Page:The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803 (Volume 51).djvu/21

1801-1840], pilgrimages, etc., that the natives are obliged to neglect their fields, and tend to become idle and dissipated; they also are burdened by many church taxes and impositions. Our writer proceeds to describe the government of the islands, general, municipal, and provincial, and the abuses prevalent in the last-named; then the ecclesiastical administration, the character of the clergy, and their influence over the natives. The sources of the colonial revenue are enumerated, with the chief branches of expense, the main part of this being for the military and naval forces, both of which are mismanaged, ill-disciplined, poorly paid, and of course very inefficient. Agriculture is "yet in its infancy," as a result partly of the oppression of the natives, partly of the expulsion of the Jesuits – who did more than any others to civilize the Indians – and partly of the restrictions on commerce, which now are less oppressive; yet the country is almost incredibly fertile. The implements used in tillage are described, with the methods of cultivating the chief products, and that of refining the sugar produced there; and the reasons are given why Europeans have been unable to engage in agriculture with success. The mineral products of the islands are enumerated. Commerce is, like agriculture, still undeveloped; our author attributes this to the Acapulco trade, to the prohibitory system pursued by Spain and to the monopoly allowed to the Philippine Company, and criticises Spain's policy toward her colonies. He then describes the condition of Philippine commerce, with statistics of 1818; and the difficulties under which it labors – especially the insecurity of property and contracts, the fraudulent dealings of the Chinese merchants; and the neglect