The Daily News. THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 1905. THE PHILIPPINES UNDER AMERICAN GOVERNMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 791, 6 April 1905, Page 2

The Daily News. THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 1905. THE PHILIPPINES UNDER AMERICAN GOVERNMENT.

'•'The blindness to local conditions and the neglect to prolit by the experience of others, which caused th<i war between tho United States and the Philippine Hepublic, have played i as large a part in the construct,ive work of 'nhv lAmprican tiovernmont in the Philippines* since the establishment of civil administration as they played before and during the war. If human history' has taught one lesson more thoroughly than anothar during the past three centuries it is that the native of the tropics is not susceptible to tho political and administrative ideals of our go-called Western , civilisation ; and that if these Ideals ;

wwuoauvM , anil tiiut 11 'UIC&U IU^UIS are to prevail in the conduct of affairs in tropical countries it can only be through the presence of a numr bcr of white men exercising supreme authority." These are the sentiments of Mr Alleyne Ireland, who, holding a commission from the Chicago University to investigate the problem of administration in the tropics, has covered a very wide area, and studied on the spot almost every possible variety of tropical government, bringing to bear on each the Keen insight of an experienced observer, as well as accumulating a vast amount of useful information. The Imperial policy which the United States has tacked on to its democratic constitution points to a firm belief in her desitiny as a great Power, but whether she will attain success in *in nttempt to govern the Philippines on American lines is problematical, especially Jin view of the condition of alTairs in the Central and Southern American Republics. In dealing with natives of tropical regions it must not be forgotten that in the course of the evolution of governmental institutions among such people the democratic form, has never appeared as a product of native ideals, and any experiment in that direction must run considerable risk of failure, if nothing more disastrous. Possibly, were the Fili-| pinos possessed of peculiar political gifts the outlook 'might be more hope-

ful for success of representative government, but it is well known that they aro no lie Iter than the Malays or the negroet, so that the first meeting of the Philippine Assembly, in 1907, may well be looked forward to with mixed feelings, especially as the , proposed Legislature embodies all the defects of the most unsatisfactory form of government—the hybrid con- 1 stitutions of Jamaica and Ilritish Guiana. So far there )s in the I'hil- ' ippines the astonishing spectacle of . 40" provincial governments and 62, ! ! i ' municipal governments operating in a territory smaller than Burma (122,- ' 000 square miles), and with fewer illhabitants. In the municipal govern-1 monts alone there aro 3600 paid offi- ; and more than 8000 elected ■ councillors. The confusion arising from this state of affairs may easily ■ Ibe imagined, particularly as the coun- " try is still in a state of vxtiaoidin('ary unrest after (lve years of Aincri- r jean control. Judging by the cnormous expense incurred on education, I it would seem that peculiar promt- I enco is given to this work. There is 1 ; much to bo said in favour of a judi- ' iCioija policy in this direction, but ' only HQ far as it dopK not loso sigh), ! ,of oth(>r ami mprc vital needs. The 1 I labour prabli»m|presenls just the same | features as are to be found in every J , tropical country, the natives being 1 , disinclined for steady work, while ( , their labour is entirely inadequate for ' jthe due development of the is 1 a rids, 1 yet foreign contract labour is rigor- '!

excluded. The expense of the elaborate system of government established by tlio Americans in the Philippines lis such as to throw into the shade that oi almost every other colonial government ill the tropics, the total expenditure amounting to 13,000,000 dollars, exclusive of the aiupunt paid by the United States itself in regard to military and police. The grand total of these expenses a nioun't s to more than the gross value of the products exported l'lom the islands each year, and as the present rate oI taxation threatens tile very existence of the few industries which the islands possess, it is evident that ,sfome means must t> e adopted to adjust matters before It. is too late. Mr Ireland, who has evidently studied the question thoroughly, considers | that this attempt to establish a new colonial policy based upon new ideals, and dependent for its success upon new administrative formulae, is doonii'Cl to failure. The United States are now in possession of the out-spo-ken judgment of a straightforward, impartial expert who lias made a scientific study of thei subject, and although all his conclusions 1 may not be accepted, there is sufficient dat« to awaken the President to the prospect of failure of the present policy'. .