mine their
condition and learn their needs and teach them the advantages of
civil life and the importance of religion.

Article 7 provides for a report every three months from those officers
in charge of such districts.

This all sounds very well, and if carried out might have succeeded
in improving the condition of the unfortunate Negritos, but we can
not find that the provincial officials showed great zeal in complying
with the executive request.

On January 14, 1881, a decree very similar to this was issued. The
first part of this decree related to the newly converted or
"sometidos." But article 7 authorized the provincial authorities
to offer in the name of the State to Aetas and other pagans the
following advantages in exchange for voluntary submission: Life in
pueblos; unity of families; concession of good lands and direction
in cultivating them in the manner which they wished and which would
be most productive; maintenance and clothing during one year; respect
for their usages and customs so far as they did not oppose the natural
law; to leave to their own wishes whether or not they should become
Christians; to buy or facilitate the sale of their crops; exemption
from contributions and tributes for ten years and lastly, government
by local officials elected by themselves under the direct dependency
of the head of the province or district.

These provisions were certainly liberal enough, but they bore little
fruit so far as the Negritos were concerned. Being sent out as
circulars to the chiefs of all provinces, such decrees received scant
attention, each provincial head probably preferring to believe that
they were meant for someone else. Although it sounded well on paper,
the difficulties in the way of successful compliance with such an order
were many. But in one way and another the authorities sought to reach
the hill tribes, though it must be confessed they were actuated rather
by a desire to preserve peace in their provinces and to protect the
plainsmen from the plundering raids of the savages than by motives
of philanthropy in improving the condition of the latter.

The Negritos of Zambales were classed as conquistados and
non-conquistados, according to whether they lived in amicable relations
with the Filipinos or stole carabaos and killed the people whenever
they had the opportunity. The Guardia Civil made many raids into
the mountains for the purpose of punishing the predatory Negritos,
and