with a teaching staff of 27 American and 35 native teachers. The enrollment for the entire province in these schools is 3,079, with a an average daily attendance during the last school year of 2,142. The school system at present is mainly, of course, primary, as the English language is the essential point in the education of the native children until such time as they are able to grasp the other branches, and few schools have as yet been organized for a sufficient time for many of the pupils to have made much progress in other studies, as grammar, arithmetic, geography, etc. In some of the schools the more advanced pupils study these subjects, while in Nueva Caceres it has been found necessary to organize both a grammar and high school. The grammar school is on the same basis as those in the United States, being intermedi ate to the primary and normal schools. It absorbs the more advanced pupils of the primary schools of Nueva Caceres and vicinity and prepares them for the classes in the high school. This grammar school is meeting with marked success, and although only organized a short time it already has daily attendance of 39. The studies taught are reading, arithmetic, language, geography, and spelling, with some special instruction in singing, writing, and composition. A permanent provincial high school has been established under the able direction of Mr. Frank L. Crone. This school was opened July 15, with Mr. Crone and one lady assistant in charge, but Mr. Crone's marked ability, zeal, and energy, together with his kindness and patience as principal and teacher, at once made the school popular, and it has grown so rapidly that an increase in the teaching staff has already become necessary, and the end of its success is not yet. The attendance at the close of the year had reached the very gratifying daily average of 185, made up of some of the brightest and most intelligent and representative young men and women of the province. A number of towns, representing every section of the province, have taken advantage of the provisions of Act No. 446 to send students to this school, and through this means the educational department is reaching a class which I consider it most advantageous and important to have instructed in the English language and other subjects having a tendency to develop in their minds respect and regard for our American civilization and institutions. Mr. W. B. Freer, the present superintendent of the division of Ambos Camarines, is evidently the right man in the right place, and the schools have prospered under his direction as they never did before. He is a hard and conscientious worker and uses great tact and judgment in meeting and dealing with the native people, with whom he is exceedingly popular. Mr. Freer has under him a corps of teachers which I consider at least equal to any in the islands. They have not only displayed a high degree of energy, patience, and skill in the daily work of their schools, but I have been pleased to observe that they have come here evidently imbued with the idea which I consider the very essence of the American policy in these islands, viz, to get into as close touch as possible with the people, and by kind, courteous, and honorable conduct in dealing with them to gain and hold their respect, confidence, and good will. The effect produced in the native mind by this line of conduct on the part of the American teachers has been excellent, and I find in every town that the American teacher enjoys the respect and esteem of the entire community. CONSTABULARY AND POLICE. The constabulary force in this province is a very efficient, well instructed and dis ciplined organization, and is commanded by Capt. and Insp. Harry A. Porter, assisted by Lieut. and Insp. John Arthur, both able and worthy officers. Great care has been exercised in selecting men for enlistment, with the result that a good class of men have been secured, and there have been practically no complaints (none of a serious nature) from any source of misconduct or abuse of authority by members of the corps. On account of the peaceful condition of the province the demands upon the force have not been as great as they otherwise might have been. Never theless the men have not been inactive by any means, but have been kept well occupied in the work of patroling mountain districts, guarding the borders and keeping watch of localities where disturbances might arise, and their work at all times has been most satisfactory. At the close of the year 2 inspectors and 51 enlisted men, out of a total force of inspectors and 148 men were on detached service in a neighboring province. Captain Porter has at present only 2 inspectors for duty under him, one of these being stationed away up in Camarines Norte and the other acting as supply officer. In view of the large territorial extent of the province and the fact that important telephone lines are in charge of the senior inspector I would recommend that at least two additional inspectors be assigned to duty under his command. Π The municipal police are, as a rule, well organized and render satisfactory service, and in those sections bordering on disturbed districts in neighboring provinces efficient forces of volunteers have been organized for local protection. A system of communication and secret (volunteer) police has also been established in the outlying barrios of the districts above mentioned, by means of which a close watch is kept upon strangers and travelers and suspicious movements immediately reported. ROADS. At the end of the year 1901 there remained in the treasury, unexpended, from the loan made the province by the insular government under Act No. 196, the sum of $23,216.18. Of this fund $20,059.46, together with $1,269.29 from provincial revenues, were expended in roads and bridges. The results accomplished by these expenditures have been satisfactory and beneficial so far as they have gone, but many needed improvements have been necessarily postponed owing to lack of funds, and there is no immediate prospect of their being made without some additional resources. If the "road-tax law proposed by the recent assembly of provincial governors receives the approval of the Commission we shall be able to make many much-needed improvements which otherwise could not be made. I beg to submit the following extract taken from a recent report of the provincial supervisor: There are about 135 miles of roads, of which 15 miles are in good condition; the remaining 120, part of which have been lately repaired, still need further repairs, at an estimated cost of about $400,000 local currency. "It is urgently recommended that an appropriation be made to build, as soon as practicable, a road from Pili to Lagonoy, via Mabatobato. At the present time only a very poor trail connects these two points, and during the rainy season communication is almost impossible. Except in exceptional cases there is no communication by sea, as no boats ply between here and the Lagonoy district, and travel by smaller craft is out of the question. "Twenty-five more bridges are needed, of which at least 20 are an urgent necessity. With the exception of two large bridges, I estimate that the required number could be put in at a cost of about 100,000 pesos, with wood as the material. One large bridge over the Pauili River and one over the Argos River, which latter forms the boundary line between the provinces of Ambos Camarines and Albay, are badly needed, and when finished would complete a good continuous road between Nueva Caceres and Legaspi. Their construction from wood is impossible, and either iron or steel would have to be used. I also recommend the renewal of the smaller bridges with iron or steel, as observations during the last year have shown that wooden bridges do not last a reasonable time in this climate. For example, the double Howetruss bridge of Oregon pine put in over the San José River by a detachment of United States engineers under Lieutenant Kelly only a little more than a year ago, with every care and excellent work, thoroughly painted with wood preservative, etc., had to have the flooring repaired lately with new planking, and shows in parts of the trusses signs of decay. Good native timber of the required grade and dimensions would be preferable to pine, but can not be obtained except at a very high expense, owing to the lack of animal transportation at the present time. While the original cost of iron and steel bridges would be considerably more than that of wooden bridges, they would prove in time to be much more economical and would do away with continuous breaking down and repairs, as is now the case." The Pili-Lagonoy road, mentioned by the supervisor, is too large an undertaking for the province alone, even with the assistance of the road-tax law, but its importance I believe sufficient to make it worthy the attention of the insular government. The "Partido de Lagonoy" contains 6 towns with an aggregate population of nearly 40,000. It is a very rich hemp-producing district, having exported last year, as shown by figures hereinbefore quoted, 73,710 piculs of hemp. Being shut off as it is from communication with the center of the province and the outside world, places this district under a serious disadvantage and delays development of what would probably become, under favorable conditions, one of the richest sections of the Archipelago. I believe the benefits, not only to this province, but to the country at large, to be derived from the construction of such highway would be amply sufficient to warrant a liberal appropriation of insular funds for the work. If the Commission did not feel inclined to do the work entirely at the expense of the insular treasury, an arrangement might be made to divide the cost between the insular and provincial treasuries, or for the insular government to advance the nec Sales of stamps. essary funds as a loan to the province, to be repaid in annual installments to be fixed in accordance with the financial condition and prospects of the province. If any thing is found in this plan as here outlined to commend it to the attention of the Commission I would suggest that an engineer officer be sent here with instructions to, in company with the provincial supervisor, look over the ground, make preliminary surveys, and estimates of the cost of constructing the road. FINANCES. The following statement, taken from the records of the provincial treasurer, shows the financial condition, in United States currency, of the province at the close of the year 1902: Balance on hand available for expenditure on December 13, 1901. Total cash on hand December 31, 1901.... Collections: Industrial tax.. Cedula tax.. Land tax $36,897.81 3,807.69 40,705.50 $17,926.79 14,420.06 13,045. 18 Registration fees 1, 373.03 Cart tax. 388.49 Rents... 266.98 Urbana tax 111.42 110.42 Received from insular government for return of forestry and internalrevenue taxes.. Expenses of provincial board of health, including salaries. 4,302. 40 2,414.56 Court and prison expenses 2,022.84 Repairs of buildings. 1,745.63 Rents... 630.85 Transportation 211.57 69.09 Balance on hand available for expenditure on December 31, 1902... Total... Of the balance on hand December 31, 1901, $23,216.18 was the unexpended bal ance of the loan made the province by the insular government under the provisions of Act No. 196. All departments are being administered in the most economical manner possible, and we believe we have succeeded in keeping the cost of running the provincial government down to the lowest possible figure consistent with efficiency. The affairs of all departments are in good condition, and complete harmony exists throughout the administration. The honesty, fidelity, and efficiency of the Filipino officials, which I took occasion to comment upon last year, I desire to again mention at this time, with special reference to Mr. Ramon Enrile, secretary, and Mr. Ful gencio Contreras, fiscal. These gentlemen are in perfect accord with the policy of the government, are on the most friendly and confidential terms with the American officials, and the value of their services can not be too highly estimated. During the months of June, July, and August, while the writer was absent from the prov ince, and again in December, Mr. Enrile was, according to law, acting governor, and performed his duties with most creditable tact, skill, and good judgment. In view of their past faithful services and of what is to be expected of them in the future, I recommend that the salaries of the secretary and fiscal be increased to $1,800 per annum, each. I have the honor to remain, very respectfully, The honorable the CIVIL GOVERNOR, JAMES ROSS, Governor, Ambos Camarines. Manila, P. I. REPORT OF THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNOR OF THE PROVINCE OF ANTIQUE. OFFICE OF THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNOR, PROVINCE OF ANTIQUE, San José de Buena Vista, P. I., January 14, 1903. SIR: In compliance with section 7, Act No. 83 of the United States Philippine Commission, and in accordance with the provisions of section 8 thereof, I have the honor to present the following report upon the conditions of the province of Antique for the year ended December 31, 1902. POPULATION. The total population of the province is 121,376 souls, according to the census recently taken in each of the municipalities. It is distributed as follows: According to the previous census the population was about 114,000 inhabitants; therefore there has been an increase of 7,376 during the year 1902. It is true that cholera-which appeared here September 27-and malaria both exist as yet in some of the pueblos of the province, and these caused many deaths, but this decrease has been offset by the births during the year 1901 and 1902, which, together with the great number of people who escaped enumeration in the year 1901, have caused this increase of 7,376 inhabitants. To the number 121,376, which is the present population of the province, there must be added certain members of the Ati or Negritos tribes, who live in savagery, scattered along the banks of the rivers of some of the pueblos of the province. The number of these will not at present reach more than 200, including men, women, and children, a great number of them having emigrated to the island of Negros during the last decade. They live in quasi-independence, without political connection with the Christian population, and govern themselves after their own fashion, ruled over by the captain or the elder of the tribe, which is composed of various families, usually descended from a common source. The Buquidnons, or Mundos, also form a separate, semisavage population within the province of Antique, and these are located in the inaccessible regions of the mountains, without any political relations with the Christian population. They are of the same race (Visayans) as the Christians, and the larger part of them lives in one of the mountains of the pueblo of Valderrama, known as the Monte de Verdin, separated from the pueblo by a distance of four or five days' travel through dense forests. Their population is estimated at 300-men, women, and children. PUBLIC HEALTH. During the year 1902 there have occurred in all the provinces about 4,523 births and 5,551 deaths, the latter caused largely by cholera and malaria, which were prevalent in the latter half of the year, according to the following statistics: During the period of the cholera epidemic, which, while unfortunately still exist ing at the present time in certain of the pueblos, shows a tendency to disappear, it has been found that the municipal presidents of health were unable to cooperate with Doctor Montiola, provincial president of the board of health, because the great majority were incapable of appreciating the importance of their duties and were ignorant of the use of medicines in combatting the disease. Therefore, it resulted that nearly all sanitary measures that were taken in the pueblos were especially instigated by the provincial board of health. It may be stated that the efforts of Doctor Montiola and certain municipal presidentes, not the municipal health author ities, were the cause of bringing about success in the campaign against the cholera, as shown by the relatively small mortality during the epidemic. It is therefore rec ognized as a necessity to displace the present presidents of municipal boards of health and replace them with duly admitted physicians, and to intrust each of them with the sanitary care of five or more municipalities. Antique undoubtedly is one of the provinces of the Philippines which is favored with the most excellent climatological conditions. The mean temperature is 32° C., the highest during the hot season reaching 37.7° C. The pueblos, which for the most part are situated along the seacoast, form a long and narrow strip, extending from north to south a distance of more than 90 miles. The interior pueblos are Simbalom, Engaña, and San Remigio, and in these, owing to the humidity of the soil, the health conditions are less favorable than are those of the other pueblos. Valderrama, though also an interior town, occupying the central portion of the province and separated from Bugason by a distance of 8 miles, like the coast pueblos, is of quite healthful conditions, owing to its considerable elevation above the sea level. RIVERS. There are numerous rivers bursting from the high mountains and falling in beautiful cascades. After irrigating the fields along the way they mingle with the waters of the sea. The largest, deepest, and most rapid rivers are the Dalanas, between Tibiao and Barbaza; the Paliwan, between Bugason and Guisijan; the Cangaranan, which runs through Valderrama and Bugason; and the Simbalom, in the pueblos of San Remigio, Simbalom, and San Pedro. During the season of heavy rains the rivers can not be forded, and all means of communication in the province are cut off. Frequently the rivers change their |