Views of Espina

Chapter VI

Views of Espina

Colonel Espina assumed that retrogression was out of the question and that the flag which was waving over Sulu must be defended and supported. Sulu could not be abandoned to her fate and Spanish sovereignty had inevitably to be exercised. Extermination of Moros he held to be absurd and impossible, and measures so directed he regarded as injurious and unwise. He entertained strong hopes, amounting to actual conviction, that Moros could become Spanish in political organization, sympathy, and civilization, and that their religion did not form an obstacle to their reformation and assimilation unless conversion into the Christian religion was insisted upon and rigorously kept up. He thought that the cause of religion alone was sufficient to prolong the war indefinitely and lead the Government to a policy of extermination and failure. Instead of that he advised a prudent and tolerant policy declaring absolute noninterference with religion and hearty coöperation with the Sulus in matters of general concern and public welfare. He considered it of great importance to occupy all the principal islands of the Archipelago with garrisons and to establish colonies and agricultural stations at the most desirable localities and harbors. He wrote at [256]considerable length on the organization of a rural police force to maintain order and carry out the various measures of his policy. He pointed out the advisability of strengthening the authority of the sultan over Sulus, of rendering his appointment subject to the approval or choice of the Spanish Government, and of selecting a council of state loyal to the Spanish Government and serving under salary. The chief features of the policy he outlined are as follows:

1. The organization of the sultanate should be made or continued in accordance with the laws and customs of the country, but in a manner agreeable to the interests of the Spanish Government. Rank, order, and religion should not be interfered with.

2. The sultan and members of the council of state should be appointed by the Governor-General and should have salaries.

3. A new treaty should be made in order to rectify those clauses of the treaty of 1878 pertaining to the maintenance of peace and the guarantee of safety of life and property.

4. Slavery should be abolished, radically and thoroughly.

5. Compulsory tribunals of justice or courts should be established to relieve datus and chiefs of the exercise of such functions.

6. Commerce should be encouraged and rendered free for all boats for a period of twenty-five years.

7. Roads should be constructed to facilitate communication and transportation from the central region of the island to its principal harbors.

8. Agriculture should be developed and colonies encouraged.

9. Necessities should be created for the Moros, providing them at the same time with means for satisfying them. Children of the sultan and datus should be educated in Manila, and schools for the Moro dialect should be established and made accessible to the public.