the title of governor and adelantado of the conquered lands, with the fullest powers.  On the 13th of February, 1565, he arrived at the island of Tandaya, one of the Philippines:  from thence he went to Leyte; there he obtained the son of a powerful chief as a guide, through whom he established peace with several of the native rulers, who thereafter aided the expedition with all the means in their power.  At Bohol they built the first church.  There he met and made peace with a chief of Luzon, with whom he went to that island. (Facts here are confused.—­C.)

He now (April, 1565) took possession of all the island in the name of the crown of Spain, and became their first governor.  In this conquest, motives different from those which governed them on the American continent, seemed to have influenced the Spaniards.  Instead of carrying on a cruel war against the natives, they here pursued the policy of encouraging and fostering their industry.  Whether they felt that this policy was necessary for the success of their undertaking, or were influenced by the religious fathers who were with them, is uncertain; but their measures seem to have been dictated by a desire to promote peace and secure the welfare of the inhabitants.  There may be another cause for this course of action, namely, the absence of the precious metals, which held out no inducement to those thirsting for inordinate gain.  This may have had its weight in exempting the expedition in its outset from the presence of those avaricious spirits which had accompanied other Spanish expeditions, and been the means of marking their progress with excessive tyranny, bloodshed, and violence.  It is evident to one who visits the Philippines that some other power besides the sword has been at work in them; the natives are amalgamated with the Spaniards, and all seem disposed to cultivate the land and foster civilization.  None of the feeling that grows out of conquest is to be observed in these islands; the two races are identified now in habits, manners, and religion, and their interests are so closely allied that they feel their mutual dependence upon each other.

The establishment of the new constitution in Spain in the year 1825 has had a wonderful effect upon these colonies, whose resources have within the last ten years been developed, and improvements pushed forward with a rapid step.  Greater knowledge and more liberal views in the rulers are alone wanting to cause a still more rapid advance in the career of prosperity.

As our visit was to Luzon, we naturally obtained more personal information respecting it than the other islands.  We learned that the northern peninsula [268] was composed of granite and recent volcanic rocks, together with secondary and tertiary deposits, while the southern peninsula is almost wholly volcanic.

The northern contains many valuable mines of gold, lead, copper, and iron, besides coal.  A number of specimens of these, and the rocks which contain them, were presented to the Expedition by Senores Araria and Roxas of Manila.