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Show ARE NOT READY FOR INDEPENDENCE Governor General Smith in Message to Philippine Assembly Says Americans Should Rule. Deploses Growing Gulf Between Americans and Filipinos, and Urges That They Act in Unity for Best Interests of Both. Manila. The Philippine assembly opened on Monday with simple ceremonies, cere-monies, President Osmena presiding. The first business to come before the body was the annual message to the assembly as-sembly of Governor General James F. Smith, which read in part as follows: "My last word to the Filipinos i3 that until the great majority and not a small majority of the citizens are prepared to make intelligent use of the franchise; until democratic usages and customs have permeated throughout the population and become a part of the daily life of the people; until the power of unconscionable agitators agi-tators and demagogues is broken; until un-til education has created a just public pub-lic sentiment, which specious arguments argu-ments and false doctrines cannot destroy; de-stroy; until a citizen has not only the power to judge, but also the courage to act for himself, the best future of the islands lies with the land which has given the Filipinos freedom of speech, liberty of the press, freedom of worship, the right of the accused to meet witnesses against him face to face, the exercise of the franchise, free schools, antonomy in municipal and provincial affairs, the right to participate in making laws through the assembly and many other rights, liberties and privileges not enjoyed by peoples which had independence and national existence for hundreds of years." Governor Smith deplored the growing grow-ing gulf between the American and Filipinos in the Philippines and strongly urged that they draw closer together and act in unity for the best interests of both. His message sharply sharp-ly criticises the municipal government govern-ment of Manila and the municipal police force, the personnel of which, he said, was not equal to the public servants of the city. The provincial government Governor Gover-nor Smith pronounced to be entirely satisfactory. The annual report on the revenues of the islands shows a decline of about a million pesos (about $500,000) for 1908 under the figures of 1907. |