The Katipunan; or, The Rise and Fall of the Filipino Commune. Francis St. Clair
holding important official positions in the country, have contributed to this propaganda, scandalous, and from all points of view, aimed at the integrity of the nation (25). Only candor can exculpate them. May the country pardon them.
«From the first moments, both in the organ of Filipino freemasonry, La Solidaridad, and in the circulars which the Gran Oriente sent to Spain for the information of the brethren there resident, was commenced a coarse and shameless campaign against the Monastic Orders (26), and of scoffing and ridicule of religion. Later on, this campaign acquired a political character, attacking the government of the metropolis, and the authorities of the archipelago, demanding liberal reforms for the country, such as representation in the Cortes, the colonial Cámara, municipal autonomy, increase of individual rights etc. etc., Let anyone with half an eye examine carefully the collections of the cited paper, and he will certainly meet with something contrary to the national unity, artfully and modestly hidden. Let him read the almost countless number of documents (27) pertaining to the Tagalog lodges, and sent by me to the judge, Señor Olive, which were united to the charges, and the most incredulous will be convinced that the lodges and their aids and abettors devoted themselves to something more than the propaganda of freemasonry. There is not a single one of the chiefs and organizers of the filibuster organizations up to this time discovered, who is not a freemason.»
«La Propaganda» and the «Asociacion Hispano-Filipina.»
At the end of the year 1888, Marcelo del Pilar, a lawyer of Bulacán, and a frenetic filibuster, considering himself in peril of deportation in consequence of juridical proceedings formed against him in the said province, decided to translate his residence to Spain, under the shelter of a certain element of the country (28). In those days was created in Manila a committee of propaganda (29) formed by Doroteo Cortés, Ambrosio Rianzares Bautista, Pedro Serrano and Deodato Arellano, under the presidency of the first named, its mission being the gathering from among the better class and more wealthy element, funds for the propagation throughout the Archipelago, of all classes of pamphlets and proclamations written to depreciate and cast slurs upon the Monastic Orders (30), and upon Religion; and likewise for the implantation in the country democratic doctrines; finally the nomination was agreed to of a delegation which should depend directly upon the committee recently constituted, and which should have its residence in Barcelona, its duty being to make overtures to the public authorities for the concession to the Archipelago of greater liberties and of representation in the Cortes in the first place. And in order to sustain and defend these ideals together with some few more, the foundation was authorized of a bi-monthly newspaper.
«The committee of propaganda fully fulfilled its mission; it overcame all the wealthy element of Luzon (31), gathered grand quantities, and Marcelo del Pilar set off for the Peninsular, installing himself comfortably in the «Ciudad Condal» 2 at the expense of his countrymen (32).
«In January 1889, he commenced the campaign in union with his companion of the delegation Mariano Ponce. They founded the paper La Solidaridad and constituted the Hispano-Filipino association, into which were drawn a large number of the native students residing in Barcelona 3. The committee made great progress in Manila, added to the number of its followers and collected funds in return for subscriptions to La Solidaridad which, day by day, had more readers; it distributed books, pamphlets and proclamations of the worst class, for which a good price was collected.
«The association had increased hand over hand; its aspirations (33) were most radical; and considering its action limited in Barcelona, it determined to translate its headquarters to Madrid, where it would have a wider field for its pretensions. About this same time Serrano, Rizal, Luna, López etc., were united to the delegation and they succeeded in implanting Tagalog masonry in their country (34), and from this precise moment, commenced their relations with Morayta.
«In January 1890 the «Asociacion Hispano-Filipina,»4 the delegation, and the paper La Solidaridad were installed in Madrid. Morayta accepted the presidency of the Association and became proprietor of the newspaper from which such good results were expected, it counting with an increased output to supply enforced subscriptions among masons and their associates at the rate of a peso a head.
«From that moment Morayta was made the idol of the turbulent indians, who considered him as their redeemer; no one is ignorant of the labors undertaken by the said personage in Spain, both in the realms of journalism and around and about the powers that be, on behalf of the securing representation in the Cortes, the liberty of association (35) and that of the press, municipal autonomy and even under a hidden guise, of that of the colony; in the memory of all is preserved the remembrance of the banquet given by the Filipinos inspired by Morayta, to Sr. Labra, the autonomist deputy for Cuba, and no one has forgotten the proposition presented to the Congress by Sr. Junoy, the republican deputy, also inspired by the Association and the delegation presided over and protected by Morayta. And who finally, does not feel indignation upon calling to mind the articles published in La Solidaridad by the Filipinos Kalipulako (M. Ponce), Jaena (G. Lopez), Dimas-Alang (José Rizal), Eduardo Lete, Taga-Ilog (Antonio Luna), Juan Totoo (J. Zulueta) and Kupang or Maitalagá (M. del Pilar)?
«What Spaniard is not fired to anger, upon reading the books and pamphlets written by Rizal, Luna and Lopez and the infinite number of printed libels which circulate here full of falsities and loathsome calumnies against the most sacred and venerated, the Fatherland? Have we forgotten, perhaps, Dr. Blumentritt (36) who repaid our most generous hospitality by making common cause with our enemies? Do we not call to mind, peradventure, that all the filipino colony in Spain and a good portion of that here resident, sympathised with that ungrateful man, conferring upon him the honor of banqueting him and extending to him their congratulations?
«Fortunately these labors obtained no practical result in the peninsula (37), but they caused the native element of some amount of culture to harbor imaginary ills and want of confidence in the Metropolis, covert discontent with the authorities of the islands (38), and finally, sowed the seed of aspirations which could never be realized 5. but a seed which is to-day, unfortunately, bearing fruit.
«A casino of recreation known as the Centro Filipino, was also organized in Madrid: a revolutionary club was the only thing to which that center could be compared. There Spain was discussed, criticized and slandered under the shelter of the law of association which prevails in the Peninsula, and shielded by the hypocrisy and deception so proper of cowards.
«Personal rivalries and the want of morality in the administration of the funds (39) remitted from Manila by the committee of propaganda, gave rise to a grave disagreement between the two apostles of filipino filibusterism, Rizal and Pilar; with the former sided the young and impetuous element; with the latter the mature and thoughtful (40). Both elaborated the same material, but each using a different process; the one boldly insolent and hostile, the other masked with hypocrisy and calm. Both being ambitious, each found the world too small to contain him. This state of things ceased with the coming of Rizal to these islands in 1892 (41), Pilar remaining the absolute possessor of the field at Madrid.
«In the meanwhile the committee of propaganda was not inactive. It created delegations throughout the archipelago, and by their means introduced the La Solidaridad and all kinds of revolutionary printed matter into the utmost corners of the archipelago.
The «Liga Filipina»
«Rizal, magnanimously pardoned by His Excellency the Captain General of the Archipelago, D. Eulogio Despujol (42), after the making of a thousand and one