us had ii charming drive thither, skirting the-pretty Pasig River, and passing through lice fields and quaint primitive villages. The fort is spread over an extensive high-lying area. It is laid out with ope ii spaces for "drilling, and interspersed with substantial one-story barracks, rest and club houses, hospital, "dry” canteens, shops, and whatever other buildings are needful to complete equipment. The important, matter is that the larger proportion ol the 1 "Sammies” are natives. The officers are American, but Filipinos arc being trained for commands. The houses ot the officers are arranged along a wide asphalted drive. They are wooden bungalows largely from one plan. There hve no fences, but neat bodges and gardens, with palms and 1 topical plants, prevent monotony. Tho name, rank. ( and regiment of every occupant is pointed conspicuously in front of end residence. The city of Manila lias a population of about 800.000. It, presents three dissimilar peoples. Most numerous arc the Filipinos. These are of complex ethnology, and there arc several subtypes. The greater part arc dominant! v Malay, but there is some admix, tore with Chinese, and, in the more settled islands with Spanish. The old Jesuit fathers encouraged the Spanish adventurers who came out to marry native women rather than to form transient and mi sanctified alliances. Halfcastes between Europeans and Filipinos iu> known as Mestizos. ,Those of pure Spanish race are fairly numerous, hut ns many old Conquistador families retired to Spain, alter the humiliation of the American invasion, and no fresh

immigrants arrive, tin- Spaniards will gradually diminish. The alert- and resourceful Americans, although they hold the reins, are comparatively few. Anyone who goes to Manilla expecting to .see a miniature Ran Francisco be disappointed. Excluding those in the army, they are computed to tally only ‘id,ooo. Owing to (he American influence, English is the. predominant language in business circles. Rut Spanish is spoken by many Filipinos. In every church which I inspected the notires were in Spanish. There are many Filipino dialects, having their distinct literature. Newspapers are published in seVrnl, as well as in English am] Spanish.

"We landed on the Luneta, a wide and ornate drive bordering the bay, and soon appreciated the good work done by the Americans. Tilings have a bright and spacious appearance. 'What was In Spanish days a dreary waste is now a wide precinct, which makes

a fine approach to the city, and serves as a set-off to its crowded and narrow thoroughfares. On the Luneta and its complement, Taft parade, are many admirable public buildings and hotels of opulent style, clubhouses which resemble palaces, and garages of imposing size. Indeed, cars abound in a considerably greater proportion in the traffic than in Sydney. They cost little more than half what they do in Australia to buy or hire, as they enter duly fre o if from America. The visitor is at once confronted with The ancient walled town. Its gloomy circmnva.Hation was erected in early days to protect the Spanish from the wild Philippine tribes. Tts low, thick, arched gate, its battle-men ted top, its cannon of antique east, are picturesque survivals of the medieval ago—for it is four hundred years 'this 1921 since Magellan first set foot in the islands, and Manila is over 300 years old. Th o moat has been drained and filled and converted into golf links. The chief objects of interest in the- walled town are historic churches in excellent preservation. The business area of Manila is a mile or more from the water. But the Hi ver Pasig, which runs through i‘ can accommodate vessels of considerable tonnage. The streets are narrow, the Eseolta, the chief site for retail shops, being narrower than Pitt-street, Sydney. Hut. notwithstanding its cramped proportions, a double lino of long, clumsy electric tramcars runs along its centre. The Filipino women largely cling to their old costume. The skirt is a width of gaudily coloured cloth reaching to the heels,' the train being held in the band to keep it out of the dust; the blouse is a unique confection of some stiff, transparent fibre, dyed scarlet, yellow, green or any other startling tint, and with enormous out standing shoulders and very wide bell sleeves to the elbow. There i.s a Spanish quarter of the town. Many of the houses were once inhabited hv wealthv Dons, and one still sees the iron-grilled windows with their lattices through which pooped dark-eyed senoritns when furfive admirers made night melodi' l '- - with their amorous serenades The native quarter is miserable- a collection of small shacks c-onstruete of bamboo and matting, and mounted on hi" 1 ivsts. while the domestic pigs or fowls earobitt or donkey, shelter underneath from the tropical sun.