APPENDIX GG. REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF THE DEPARTMENT OF RECEIPTS AND HEADQUARTERS PROVOST-MARSHAL-GENERAL, ACTING ADJUTANT-GENERAL, Headquarters Provost-Marshal-General, Manila, P. I. SIR: I have the honor to report the operations of this department for the fiscal year 1901, as follows: Included in "Board of health" account, beginning May 1, 1901. *Included in "Board of health" account, beginning February 1, 1901. APPENDIX HH. POPULATION BY PROVINCES, ACCORDING TO FIVE RELIABLE REPORTS. STATISTICS OF POPULATION. A bureau of statistics was established by a law enacted September 26, 1900. The chief officer of this bureau, called the chief statistician, was required, under the terms of this law, to superintend and direct the collection, compilation, and publication of such statistical information concerning the Philippine Islands as might be required by law. The position of chief statistician was held for one year by Prof. Carl C. Plehn, of California. The most important investigation of this bureau during the past year was that concerning the population of these islands. It was found that there were two sources from which the Spanish Government was able almost at any time to ascertain with sufficient accuracy for all practical purposes how many people there were in the islands who lived in organ ized communities recognizing Spanish sovereignty. These were, first the assessment lists for tribute; second, the parochial records kept by the church. There was, and still is, no way in which the number of persons belonging to the non-Christian tribes could be ascertained. The returns from these two sources almost always confirm one another, the difference being as a rule only such as might readily be accounted for by the slight difference in time. The returns from the first source might on general principles be expected to fall below the truth, as the cabezas de barangay had an interest in avoiding responsibility for taxes by understating the population, while those from the second source might with equal propriety be expected to be in excess of the truth, for the priest was interested to report as large a parish as possible. Practically, however, neither of these motives seems to have seriously affected those returns which were made from time to time for statistical purposes, and the reports coincide too closely to be impugned on these grounds. Probably on account of the ease with which the population could be ascertained from these two sources the Spanish Government took but one census independent of them. That was in the year 1887, and was dated as of December 31. It seems to have been a house-to-house canvass, a separate leaflet being used for each man, woman, and child in the islands, excepting, of course, those of the independent tribes. The general plan of this census, the form and contents of the schedules, the regulations and instructions under which it was taken, were all of such a character as to warrant the expectation of fairly accurate results. It is not possible at the present time to ascertain how well the plan was executed, but the published returns show evidence of having been compiled with some care; and as the enumeration districts were small there is no good reason to question the general accuracy of the results. This census is, moreover, fully confirmed by information from the two regular sources of information and for the same time both as regards the total population and that of the several provinces. The earliest reliable information concerning the population is for the year 1735, when the various religious orders reported a total of 837,182 souls under their jurisdiction. From 1840 on the Strangers' Guide to Manila (Guía de Forasteros), afterwards known as the "Guía Oficial," gives once in every two years a new statement of the population of each pueblo and province based upon reports obtained from one or the other of the two sources above mentioned. Unfortunately there are frequent omissions, and the value of the published returns varies much from year to year. Embodied in this report is a table, from these and other sources mentioned therein, which gives the results of what seems to be the most reliable of the older counts. A second table, attached hereto, gives by provinces the results of those counts which seem to be particularly worthy of credence, namely, those of 1818, 1840, 1850, 1870, and 1887. The most striking feature of these tables is the slow growth that is indicated. With a death rate which in normal years-that is, in years not attended by some epidemic or other disaster affecting the whole community is between 30 and 35 per 1,000, and a birth rate of over 50 per 1,000, the increase which might be expected is much greater than appears. The fact is that the growth of the population has been restrained by violent epidemics of the most sweeping character. A single epidemic of smallpox, cholera, plague, influenza, and other diseases will easily sweep away the natural growth for several years. Thus in 1879 the death rate is reported as 106.3 per 1,000 against a birth rate of 43.4 per 1,000, while in 1896, which may be taken as a fairly normal year, the death rate was 33.7 and the birth rate 56.4. Several of the important epidemics are indicated in the table. Year. Population. Population of the Philippines at different periods. Sources of information and remarks. 2,062,805 1818 2,026, 230 1827 2,593, 287 1833 3, 153, 290 1840 3,096,031 1845 1850 3,434, 007 1862 1870 4,734, 533 1876 1879 Reports by various religious organizations. Compilation made by the city government of Manila from the tax rolls for the tribute (25 provinces). Same source; quoted by Buzeta, II, p. 53. Do. Same source; quoted by Buzeta, II, p. 53. This total is 80,602 less than that Special reports to the Guia de Forasteros de Manila, made by the local officials. Special reports to the Guia de Forasteros. Sum of the figures given by Buzeta as the population of each province, probably on the basis of reports by the parish priests. The total quoted by Buzeta from the Guide for the same year is 3,815,874, which does not agree with his figures for the various provinces. Ecclesiastical census, published in the Guide, 1863. Reports by the civil authorities, compiled and published by Cavada, Historia, 5,567, 685 Civil census quoted in the Guia Oficial for several years, see 1898. An ecclesi- Civil census. This was the only census ever taken independently of the tax From a table, dated Manila, Nov. 30, 1891, bearing the signatures of Manuel del The census of 1896 was in progress when the last insurrection against Spain broke out. The work was in charge of the bureau known as the "Centro de estadistica." It was probably on account of the insurrection that this census was never completed and never compiled. A large part of the original schedules which had been sent in from the provinces were found stored among the archives in the intendencia. From notations on the various packages it is evident that the returns were originally more complete than they appear at present. Probably many of the papers were lost in the interval of disorder. What remains has been found worthy of compilation, however, for although no very safe conclusion can be drawn from these returns for the islands as a whole, yet the information concerning the pueblos reporting seems to be complete and reliable. The following schedules were used for sending the returns to the centro de estadistica: 1. Population, giving the sex, and distinguishing the Spaniards, Spanish-mestizos, Filipinos, Chinese-mestizos, white foreigners, Chinese, and other races. |