day, the twenty-fourth day of November,
as a day of national thanksgiving, to come together in their several
places of worship, for a service of praise and thanks to Almighty
God for all the blessings of the year, for the mildness of seasons
and the fruitfulness of the soil, for the continued prosperity of the
people, for the devotion and valor of our countrymen, for the glory
of our victory and the hope of a righteous peace, and to pray that the
Divine guidance, which has brought us heretofore to safety and honor,
may be graciously continued in the years to come.

"In witness whereof, etc.

(Signed)

"_William M'Kinley_.

"By the President:

"_John Hay_, Secretary of State."

CHAPTER XVII

Early History of the Philippines.

The Abolishment of the 31st of December, 1844, in Manila--The Mystery
of the Meridian 180 Degrees West--What Is East and West?--Gaining and
Losing Days--The Tribes of Native Filipinos--They Had an Alphabet and
Songs of Their Own--The Massacre of Magellan--His Fate Like That of
Captain Cook--Stories of Long Ago Wars--An Account by a Devoted Spanish
Writer of the Beneficent Rule of Spain in the Philippines--Aguinaldo
a Man Not of a Nation, But of a Tribe--Typhoons and Earthquakes--The
Degeneracy of the Government of the Philippines After It Was Taken
from Mexico--"New Spain"--The Perquisites of Captain-Generals--The
Splendor of Manila a Century Ago.

The 31st of December was abolished in Manila in 1844. Up to that time
it had been retained as the discoverers fixed it by pure piety and
patriotism. Pope Alexander VI had issued a bull on the 4th of May,
1493, dividing the world into two hemispheres, which was quite correct,
though it did not correspond to the secular lines of more modern
days. The gracious object of His Holiness was to keep the peace of
the world by dividing the lands taken from the heathen between the
Spaniards and Portuguese. The East was to belong to Portugal. The
line was drawn to include Brazil. The west was the hunting ground
for heathen of Spain. The claim of Spain for the Philippines was that
they were west. That was the way Magellenas (Magellan), the Portuguese
navigator sailed through the straits named for him, and westward found
the alleged Oriental islands, in which we, the people of the United
States, are now so much interested. When sailing into the sunset
seas he picked up a day, and never discovered his error for he did
not get home, and the Captain who n