[42] In 1855 its population consisted of 586 European Spaniards, 1,378 Creoles, 6,323 Malay Filipinos and mestizos, 332 Chinamen, 2 Hamburgers, 1 Portuguese, and 1 Negro.

[43] The earthquake of 1863 destroyed the old bridge.  It is intended, however, to restore it; the supporting pillars are ready, and the superincumbent iron structure is shortly expected from Europe (April, 1872).—­The central span, damaged in the high water of 1914, was temporarily replaced with a wooden structure and plans have been prepared for a new bridge, permitting ships to pass and to be used also by the railway, nearer the river mouth.—­C.

[44] Roescher’s Colonies.

[45] A brief description of a nipa house, accompanying an illustration, is here omitted.—­C.

[46] The following figures will give an idea of the contents of the newspapers.  I do not allude to the Bulletin Official, which is reserved for official announcements, and contains little else of any importance.  The number lying before me of the Comercio (Nov. 29, 1858), a paper that appears six times a week, consists of four pages, the printed portion in each of which is 11 inches by 17; the whole, therefore, contains 748 square inches of printed matter.  They are distributed as follows:—­

Title, 27 1/2 sq. in.; an essay on the population of Spain, taken from a book, 102 1/2 sq. in.; under the heading “News from Europe,” an article, quoted from the Annals of La Caridad, upon the increase of charity and Catholic instruction in France, 40 1/2 sq. in.; Part I, of a treatise on Art and its Origin (a series of truisms), 70 sq. in.; extracts from the official sheet, 20 1/2 sq. in.; a few ancient anecdotes, 59 sq. in.  Religious portion (this is divided into two parts—­official and unofficial).  The first contains the saints for the different days of the year, etc., and the announcements of religious festivals; the second advertises a forthcoming splendid procession, and contains the first half of a sermon preached three years before, on the anniversary of the same festival, 99 sq. in., besides an instalment of an old novel, 154, and advertisements, 175 sq. in.; total, 748 sq. in.  In the last years, however, the newspapers sometimes have contained serious essays, but of late these appear extremely seldom.

[47] Vide Pigafetta.

[48] Cock-fighting is not alluded to in the “Ordinances of good government,” collected by Hurtado Corcuera in the middle of the seventeenth century.  In 1779 cock-fights were taxed for the first time.  In 1781 the government farmed the right of entrance to the galleras (derived from gallo, rooster) for the yearly sum of $14,798.  In 1863 the receipts from the galleras figured in the budget for $106,000.