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 sov-
ereignty 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 organi-
zation, sympathy, and civilization, and that their religion did not form
an obstacle to their reformation and assimilation imless conversion into
the Cliristian 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 tlie 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 cooperation
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 considerable length on the organization of a rural police force to main- tain 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 featuics
of the policy he outlined arc 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 tlie
interests of the Spanish Grovernment. 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. C5ommerce 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.
