BANKING. There are three general banking corporations in the islands. The Banco Espanol Filipino, at Manila, with a branch at Iloilo, monopolizes the bank-note circulation of the Philippines. amounting to 2,407,560 pesos (a peso = 50 cents). Its capital is 1,500,000 pesos. The Bong Kong and Shanghai Banking Cor poration has branches at Manila and Iloilo, and the Chartered Bank of India, Australia, and China at Manila and CebU. The aggregate liabili ties of all these establishments on December 31, 1901, was 53,415,S09 pesos, including deposits of 35,012.127 pesos. The Savings Bank and Pawn Shop of Manila, capitalized at 221,460 pesos, had in January, 1902, deposits amounting to 755,829 pesos and total resources of 1.096,597 pesos.
BINANcE. The central government is sup ported chiefly by import and export duties. The provincial and municipal governments derive their support from internal taxes. The revenues and expenditures in the archipelago from the date of the American occupation, August 20, 1898, to the end of the fiscal year, June 30. 1901, were as follows: Lions. The only railroad extends from Manila north to Dagupan, on Lingayen Bay, 120 miles. It is estimated that the islands require at least loom miles of railroad as a factor in their devel opment.
The islands are fairly well supplied, through the three leading ports, with transportation to foreign lands. They have direct steam com munications with all the leading ports of South Asia, Australia, San Francisco, and Barcelona, Spain. A large amount of the freight, however, is transhipped at Hong Kong and other Asian points, where it meets the steamships of the regular lines in the European and American ID 1901, 789 British, 14erman. Chinese, and other foreign vessels entered the ports of Manila, Iloilo). and Celni. Very little of the trade
ere11 with the United States is carried in vessels flying the American 1111g. In 1902 about 94 per cent. of Anuriean sales to the Philippines and 99 per cent. of American purchases were carried in for eign bottoms. Since August,1898,the Signal Corps of the United States Army has laid 1327 miles of cables between the islands and 5000 miles of permanent telegraph lines, so that most parts of the archipelago have 110W the means of rapid eommunication with one :mother. In 1903 direct electrical communication with the United States was opened by means of a Pacific cable between the east coast of Luzon and San Francisco by way of Guam, Midway Island, and Honolulu. Manila is also connected by cable with Hong Kong and the European system.
One-half of the internal revenue receipts in each province is turned over to the provincial treasury. and the remaining one-half to the municipalities of the province. A poll tax of $1 Mexican is levied upon each male person between eighteen and fifty-five years of age, one half being paid into the treasury of the town where he lives and the remainder into the provin cial treasury. The municipal council may license saloons and other business requiring police super vision. An ad valorem land tax is collected for the benefit of the provincial and municipal gov ernments, the provincial board levying one-eighth of 1 per cent. on the assessable land for roads and bridges, and may levy two-eighths more for general purposes. The municipal council is re quired to levy one-fourth of 1 per cent. for schools, and may levy one-fourth per cent. more for general purposes.