The indian left to himself, deprived of the curbing influence of the christian religion, speedily falls back into the condition of depravity in which Urdaneta and Legazpi found him. The malay instinct, like the volcano, vomits forth when least expected; the history of the revolt of the Tagalogs gives overabundant proof of it. Take one by one the many leading characters in the revolution, and the instinct will be found so plainly marked, that it is unmistakable. Take for instance Marcelo H. del Pilar, in whose brain was conceived the plot of the Katipunan farsical-tragedy; Andrés Bonifacio, whose duty was the materializing of the plot; the Lunas, Juan especially, who had some time previous, in Paris, given an example of how easily the malay burned through the veneer of civilization to which the Filipino indian is susceptible; and so on, including the Aguinaldos, the Mabinis, the Agoncillos and even many of those, who in these days boast in public of their americanist ideas, and in private plot with treacherous zeal to overthrow the government of those they call their deliverers from Spanish tyranny. In them all may be traced the strange instinct of the old time filipino indian. Entering the fold of freemasonry, they threw off the bridle of religion which restrained them; loosing respect for Almighty God and for their faith they soon lost respect for others and for themselves. The result is well known. History, the history of the last five or six years, has shown it to us. It is of this society of notables--for such is the meaning of the full title of the Katipunan--that I wish to say a few words in the following pages. I have taken as a foundation for my study, a very concise statement of the whole situation, drawn up by Capt. Olegario Diaz, Commander of the Guardia Civil Veterana de Manila. This document being an official statement, is of vital interest in the study of the birth, life and internal corruption of that diabolical association which, gigantic though it was, comparatively speaking, could, by reason of its infantility, have been easily stifled, had it been dealt with, with a strong hand. I have taken the document as a base, and by a series of notes in the form of a somewhat more lengthy appendix, have endeavored to provide my readers with a file of interesting items of historical value. This pamphlet is not intended to be a history of the rebellion; I have endeavored to confine myself to the society which brought about the revolt, and if at any time I have strayed from the path I laid out for myself, it has been because there was by the wayside some flower I wished to pluck to add to the bouquet I herewith present to you. STATEMENT OF CAPT. OLEGARIO DIAZ [1] FREEMASONRY