In recapitulation; there were 810 signatures; of these 85 did not
declare on examination, 56 were unknown, 39 were minors, 22 did not
recognize their signatures and 16 had died previous to the drawing
up of the document (Feb. 20th 1888). This brings the 810 down to
592. Of these 592 signatures 208 were of laborers, 50 of fishermen,
31 of carpenters, 7 washermen and 5 barbers: a total of 301 persons
whose occupations called for no particular amount of education, and
whose interest and concern in such a movement as this may be judged
from their social standing. Deducting these 301 from the remaining 592
we have 291 left for further analysis. Of these 25 were of tailors,
4 singers (!) and 3 school masters; 58 escribientes whose occupation
it is to make clean copies of documents and other manuscript, the most
that can be said of the majority of them being that they can write
well, not an uncommon thing anyhow for a filipino; 11 of musicians,
men who lead the life of crickets, enjoying hunger by day and noise
by night; 9 type-setters, men who after having set a dozen columns
of material could not tell you anything of the subject they were
composing, in other words, men who like the escribientes reproduce
mechanically without knowing what they are reproducing; this gives us
107 of another grade leaving 184 to be divided among the many odds
and ends of occupations followed by the native to earn his "fish
and rice". No less than 384 of the number did not understand Spanish
and 13 could not write. In the matter of races: ONE was a Spaniard,
Enrique Rodriguez de los Palacios who called himself a merchant and
was domiciled in Binondo. Upon investigation it turned out that he
also had been fooled and that he had signed the protest because he had
been told that other Spaniards had also signed it; as to its contents
he affirmed that he knew nothing. One was a Spanish mestizo, 66 were
Chinese half-castes and 524 were indians. So much for the famous
manifestation which resulted in giving a most decisive blow to the
moral and social standing of those who prepared and those who signed
it. Those concerned therein learned the bitter lesson that "they who
dig pits for their neighbors are apt to fall therein themselves."
The common opinion has always been that the document in question
was drawn up by Doroteo Cortés (see note 11) who had on several
occasions been under police vigilance; had been expelled from Navotas
and compelled to reside within the walled city, later on pardoned,
but still kept under police surveillance. But however that may be,
the document was infamous in the extreme, and was the precursor of
the modern campaign against the Religious Orders. From that time to
this present, this campaign has continued to spread, and is still
being fostered by the Federal Party.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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