than for ready money.  A large number of half-castes, too, who before traded in manufactured goods purchased in Manila, were enabled after this to send their goods direct to the provinces, to the foreign firms settled there; and as, ultimately, neither these latter nor the Chinese retail dealers could successfully compete with them, the result has been that, as much to their own profit as to that of the country, they have betaken themselves to the cultivation of sugar.  In this manner important plantations have been established in Negros, which are managed by natives of Iloilo:  but there is a scarcity of laborers on the island.

[Land disputes.] Foreigners now can legally acquire property, and possess a marketable title; in which respect the law, until a very recent period, was of an extremely uncertain nature.  Land is to be obtained by purchase, or, when not already taken up, by “denuncia” (i.e. priority of claim).  In such case, the would-be possessor of the land must enter into an undertaking in the nearest of the native Courts to cultivate and keep the said land in a fit and serviceable condition.  Should no other claim be put in, notice is thereupon given of the grant, and the magistrate or alcalde concludes the compact without other cost than the usual stamp duty.

[Lack of capital for large plantations.] Many mestizos and natives, not having the necessary capital to carry on a large plantation successfully, sell the fields which they have already partially cultivated to European capitalists, who are thus relieved of all the preliminary tedious work.  Evidently the Colonial Government is now sincerely disposed to favor the laying out of large plantations.

[Lack of roads.] The want of good roads is particularly felt:  but, with the increase of agriculture, this defect will naturally be remedied; and, moreover, most of the sugar factories are situated on rivers which are unnavigable even by flat freight boats.  The value of land in many parts of the country has doubled within the last ten years. [214]

[Sugar prices.] Up to 1854 the picul of sugar was worth in Iloilo from $1.05 to $1.25 and seldom over $2.00 in Manila; in 1866, $3.25; and in 1868, $4.75 to $5.00 in Iloilo.  The business in Iloilo therefore shows an increase of $1.75 per picul. [215]

[Negros.] At the end of 1856 there were as many as twenty Europeans established on the island of Negros as sugar planters, besides a number of mestizos.  Some of them were working with steam machinery and vacuum pans.  The general rate of pay is from $2.05 to $3.00 per month.  On some plantations the principle of acsa, i.e. part share, is in operation.  The owner lets out a piece of ground, providing draught cattle and all necessary ploughing implements, to a native, who works it, and supplies the mill with the cut cane, receiving as payment a share, generally a third, of the product.  In Negros the violet cane is cultivated, and in Manila the white (Otaheiti).  The land does not require manuring.  On new ground, or what we may term virgin soil, the cane often grows to a height of thirteen feet.  A vast improvement is to be observed in the mode of dress of the people.  Pina and silk stuffs are beoming quite common.  Advance in luxury is always a favorable sign; according to the increase of requirements, industry flourishes in proportion.