In compliance with the provision of the Royal order
of the 24th of April last, requesting, for the information of her Majesty
the record of the correspondence exchanged in regard to the treaty of
commerce made by my predecessor with the Sultan of Sulu, and the
bases of said treaty, I forward the same to your Excellency, with a
few personal observations suggested by a reading of the said papers.
On the 31st of January, 1835, the Tribunal of Commerce forwarded
to the Captain-General, a])proved by it, a report presented by several
business men who traded with Sulu, setting forth the deceitful methods
of the Datus, or principal people of the island, in their agreements and
contracts, and requesting, in order to restrain and intimidate them,
that the naval division of Zamboanga, or part of it, be stationed in the
port of Jolo during the time the national merchant vessels remain there
for the purpose of making their sales and purchases. A decree was issued
on the 9th of March of the same year, concurring in the opinion of the
Assessor, and declaring that the request could not be granted at that
time, but that it would be taken into consideration as soon as the
circumstances allowed. This is a brief of the document marked Number
1.
On the 9th of February, 1836, Jose Dugiols, who had sold goods on
credit to the amount of 8000 pesos to the Jolo people, and despaired
of getting paid, presented a new petition, similar to that which had
been sent 11 months before. The Chamber of Commerce approved it,
and requested that a fleet of launches be stationed at Jolo during the
business season, there to gather information which would allow the
Government to take pi-oper action in the matter ; it also insisted that the
commander of the fleet be a capable person, who, without compromising
the flag, would know how to conciliate the purpose of the naval demon-
stration with the spirit of peace and concord which he ought to maintain
between the crews of our ships and the people of Jolo. This suggestion,
which had already been made in the petition presented the year before,
was favorably endorsed one after the other by all who intervened in the
papers in the case and resulted in the final resolution of- May 31st,
which contains 14 articles. The first provides that it shall be one of
the duties of the commander of the naval division of Zamboanga to
protect the Spanish ships while they are at Jolo, and instructions are
given him to that effect. The second appoints captain of frigate
Jose Maria Halcon to take charge, temporarily, of the command of the.
Division of Zamboanga, and establish relations of friendship and com-
merce with the Sulu people. The third directs him to inform the Sulu
Sultan of his visit in the way he may deem most likely to convince him
of the peaceful intentions of this Government. The fourth directs him
to make himself recognized by the oflBcers and men of our ships, as
the commanding authority who shall maintain them in peace and good
order. The fifth charges him not to allow his men to land, so as to
avoid disorder. The sixth directs him to take action in regard to any
excess, as provided by the Code. The seventh, to hold in check the
crews of our ships, so as to give the Sulus neither reason nor pretence
for showing their bad faith. The ninth forbids the commander of the
division and all those under his orders to enter into any business specula-
tion whatsoever. The tenth directs the commander to be ever careful
to keep all his men within the bounds of duty. By the eleventh he is
directed to see that all contracts are religiously fulfilled, and, if neces-
sary, to complain energetically to the Sultan, and by the twelfth to see
that our people fulfil their own. Articles thirteen and fourteen direct
• the commander to obtain information about the political and civil condi-
tions of Sulu and its topographic situation.
After acquainting himself with the foregoing. Captain Jos6 Maria
Halcon inquired what would be the minimum importation duty in Ma-
nila for articles proceeding from Sulu, and asked for instructions in
regard to the importation of arms and ammunition into Sulu by our
ships. In answer to the first question, the Board of Tariffs fixed at 2 per
cent the duty on all articles imported from Sulu to Manila in its own
vessels,^ except wax and cacao, which would have to pay 14 per cent under
a foreign flag and half that amount under the national flag ; in regard to
the second the importation of arms and ammunition into Sulu by our
ships was prohibited.
A letter to the Sultan of Sulu was furthermore given the commander,
accrediting him and explaining his mission, the petition presented by
Dugiols and endorsed by the Chamber of Commerce, requesting that our
business relations with Sulu be granted a protection which experience
made each day more necessary, being thus complied with.
On April 15, 1836, Halcon forwarded the capitulations of peace and
the commercial agreements made by him in the name of this Government
with the Sultan of Sulu. The first consists of 6 articles, by which the
Spanish Government grants the Sultan its protection, which is accepted
by the latter, with a mutual assurance of cooperation between them against
any nation not European. Spanish boats are to be admitted freely in
Sulu, and Sulu boats in Zamboanga and Manila. It is agreed that a
Spanish factory shall be established in Jolo, so as to avoid damages and
delays to our commerce, the same right being given the Sulus in Manila.
Certain rules are established in order to distinguish friendly from
hostile boats. The Sultan is pledged to prevent piracy on the part of
those who recognize his authority; and it is furthermore agreed that in
case of any doubt as to the meaning of any article, the literal Spanish
text shall be followed. In accordance with the opinion of the Govern-
ment assessor, these capitulations were approved by decree of January
20 of this year. The commercial agreements contain 9 articles. The
first establishes a duty of 2^ per cent on all products brought by the
Sulus. The second excepts wax and cacao, as recommended by the Board
of Tariffs. The third provides a duty of 1 per cent for the importa-
tion in Zamboanga of products brought by the Sulus. The fourth
provides that the payment of the duties shall be made in cash in silver.
The fifth establishes the dues to be paid by our boats at Sulu. The
sixth fixes the value, in products, of those dues. The seventh, in its
first part, declares, that all Sulu boats trading without a license shall be
treated as smugglers, under the law of the Kingdom; in its second part
it also requires our boats to show a bill of lading in accordance with the
cargo, on pain of a fine of ^500, two thirds to go to the Sultan and one
third to our exchequer. The eighth provides that if the duties are
reduced in Manila and Zamboanga on the articles coming from Sulu,
the same shall be done in Sulu, and that if the Sultan reduces the dues
on foreign ships, he shall do the same for ours. The ninth provides
that in case of doubt the literal Spanish text shall be followed. After
hearing the opinions of the Boards of Commerce and Tariffs, and in
accordance with that of the assessor, the foregoing was approved by
decree of the 20th of January of this year, with a small reduction of
i per cent on the duties to be paid by the Sulus in Manila, and an ex-'
planation of the proceeding to be followed for the appraisement of their
cargoes in Zamboanga and in Manila.
Shortly before this ratification by the Government, it was decreed
on the 13th of January, at the request of Commissioner Halcon, that in
order to avoid trouble between this Government and that of Sulu, the
captains and supercargoes of the Spanish ships should give no credit to
the Sulus, except with the authorization of the Sultan, under the penalty
of being barred from claiming his protection or that of the Spanish
Government for the collection of such credits; and that all settlements
of the pay of the crews of our ships should be so made as to avoid the
abuse of paying them in kind, instead of currency.
Such is the information which I have found, and am forwarding to
your Excellency in regard to the treaties mentioned. The leading idea
in said treaties is one of distrust towards the people of Sulu, on account
of their treacherous, cruel and perfidious nature. As this is the only
idea which prevails in all our relations with the island, as well as in the
Eoyal order of August 28, 1751, and the documents attached thereto,
without referring to older time, I can not be persuaded that the policy
of peace and alliance adopted with the Sultan of Sulu can give our
shipping and commerce any substantial and permanent advantage.
Several Royal decrees find fault with such treaties and even order
them to be revoked in case they have been made ; and to justify departure
from these sovereign instructions, given with a true knowledge of the
facts, and in accordance with the opinion of the illustrious members of
the Cabinet, there must now be some powerful political reason which I
can not discover. If we take into consideration the very weak authority
of the Sultan over his subjects, and the scarcity of his means in the
midst of datus or chieftains who, with their families and slaves, constitute
distinct communities which are haughty, ambitious and dangerous to
him, we find that there is in Sulu no moral force on whicli to rely for the
execution of a treaty, even should there be the best faith and good will
on the part of the Sultan.
Furthermore, Sulu and the small adjacent islands produce nothing;
even the rice and fish which the people use for their food come from
our neighboring possessions: what business reasons are there therefore,
capable of calling our attention, or whose profits would pay the expenses
of a fleet placed in observation there? All the produce of the islands
consists of beche-de-mer and shell which are gathered by the slaves;^
the clothing and foodstuffs are furnished them, on credit, by our own
ships ; gold, wax and edible nests come from Mindanao. Hence commerce
is confined to a season outside of which our ships never go near Sulu.
There is therefore little advantage to be derived by our commerce from
these treaties, and this is confirmed by the communication just received
by me from the commander of the Zamboanga division, which I enclose
as number 6. It betrays complete disappointment, and shows the wisdom
of the instructions given in the above mentioned Royal decrees.
The policy which we ought to follow with the Sulus is one of continual
and perspicacious caution, with well conditioned, well situated and well
commanded naval forces, ready to obtain at once satisfaction for any
offense to our flag; and I believe that this could be done without much
trouble, by using steamships, as the Dutch have done in their settlements
in the Moluccas, where they suffered from the piracy of the Moros much
as we do in the Philippines.
The foregoing infonnation covers, I believe, all the points mentioned
in the Royal order- of April 24th, last, and which are the object of the
present communication and of the documents which I enclose therewith.
May God keep your Excellency many years.