London
Jesuits and Augustinians no longer want to correspond with Blumentritt — Those who consider that their own opinion is better than that of others are not worthy of our friendship — They have no friends but acolytes — There are not 50 Spaniards like Geler — Vidal y Soler speaks ill of the Indio — And he is furious when the Filipinos defend their lands against the Spaniards.
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37 Chalcot Crescent, Primrose Hill, N.W.
London, 01 November 1888
My dear Friend,
With much pleasure I have learned from your last letter that at last they have finished making your portrait. As soon as I receive it, I shall write Mr. Eysert to thank him.
I am sorry that the Jesuits and the Augustinians no longer want to correspond with you, but console yourself! I believe that the man who considers his own opinion better than that of the rest and does not tolerate that others hold their own opinion, that man is unworthy of our friendship, for this class of men has no friends but acolytes and attendants. It is not a crime to hold different political opinions if these are not criminal. Those gentlemen ought to respect and appreciate your opinions in the same way that you, as I have already said, are impartial and you have nothing to gain, inasmuch as you are neither a Spaniard nor a Filipino and you belong to a nation without colonies. But I do not believe that you will suffer any injury for this.
You believe that there are more than 50 Spaniards who share Geler’s opinions. But where are they? What have they done for the Filipinos? Have they had the courage to publish their opinions and to combat pernicious ideas? All the books of Spanish authors distill gall against the Filipinos. Vidal y Soler speaks ill of the Indio. In his Memoria sobre el ramo de Montes I read the following: “We would not wish, however, that the Chinese, Annamites, Japanese, and Cambodians become owners of landed property, for we consider that unsuitable to our rule — always the pre-eminent objective, superior from my point of view to even the prosperity of the country . . . . (!!!) to give their lands to emigrants from Spain in full ownership . . . place them under the protection of our flag, always and on all occasion to make it respected with vigor, punishing strictly rather than leniently all settlements that would overstep . . . .”
This same Vidal y Soler becomes furious when the Indios defend their wretched lands against the Spaniards. Of course the Indios are not as diligent as the Germans, but the Spaniards cannot either affirm that they emigrate to the Philippines because no more lands for cultivation remain in Spain. Thus it must be said: “As the old men sang, so the young men trill.”
But enough!
My countrymen want me to assume the management of the new periodical in Madrid. What do you advise me? Should I go back to Madrid, enter politics, and abandon my studies? My countrymen say that if I do not go there, the newspaper will not prosper. Do you believe that the newspaper will be useful?
Greetings.
Yours,
Rizal
03-342 [Reformists]