Chapter XXV

. Of course the fishermen, when interrogated, declared they had been pressed into the service, but in fact very few natives have the moral courage to decline so pleasing an entertainment, as it appeals to a feeling deeply seated in their hearts, the love of rapine, only to be restrained by the heavy hand of a military police "who do not hesitate to shoot." The provincial doctor arrived next morning with the judge who was to take the depositions of the villagers and draw up the sumario. Olsen was dead, the sergeant of Cuadrilleros also and one of the Carabineros, but strange to say, in spite of a dozen ghastly wounds, the other one was still alive, though his bowels were protruding, having fallen out through the gash which it is the Tagal custom to finish off with.

When the provincial doctor saw him, he said, "Nothing can possibly be done for him," and departed. So, abandoned to his own resources, he replaced the bowels himself, and getting one of the villagers to bind him up, he eventually recovered. He was seen by Mr. Brown a year or two later, and is probably alive now. This seems extraordinary, but a similar case occurred to a man who had worked under me. An English bricklayer named John Heath had been employed building furnaces and kilns in Manila, and having completed his work, took to farming and rented some grass meadows (sacate lands) at Mandaloyan. One night he and another Englishman staying with him were attacked in his house by a party of Tagals with drawn bolos. The visitor, although wounded, leaped from the window and escaped, but Heath was cut down, then lifted on to the window sill, hacked about, and finally, according to Tagal custom, ripped open and left for dead. Yet this man also entirely recovered, and after a year seemed as strong as ever, although he was advised not to exert his strength. This outrage was clearly agrarian, and was, I feel sure, committed by those who had previously rented these lands and had been turned out. No one was ever punished for it.

To return to the gang of pirates; two had been killed, the rest were in prison. Year after year passed, still they remained in prison; judges came, stayed their term, were promoted and went, but still these men were never sentenced.

In 1889, I visited Laguimanoc to make a plan and valuation of the property, as the business was about to be taken over by a Limited Liability Company, established in Hong Kong. This was five years after the date of the murders, some of the prisoners had died in prison, the others were awaiting their sentence. But I found that the Government had established a sergeant's post of the Guardia Civil in the village, which effectually prevented a repetition of the outrage.

A year later I again visited Laguimanoc, but the trial of the prisoners was no further advanced. No less than nine of them died in prison, still no sentence was pronounced. Even for a Philippine Court this was extraordinary, for the gang had committed the unpardonable crime "Resistencia a fuerza armada" (Resistance to an armed force), and could have been tried by Court-martial and summarily shot. They had also dared to lay their profane hands on the sacred money-box containing a portion of the "Real Haber" (Government money), so that it was not only a question of murder and robbery of private people. But the Civil Court, negligent, slothful, and corrupt, could not be got to convict, and a few years ago, Mr. Brown having left the islands, the surviving prisoners were pardoned by the Queen Regent on the occasion of the young King's birthday.

The contrast between the military and civil elements in this case is very strong.

The military element performed its duties thoroughly well, under great difficulties, and promptly arrested the malefactors. In my experience this has been always the case, and I draw from it the conclusion that military Government is essential to the pacification of the Philippines and that authority must be backed up by a native force of constabulary under American officers who must be young and active.

Such offences as piracy or gang-robbery should never come before a Civil Court, but should be promptly settled by court-martial before which no technicalities or legal subtleties need be taken into account.

A firm, nay, a heavy hand over the Philippines is the most merciful in the long run.

I am sorry to have to relate that the Company which took over Mr. Brown's business did not long prosper. Whilst he remained at the head of it, all went well, but as soon as he left to take a much-needed rest, it began to fail. The personality of the individual is everything in most Spanish countries and especially in the Philippines. No manager could be found who could keep on terms with the officials, control the wild wood-cutters or risk jungle-fever by entering the forests to personally inspect the work.

The organization decayed and the business went to pieces. Let intending investors take note.

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