| This volume is a result of more
than three years research. The author has been handicapped by the fact
that the records in the Archives of the Philippine Government, particularly
concerning the Spanish regime are extremely fragmentary. Furthermore, detailed
records are not available even concerning many of the revenue stamps issued
since the American occupation of the Philippines. Bits of information have
been assembled from many different sources and these sources have been
recorded in the volume which follows.
Mr. Jesus Cacho of Manila graciously
permitted the author to examine his splendid collection of Spanish Philippines
stamped paper. Much data was also obtained from Dr. James C. Perry's superb
collection of Philippine revenue stamps of the transition period from August
1898 to 1903, and from Dr. Perry's article on these stamps published in
the August and September 1903 issues of the American Philatelist. The very
detailed list of Giro stamps issued after the American occupation of Manila
was obtained from the superb collection gathered by Mt. A. B. Kay and his
list of these stamps published in the Bulletin of the Fiscal Stamps Society
(London) on February 1915. The author has also made extensive use of the
lists of Philippine revenue stamps found in the Catalogue de Timbres Fiscaux
(1915) by Forbin, and in Postage Stamps of the Philippines (1904) by Bartles,
Foster and Palmer. Mr. E. J. Esmek, Auditor of the Manila Electric Railroad
and Light Co., very kindly permitted the author to spend some two weeks
examining the documents bearing Philippine revenue stamps which were attached
to the cash vouchers of his firm for the period from 1903 to 1935. From
this source the author obtained much data as to the dates of issue of many
Philippine revenue stamps and concerning the method of their use.
The Spanish Philippines tax laws,
with two exceptions, were not available in English and the author has been
compelled to translate them into English from the Spanish text. Most of
these laws are here for the first time made available in English. The author
gratefully acknowledge the assistance of several Spanish and Filipino friends
in the preparation of the translations, among whom are Don Vicente Arias,
Don Remigio Garcia and Don Luis G. Miranda of Manila.
Many questions concerning Philippine
stamp tax laws and revenue stamps still remain unanswered and it is probable
that further research would yield some of the answers. Nevertheless, the
author feels that sufficient materials has been gathered to justify forwarding
this manuscript to the publisher in the form of which it is here presented.
A.H.W.
Manila, Philippines
December 28, 1941 |
