goods. Before the close of the century, however, a decline began, from which there was but little recovery under Spanish rule. Several causes contributed to this, among them the waning of the power of Spain, an exclusive commercial policy, dishonest administration, hostilities with the Chinese, ravages of the Malay pirates, and the growth of Dutch commerce. On several occasions the city has been visited with destructive earthquakes; those of 1645 and 1863 were especially disastrous. In 1762, during war between England and Spain, an English force under Vice-Admiral Sir Samuel Cornish (d. 1770) and Lieut.-General Sir William Draper (1721–1787) breached the walls and captured the city, but by the Treaty of Paris (1763) it was returned to Spain. In 1837 the port of Manila was opened to foreign trade, and there was a steady but slow increase in prosperity up to about 1890. During this period, however, progress was hampered by vested interests, and the spirit of rebellion among the natives became increasingly threatening. About 1892 a large number of Filipinos in and near Manila formed a secret association whose object was independence and separation from Spain. In August 1896 members of this association began an attack; and late in December the movement was reinforced as a result of the execution in Manila of Dr José Rizal y Mercado (1861–1896), a Filipino patriot. It spread to the provinces, and was only in part suppressed when, in April 1898, the United States declared war against Spain. On the 1st of May an American fleet under Commodore George Dewey destroyed the Spanish fleet stationed in Manila Bay (see Spanish-American War). The smouldering Filipino revolt then broke out afresh and an American army under General Wesley Merritt (1836– ) was sent from San Francisco to assist in capturing the city. The Spaniards, after making a rather weak defence, surrendered it on the 13th of August 1898. Trouble now arose between the Americans and the Filipinos under the leadership of Emilio Aguinaldo, for the latter wished to establish a government of their own. On the night of the 4th of February 1899 the Filipinos attacked the American army which was defending the city, but were repulsed after suffering a heavy loss. A military government, however, was maintained in the city until August 1901.
MANILA HEMP, the most valuable of all fibres for cordage,
the produce of the leaf-stalks of Musa textilis, a native of the
Philippine Islands. The plant, called abacá by the islanders,
throws up a spurious stem from its underground rootstocks,
consisting of a cluster of sheathing leaf-stalks, which rise to a
height of from 15 to 25 ft. and spread out into a crown of huge
undivided leaves characteristic of the various species of Musa
(plantain, banana, &c.). From 12 to 20 clusters are developed
on each rhizome. In its native regions the plant is rudely cultivated
solely as a source of fibre; it requires little attention, and
when about three years old develops flowers on a central stem,
at which stage it is in the most favourable condition for yielding
fibre. The stock is then cut down, and the sheathing stalks are
torn asunder and reduced to small strips. These strips in their
fresh succulent condition are drawn between a knife-edged instrument
and a hard wooden block to which it is fixed. The knife is
kept in contact with the block except when lifted to introduce the
ribbons. Sufficient weight is suspended to the end of the knife
to keep back all pith when the operator is drawing forward the
ribbon between the block and knife. By repeated scraping in
this way the soft cellular matter which surrounds the fibre is
removed, and the fibre so cleaned has only to be hung up to dry
in the open air, when, without further treatment, it is ready for
use. Each stock yields, on an average, a little under 1 ℔ of
fibre; and two natives cutting down plants and separating fibre
will prepare not more than 25 ℔ per day. The fibre yielded by
the outer layer of leaf-stalks is hard, fully developed and strong,
and used for cordage, but the produce of the inner stalks is
increasingly thin, fine and weak. The finer fibre is used by the
natives, without spinning or twisting (the ends of the single fibres
being knotted or gummed together), for making exceedingly
fine, light and transparent yet comparatively strong textures,
which they use as articles of dress and ornament. According
to Warden, “muslin and grass-cloth are made from the finest
fibres of Manila hemp, and some of them are so fine that a garment
made of them may, it is said, be enclosed in the hollow of
the hand.” In Europe, especially in France, articles of clothing,
such as shirts, veils, neckerchiefs and women’s hats, are made
from abacá. It is also used for matting and twines. It is of a
light colour, very lustrous, and possesses great strength, being
thus exceptionally suitable for the best class of ropes. It is
extensively used for marine and other cordage. The hemp
exported for cordage purposes is a somewhat woody fibre, of a
bright brownish-white colour, and possessing great durability
and strain-resisting power. The strength of Manila hemp
compared with English hemp is indicated by the fact that a
Manila rope 314 in. in circumference and 2 fathoms long stood
a strain of 4669 ℔ before giving way, while a similar rope of
English hemp broke with 3885 ℔. The fibre contains a very
considerable amount of adherent pectinous matter, and in its
so-called dry condition an unusually large proportion, as much
as 12% of water. In a damp atmosphere the fibre absorbs
moisture so freely that it has been found to contain not less than
40% of water, a circumstance which dealers in the raw fibre
should bear in mind. From the old and disintegrated ropes
is made the well-known manila paper. The plant has been
introduced into tropical lands—the West Indies, India, Borneo,
&c.—but only in the Philippines has the fibre been successfully
produced as an article of commerce. It is distributed throughout
the greater part of the Philippine Archipelago. The area of
successful cultivation lies approximately between 6° and 15° N.
and 121° and 126° E.; it may be successfully cultivated up to
about 4000 ft. above sea-level. The provinces, or islands, where
cultivation is most successful are those with a heavy and evenly
distributed rainfall. H. T. Edwards, fibre expert to the Philippine
bureau of agriculture, wrote in 1904:—
“The opportunities for increasing the production of abacá in the Philippines are almost unlimited. Enormous areas of good abacá land are as yet untouched, while the greater part of land already under cultivation might yield a greatly increased product if more careful attention were given to the various details of cultivation. The introduction of irrigation will make possible the planting of abacá in many districts where it is now unknown. The perfection of a machine for the extraction of the fibre will increase the entire output by nearly one-third, as this amount is now lost by the wasteful hand-stripping process.”
Hitherto, while numerous attempts have been made to extract the fibre with machinery, some obstacle has always prevented the general use of the process. The exports have increased with great rapidity, as shown by the following table:—
| 1870 | 31,426 | tons. |
| 1880 | 50,482 | ” |
| 1890 | 67,864 | ” |
| 1900 | 89,438 | ” |
| 1904 | 121,637 | ” |
In 1901 the value of the export was $14,453,410, or 62.3% of the total exports from the Philippines. The fibre is now so valuable that Manila hemp cordage is freely adulterated by manufacturers, chiefly by admixture of phormium (New Zealand flax) and Russian hemp.
MANILIUS, a Roman poet, author of a poem in five books called Astronomica. The author is neither quoted nor mentioned by any ancient writer. Even his name is uncertain, but it was probably Marcus Manilius; in the earlier MSS. the author is anonymous, the later give Manilius, Manlius, Mallius. The poem itself implies that the writer lived under Augustus or Tiberius, and that he was a citizen of and resident in Rome. According to R. Bentley he was an Asiatic Greek; according to F. Jacob an African. His work is one of great learning; he had studied his subject in the best writers, and generally represents the most advanced views of the ancients on astronomy (or rather astrology). He frequently imitates Lucretius, whom he resembles in earnestness and originality and in the power of enlivening the dry bones of his subject. Although his diction presents some peculiarities, the style is metrically correct. Firmicus, who wrote in the time of Constantine, exhibits so many points of resemblance with the work of Manilius that he must either have used him or have followed some work that Manilius also followed. As Firmicus
