The Katipunan; or, The Rise and Fall of the Filipino Commune. Francis St. Clair
capital in May 1892, being received by his countrymen with extraordinary proofs of enthusiasm and rejoicing; and converting himself into an apostle of filibusterism, commenced a campaign of scandalous propaganda.
«Three days after his arrival he convoked a large reunion (43) in the house of the Chinese half-caste Ongjungco in Tondo, and under his presidentship there gathered Franco, property owner; Flores, Lieutenant of Infantry; Rianzares, lawyer; Zulueta, government employee; Adriano, notary; Reyes, tailor; Paez, business agent; Francisco, industrial; Serrano, school-teacher; A. Salvador, contractor; Salazar, industrial; Mariano, property owner; Legaspi, industrial; José, property owner; Bonifacio, warehouse porter; Plata, curial; Villareal, tailor; Rosa, book-keeper; Arellano, military employee; M. Salvador, industrial; Arévalo, dentist; Rosario, merchant; Santillán, industrial; Ramos, industrial; Joven, property owner; Villaruel, merchant; Mabini, lawyer; Nacpil, silversmith; and many other Filipinos well known by their ideas. To this assembly Rizal made known the motive which had inspired him to call it together, which was no other than the creation of a secret society to be known as the «Liga Filipina», founded for the purpose of fomenting the advancement and culture of the country and the attaining, later on, of emancipation from Spain (44). He read out a list of provisional regulations drawn up by himself; these regulations were unanimously approved; a commission formed of Ambrosio Salvador and Deodato Arellano as president and secretary respectively, was at once nominated for the studying and development of Rizal’s project, and the reunion was dissolved till it should be again convoked.
«The opportune deportation of Rizal (45), Cortes and Salvador, upset the plans of the «oath bound» conspirators and the panic thus brought about dispersed them for the moment. In the beginning of the year 1893 they re-assumed the work (46), sometimes in the house of Domingo Franco, and at others in that of Deodato Arellano; and after it had been agreed that they should be ruled by the regulations of Rizal, and votes having been cast, the Supreme Council of the «Liga» was constituted in the following form:
| President | Franco. | |
| Secretary & Treasurer | Arellano. | |
| Fiscal | Francisco. | |
| Councillors |
 |
Zulueta. |
| Legaspi. | ||
| Paez. | ||
| Bonifacio. | ||
| Nacpil. | ||
| Adriano. | ||
| Mabini. | ||
| Rianzares. | ||
| Flores. |
«Before continuing, and in order that the facts which follow may be better understood, I will give some idea of the «Liga» according to the mentioned regulations. Its determined ends (47), were the independence of the islands; its means, the propaganda of advanced political ideas (48), availing themselves of conferences, books, pamphlets and the paper «La Solidaridad» which was declared the official organ of the association; the culture of the country by means of study, and its material advancement by stimulating the creation of large enterprises and industries; and, as a final means, armed rebellion (49). The catechised or initiated submitted themselves to a solemn oath before a human skull, which they afterwards kissed, signing with their own blood (50) a compromising document, after making the corresponding incision in one of their arms.
«All those initiated incurred the duty of making propaganda (51) by all means in their power, and of increasing the number of the associates, of preserving under severest penalties, the most impenetrable silence on all matters relating to the «Liga» and blind obedience to their superiors. The association was governed by a Supreme Council with residence in Manila, and composed of a President, a Treasurer, a Fiscal, a Secretary and twelve Councillors; for the Peninsular and Hong-Kong, the delegations composed of Marcelo del Pilar and Ildefonso Laurel6.
“In each province was formed a provincial council with the same organizations as the Supreme Council, but with only six councillors, who, in their turn, had under their orders as many popular councils as there should be pueblos in the province in which the council should be constituted. The popular councils with analogous organization to the provincial councils, had jurisdiction within the demarcation of a pueblo; they depended directly upon the respective provincial council and the provincial upon the Supreme.
“All the members of the Supreme Council were to constitute in the capital of Manila a popular council formed of their converts within the zone of their residences; and all the members had to recruit among the natives of some culture, till the society should be thoroughly developed.
“Each treasurer collected a peso as entrance fee from the initiated and a medio (half) peso, as a monthly subscription for each member. With the said funds there was created a central deposit in the treasury of the Supreme Council, for the covering of the expenses of the delegations, and the sustainment of the Solidaridad; and it was agreed that once there should be sufficient capital, great enterprises, of a nature undetermined, should be undertaken.
“The eternal question of money in this class of organizations (52) gave rise to a serious falling out between Rizal and the Liga (53), on which account their official relations were severed. The subscriptions were badly collected, and those encharged with the custody and turning in of what few funds did exist misapplied them (54); this was what brought about the decadence of the league and the cause of its falling into discredit and disrepute and for its not prospering, in spite of the fact that among those who aided it with their moral and metalic aid, but without formal or written compromise (55), were a number of shameless filibusters, so much the more repugnant as the brilliant social position they held under the protection of Spain was elevated. Among many others may be cited the wealthy proprietors Pedro and Francisco Roxas (56), Mariano Linjap, Telesforo Chuidian, Luis R. Yangco, Antonio and Juan Luna, Felipe Zamora, Eduardo Litonjua, Marcelino de los Santos, Máximo Paterno (57) and Nazario Constantino (58).
“Of the members of the Supreme Council, only the following succeeded in forming popular councils: Estanislao Legaspi who organized one in Tondo, known as Talang Bakero; Andrés Bonifacio, one in Trozo, known as Mayon; and Francisco Nacpil, one in Santa Cruz, known as Mactan (59). The rest of the members of the Supreme Council only succeeded in forming the following fruitless sections: Flores, one in Ermita and Malate; Zulueta in Binondo; Rianzares in San Nicolás; Francisco in Quiapo; Adriano and Mabini in Sampaloc and Nagtajan, and Salvador in Pandacan.
“In the provinces also the Liga enjoyed such slow progress, that it was not possible to organize to popular councils, but sections only, and these were organized in the Laguna, by Vicente Reyes; in Batangas by Felipe Agoncillo (60); in Nueva Ecija, Bentus and Natividad; in Tarlac the notary del Rosario, and in Bulacán, Pampanga and other provinces wealthy persons of the same. In time, there was not a Filipino of wealth or career or of medium social position, who did not pertain to, or aid and abet the Liga, apart from a few most honorable exceptions (61) which it pleases me to recognize.
“At the commencement of the year 1894 and when the league had reached the age of one year, the members agreed to the dissolution of the society, both on account of the discords which continually sprung up in its bosom, and for the fear of discovery by the authorities which had already perceived something of the goings on (62). A grand assembly of the leaders was called together and it was determined to gather in as many documents as had been drawn up or circulated, and make a bonfire of them, so that all compromising indications should be made to disappear. The society became dissolved