These are peculiar regulations for a province which is at peace, and as Major Taylor has truly remarked:—­

“The form of liberty contemplated by the founders of the Philippine Republic was not considered incompatible with a very considerable absence of personal freedom.” [320]

Later, when travelling through Mindoro, I was told how an unfortunate legless Spaniard, who had been running a small shop in one of the towns and who was on good terms with his Filipino neighbors, was carried out into the plaza, seated in a chair, and then cut to pieces with bolos in the presence of his wife and children who were compelled to witness the horrible spectacle!

On this same trip Captain R.G.  Offley, then the American Governor of Mindoro, told me while I was at Pinamalayan that the people there were greatly alarmed because a murderer, liberated under the amnesty, had returned and was prowling about in that vicinity.  This man had a rather unique record.  He had captured one of his enemies, and after stripping him completely had caused the top of an immense ant-hill to be dug off.  The unfortunate victim was then tied, laid on it, and the earth and ants which had been removed were shovelled back over his body until only his head projected.  The ants did the rest!  Another rather unusual achievement of this interesting individual was to tie the feet of one of his enemies to a tree, fasten a rope around his neck, hitch a carabao to the rope, and start up the carabao, thus pulling off the head of his victim.  Yet this man and others like him were set at liberty under the amnesty proclamation, in spite of the vigorous protests of the Philippine Commission, who thought that murderers of this type ought to be hanged.

And now I wish to discuss briefly an interesting and highly characteristic statement of Judge Blount.  In referring to conditions in the Visayan Islands, he says:—­

“Of course the Southern Islands were a little slower.  But as Luzon goes, so go the rest.  The rest of the archipelago is but the tail to the Luzon kite.  Luzon contains 4,000,000 of the 8,000,000 people out there, and Manila is to the Filipino people what Paris is to the French and to France.  Luzon is about the size of Ohio, and the other six islands that really matter, are in size mere little Connecticuts and Rhode Islands, and in population mere Arizonas or New Mexicos.” [321]

This paragraph is no exception to the general rule that the statements of this author will not bear analysis.  One of the other six islands that he says really matters is Samar.  Its area is 5031 square miles.  The area of Rhode Island is 1250 square miles.  The smallest of the six islands named is Bohol, with an area of 1411 square miles.  It cannot be called a little Rhode Island.

As regards population, Arizona has 122,931.  It is hardly proper to call either Panay with a population of 743,646, Cebu with 592,247, Negros with 460,776, Leyte with 357,641, Bohol with 243,148 or even Samar with only 222,690, a mere Arizona, and New Mexico with 195,310 is also a bit behind.