OMIT.
As early as the beginning of the 17th cen tury the city of Manila was surrounded by a wall of hewn stone about three miles in circuit. It contained a college conducted by the Jesuits, a school for girls called the Santa Potenciana, two hospitals, one for Spaniards and one for Filipinos, a house of mercy for receiving sick slaves and furnishing lodgings to poor women and a hospital for Chinese. At this time there were within the walls about 600 houses built of stone and mostly occupied by Spaniards. There were also about 2,000 Chinese, with 200 shops, and a garrison of 200 soldiers.
In the war between England and Spain, in 1762, Vice-Admiral Samuel Cornish was ordered to proceed against Manila. He carried British and Sepoy, forces under Sir William Draper. On 6 Oct. 1762 Archbishop Rajo, as acting governor, surrendered the city, agreeing to pay the British an indemnity of $4,000,000. Only a part of this was paid. The affairs of Manila were administered by the British mili tary authorities until 10 Feb. 1763. After this Manila remained uninterruptedly under the con trol of the Spanish until 13 Aug. 1898, when it was surrendered to the authorities of the United States. On 20 August the military gov ernment opened the custom-house for business, continuing in force the Spanish tariff and cus toms regulations. In 1899 the Filipinos in in surrection made several attempts to destroy the city. The attempts on 4 and 22 February re sulted disastrously to the insurrectos. A similar undertaking was planned for the oc casion of General Lawton's funeral.
The political relation of Manila to the cen tral government of the islands is not greatly unlike that which Washington holds to the Federal government of the United States. The city was incorporated by an act passed by the United States Philippine Commission on 31 July 1901. The government is vested in a municipal board of five members appointed by the civil government, wit:I the advice and con sent of the Commission. The municipal board has certain legislative and executive authority. The organic act provides also for a secretary and other officers, and prescribes their powers and duties. The insular government contrib uted to the municipality 30 per cent of the city's net expenditure, and the balance is met by funds derived from city taxes. To illustrate: the expenses for the fiscal year 1907 $3,871,964.92. Of this sum the insular govern ment contributed 30 per cent, or $1,161,589.48, The total receipts, including this contribution, were $4,103,220.80 leaving $231,255.88 as excess of receipts over expenditures. The population of Manila, reported by the census published in 1905, was 219,928.
During recent years the city has been in a large measure transformed. An elaborate sys tem of electric street railways has been con structed, and has been in operation for a num ber of years. The waterworks provided by the foundation made by Carriedo had been made inadequate by the growth of the city, and a new system has been constructed. The old
sewers, or such as existed, discharged into the moat about the wall or into open estuaries. They furnished a very imperfect means for disposing of the sewage of the city, and have been superseded by a new and elaborate sys tem. The harbor which afforded vessels little or no protection from typhoons has been made safe and convenient. Large ships were obliged to lie in the bay two or three miles from shore. and to transfer passengers and freight to land in lighters. An enclosed harbor has been con structed by building a long breakwater south ward from the mouth of the Pasig River, and by dredging the bottom of the sea in front of it. The material thrown out has been deposited behind a bulkhead, making 200 acres of new land. The largest ships can now dock at piers constructed within this secure harbor. The construction of this harbor has cost somewhat more than $4,000,000, and the work was practically finished in 1908. A general plan for the development and improvement of the city was formed by Mr. D. H. Burnham, who was engaged by the Commission to visit Manila for this purpose.
The Luneta is an elliptical drive and prom enade on the shore of the bay between the city wall and the houses of Errnita. It has been greatly enlarged by the American govern ment, and it has ceased to be a place for public executions. A military band gives a concert here nearly every evening.
Among the statues adorning public places the most noteworthy are that of Charles IV in the square in front of the "Palace* or Ayunta miento building, that of Isabella II in the plaza of Malate and that of Legaspi and Urdaneta near the Luneta. Other monuments are the Magellan column standing on the south bank of the river just below the Bridge of Spain, and the Anda monument on the same bank nearer the mouth of the river. The division of the city into two parts by the Pasig and the presence of numerous estuaries has necessitated the building of a large number of bridges. The most noteworthy of these are the Bridge of Spain and the Ayala Bridge. Among the note worthy establishments or institutions in the city are the Philippine General Hospital, the university and the special schools, the public library, the government laboratories, the gov ernment printing office and the government cold storage and ice plant.
Vessels approaching Manila by sea from the northwest first sight the Capones Grande light off the southwest coast of Zambales. Vessels from the ports of Indo-China first sight the Corregidor light. Vessels from Singapore, Java, India, Borneo, and all the southern ports of the Philippine Islands sight the Cabra Island light. All converge on the Corregidor light at the entrance of the bay.