Sulu and the principal datos of the Sulu Archipelago, as well as with Dato Mandij, who rules the Moros in the Zamboanga district, and Dato Piang, Dato Utto, and other leading datos of the districts of Cotabato and Davao. In the course of these interviews the slavery question was discussed very frankly. The insular government has never recognized slavery in any way, and the Moros were informed that it never would do so. They showed little hesitation in giving us the details of the system as it exists, and their statements were confirmed by military officers in command of garrisons at the several points visited.

We learned that slavery is widespread among the Moros, but at the present time exists in an extremely mild form. The old slave-hunting expeditions have nearly ceased. The Moro. datos claim that they no longer occur at all, but it is known that this statement is not strictly true, as the Moros of Mindanao still occasionally capture members of wild tribes in the interior of that island. The Filipinos formerly held as slaves have practically all been liberated by our troops, although it is possible that a few may still remain in bondage in the Lake Lanao region. Slaves who desire their freedom and who seek protection at any military garrison receive it.

The large majority of slaves held to-day have sold themselves for debt or are the children of those who have so sold themselves, the obligations of parents being inherited by their offspring. A slave may secure his liberty by paying to his owner an amount equal to the price paid for him, but should he sell himself for a certain sum and should his master afterwards be able to sell him for a larger sum he must repay this latter amount. In the majority of cases slaves are treated kindly, and they are frequently allowed time and opportunity to earn money, so that it is possible for them to redeem themselves if they desire to do so. The casual observer finds it impossible to distinguish them from members of the family to which they belong. Military officers everywhere expressed the opinion that Moro slaves were, on the whole, so well satisfied with their lot that if they were all set free the majority of them would promptly return to their old masters and voluntarily take up their old life again. This statement is not advanced as a defense of the system of slavery which prevails among the Moros, but rather as an illustration of the difficulties to be encountered in abolishing it.

An attempt at the present time to use force in securing the liberty of Moro slaves would inevitably provoke a fierce conflict with a brave and warlike people, and, so far as the slaves themselves are concerned, would meet with little appreciation. If, on the other hand, the refusal on the part of the Government to recognize slavery is persisted in, and the taking or acquiring of new slaves is prevented, the question will settle itself in a generation without bloodshed or the bitterness necessarily engendered by an armed strife.

It should be understood that slavery in the Philippines is by no means confined to the Moros. It is common among the wild Indonesian tribes in the interior of Mindanao and among the wild Malayan tribes of northern Luzon. If the evidence of credible witnesses may be believed, some of the wild tribes of Mindanao sacrifice their slaves to propitiate their heathen divinities. Repulsive as these facts are, it is idle to enact laws or issue orders until they can be made effective. The commission believes that the slavery question can be settled without resort to violent measures. A practical result of the intercourse between Moros and Americans has already been seen in the proclamatiou of Dato Mandij abolishing slavery among his people in the district of Zamboango. It is hoped that other datos may be induced to follow Mandij's example, and that eventually the wild mountain tribes may be reached by the same methods which have been so happily employed in his case.

It is evident that, if we are not to fail in our duty toward the savage or half-civilized Philippine peoples, active measures must be taken for the gathering of reliable information concerning them as a basis for legislation, and an act has therefore been passed by the commission creating a bureau of non-Christian tribes. This bureau is charged with the duty of conducting systematic investigations, in order to ascertain the name of each tribe, the limits of the territory which it occupies, the approximate number of individuals which compose it, their social organization and their languages, beliefs, manners, and customs, with especial view to learning the most practical way of bringing about their advancement in civilization and material prosperity. This bureau has the further duty of investigating and reporting upon the practical operation of all legislation with reference to non-Christian peoples.

FORESTRY.

The forest resources of the Philippine Islands have been repeatedly and fully described. Prior to the passage of the army appropriation bill the exploitation of the forests was carried on under general order of the military governor, No. 92, series of 1900, which divided the timber of the islands into six classes. Licenses to cut timber were issued for the nominal sum of $1, and a charge per cubic foot, varying with the class of the timber, was paid to the Government on all timber cut. This was practically a continuation of the former Spanish system, with the difference that a material increase was made in the rates at which Government timber was sold. Under the Spanish law a large class of people had grown up which was wholly dependent for a livelihood upon the cutting of timber belonging to the State. Timber could be had so advantageously from the Government, that it was hardly worth while for private individuals to seek to acquire forest lands.