"a periodical visitation of that colony by officials from the Peninsula." As appendix to his memorial, we present a summary of a similar document, written at nearly the same time by a merchant of long and varied commercial experience in the Orient and the Americas. Less official and formal, but more shrewd, alert, and liberal, this writer presents his views, with much clearness and force, on the decadence of the islands and the means of making them more prosperous and wealthy; and a comparison of these with the opinions of Bernaldez might well be helpful to the present administration of Filipinas.
In an appendix to this volume we present a brief account of the three Spanish Cortes in which the Philippines had representation; all these sessions occurred in the early part of the nineteenth century, one of the most disturbed and critical periods of Spain's national existence. The most important measures of these Cortes concerning the Philippines were, the suppression of the Acapulco-Manila galleon and the abolition of the privileges formerly granted to the Compañia de Filipinas. In each of these assemblies efficient representation of the islands was barred by their distance from Spain and the difficulty of communication with that country, while, in general, political development was very backward. The final ruling, in the Constitution of 1837, by which special laws were devised for the government of Ultramar, appears to have been the only possible solution of the difficulty (at least for the Philippines). Finally, we furnish a list of the archbishops of Manila during the Spanish régime.
May, 1907.
