each village, and it is preferable to leave a village without a
minister rather than to place it in charge of a Filipino secular
priest. Between Filipinas and España there is no other bond of union
than the Christian religion. This bond is very powerful, and may
induce the islanders to love and to defend the Spanish domination as
a duty. In no place better than in España is it known of what the
religious influence on the masses is capable, even in violation of
their most direct interests. To imagine that the natives will become
fond of our government because they judge it good or the best possible,
I believe a vain project. Their ignorance regarding the condition of
other peoples does not permit of their entering into such comparisons;
and those who might be capable of doing it, will discuss political
matters; and however excellent such men consider our domination,
they would always think that it would be more advantageous for them
to withdraw from the yoke and seize the scepter in their own hands,
and pass by this method from their humble condition of vassals and
subjugated to that of masters and mandarins. Therefore, just as the
community is sustained by virtue and the monarchy by fidelity, this
colony, in my opinion, must be maintained by religion. Starting from
this beginning, nothing can become so direct an agent for promoting
emancipation, as the ordaining of priests among the natives. [13] Some
persons observe that they are unfit and vicious, and consequently,
do not infuse respect, exercise influence or cause fear. More, if a
Filipino secular priest lives in a state of intoxication, and even
commits, as has indeed happened, atrocious crimes which lead him to
the scaffold, he does not for this cease to be a priest; and thus he
degrades the class to which he belongs, and undermines the prestige
of sanctity surrounding the character of a religious man. And this
idea, namely, that because they are Filipinos, they cannot have any
influence, has been destroyed by merely the recent insurrection in
Tayabas, where a lay-brother, a young fellow, without any personal or
antecedent quality that could make him respected, was able, by means
of a religious matter--without the printed copies of the admonition
of the archbishop of Manila, or the Spanish friars of the neighboring
territory, being able to prevent it--to cause a settlement to mutiny
and to arm a crowd of three or four thousand men, even to the point of
firing upon their own pastors, who only saved themselves by means of
flight; to kill the governor of the province; and attack the national
troops. And so that my opinion in regard to this matter is, and has
been, that of many others who studied the country, I shall copy a
few extracts illustrative of the matter. [14]
[Mas's first extract is from a communication to the king from
Governor Aguilar, dated November 25, 1804. In this letter, Aguilar
characterizes the native secular priests as lazy and dissolute. He
cites a recent example of a village, evidently previously in charge
of the native seculars, where a Recollect priest has been placed in
charge, and where in consequence the church has been completed and
order preserved. Although there are some good native priests, they
do not infuse the respect that the regulars do, for the latter are
never intimate with their parishioners, while the native priests,
on the other hand, live on an intimate footing with them, and enter
into every detail of their lives. Consequently, the regulars can
manage the natives better than the native secular priests. Again the
religious have no ties, and hence their only care is their church
and their duty. The native seculars are burdened with relatives,
who even live in the curacies with them, and hence, they neglect
their churches which soon fall into ruin. It would be bad indeed
for the islands if the bishops were to transfer the curacies to the
native seculars. That might be done when there are Spanish secular
priests who possess the right qualities, but to transfer them to
the natives would be committing a great wrong. If all the villages
in charge of native secular priests had friar curas, they would be
in a much better condition. In Negros, which is in charge of the
native seculars, nothing is done, a ruinous condition prevails, and
the villages are greatly depopulated. If the matter were left to him,
he would not allow a single native secular priest to have charge of a
village. They might profitably be used as assistants to the regulars.]
[The second letter is one from the Manila Ayuntamiento, dated July
12, 1804. This letter is highly laudatory of the friars, who spare
no pains to fulfil their duties. The native secular priests however,
are only in few instances found efficient, and are in general only
fit to act as assistants to the friar curas. The Filipinos with
their weak intellects, seem unfitted for the office of priest,
by reason of their lack of constancy. They have not the education
requisite for the office of priest, for the conciliar seminaries
are little more than a name in which a few native secular priests,
themselves without sufficient education, attempt to teach. The regulars
subjected to the royal patronage would be much better than any native
seculars. After Mindoro was transferred from the Recollects to the
native seculars, the missions quickly declined, churches were ruined,
Moro raids increased, and the tribute of the villages fell off. In
consequence, the government now wishes to replace the native clergy
by the Recollects. The regulars also further the temporal affairs,
and have done notable things in agriculture. The Ayuntamiento hopes
that the complaints against the regulars will be disregarded, "for
although there are some defects which they may have, they are always
useful to religion and the state."]
[The third citation is from San Agustin's famous letter on the
character of the natives. [15]]
Taking the Christian religion as the foundation upon which
our domination is sustained, it is evident that everything that
contributes to destroy the religious spirit, destroys and undermines
this foundation. Under this idea nothing can have more direct harm
than the degradation and corruption of the minister of divine worship,
and experience has demonstrated this truth. For just as the first
sectarians of Jesus Christ extended his religion rapidly by means of
the enthusiasm which took possession of their minds, and by means of
the martyrdoms which they suffered, so also, in all places where the
priests have given themselves to effeminacy, to feasting, to ambition,
and to vices, the belief of the peoples has diminished from that
moment, and they have ended by falling into religious indifference. The
government ought, then, to consider the clergy as a power; and just as
great care is taken not to introduce insubordination and demoralization
into an army, so also the government ought to watch over the conduct of
the curas. Let them have all the influence possible over the village,
but let them always be Spanish Europeans, and allow them to feel no
other interest than España. This is the vital question. If the matter
be considered under this point of view, one cannot exaggerate the harm
that a goodly portion of the friars are doing, and the moral force
that our government is losing because of the manner in which they are
living. The most general weakness is that of concubinage. Many keep
a mistress (who is there called a stewardess [despensera]), inside
or outside the convent. The convent in Filipinas has no cloister, as
it is a parochial house. And this fault, if one considers the climate
of the country, the circumstances, and the ideas of the natives, is,
to say truth, the most excusable and the least harmful.
The most pernicious and transcendental fault into which many curas have
fallen especially for some time back--a fault ten times more harmful
than the one to which we have referred--is that of avarice, fed by
the practice of trading. It is well known that the mode of trading in
that country usually consists in usury, that is, in advancing money in
order later to receive products in kind at a very low price. And even
leaving aside this aspect of the matter, it happens, as is natural,
that the minister, as soon as he has become a speculator, contrives
to get some profit from his position, and from the influence which
his ministry and the policy indispensable in that country give him,
and thinks little or nothing of the means so long as they conduce to
the increase of his capital. Sometimes this vice is united with the
first, and the stewardess or her husband--who is generally one of the
servants of the convent, whom the friar has married to her, in order
to save appearances--is charged with the gathering, magazines, shops,
sales, etc. But it must be confessed that the government has had a
great part in this corruption, by protecting the religious against
their superiors. Two left during the term of General Lardizabal,
taking a large amount with them. When the Augustinian provincial,
Father Grijalvo, went with his secretary, Father Fausto Lopez, to
see him [i.e., Lardizabal] about one of them (Father Jarava) [16] who
wished to go away with his money, and said provincial asserted to him
that this was a very bad example, as there were many who would devote
their energies to making money, and then leave, although religious are
so necessary in these islands, the said general answered him: "Do not
believe it. You are not so necessary. You are deceived in this. The
English government in India has no friars, and yet that country is
sustained and prospers." Nevertheless, in Singapor, he [i.e., Father
Jarava] boasted in conversation with the good Bishop Courvery (as the
latter mentioned to me) of the gold which he carried; and told him of
the presents which he had had to bestow in Manila in order to obtain
his passport, especially to the assessor of the government. The most
illustrious bishop wrote that to that capital, and on learning it,
the guileless general Lardizabal was angry enough to tear his hair,
as was mentioned by the secretary of the government, Cambronero. [17]
In 1840 they went to inform the alcalde-mayor of a province that
all those who went away with indigo, unless provided with a pass by
the cura, were detained in the bantayan (a kind of sentry-box) of
a village in his jurisdiction. The alcalde ordered the matter to be
investigated, and found it to be so; and some passes were brought to
him, which stated little more or less than "permit So-and-so to pass
with so many quintals of indigo." The reason for this was that the cura
had advanced money to them, and feared that if they carried away the
indigo and sold it, it would afterward be impossible to collect the
money. The alcalde ordered a verbal process to be formulated, in which
two friars and two secular priests made their depositions in the most
effective terms against the cura in question. [The alcalde-mayor wrote
to the vicar of the province, who answered him under date of Batac,
July 25, 1840, to the effect that the freedom given by the government
to the friars, who had been relieved of obedience to their prelates,
accounted for this. The government and the ideas of the present time
were to blame, consequently, not the friar prelates. The friar of
whom the alcalde-mayor and the vicar wrote boasted that when he was
attacked on the one side he took refuge in the jurisdiction of the
other. Although he boasted that he intended to take his 40,000 pesos
and enjoy life with a female companion, yet he obtained governmental
permission to remain in his curacy.] The curas generally suffer
from another defect, namely, that of meddling in temporal matters,
or rather, of endeavoring to abrogate all jurisdictions, and then
assume these in themselves. It is evident that there must be a
limit to everything, and that those friars who display an insolent
spirit and are usurpers of command must restrain themselves within
limits. But this evil is one of the least, if our chief and vital
object be considered to be the conservation of the state. Is it or not
a fact that, for España to maintain this colony under its dominion,
it needs the influence of the religious over the inhabitants? If
it is a fact, one must consider these persons as instruments; their
influence must be positive; the alcaldes and other employes must be
wheels of the machine, who must be in communication with them, and
to a certain point move at their impulse. So long as the villages
obey the voice of the friars, the islands will be Spanish, for the
friars can do no less than be so. Emancipation would inevitably cause
their ruin. This will appear hard and unendurable to many who are
not friends of theoretic intervention, especially among the present
military and civil officers of Filipinas; but I understand it in this
way, and do not see by what other agency a handful of Spaniards can,
at six thousand leguas' distance, and without Spanish troops, keep
obedient a vast and wealthy country, which has need of us for nothing,
in which there are not a few elements of independence, and which is
coveted by many foreign nations.
And if all this is a fact, we can do no less than lament the
unjustifiable imprudence of having printed in the ordinances of good
government now in force, which were printed and distributed throughout
the whole country, the following:
[Here follow ordinances 17, 18, 24, 30, 31, 85, 87, 89, 91 and 92
(some only in part), for a synopsis of which see VOL. I., pp. 234,
235, 236, 238, 239, and 256-261. Mas continues:]
In no part did the animosity with which these ordinances were written
appear so much as in these last two articles, for they treat of
the construction of convents, churches, and royal houses; and since
none of these edifices can be erected without the instructions of a
special measure and by authorization, it follows that the government
is dictating provisions to itself, and consequently, it was quite
useless to insert them in a public law; and although it was intended
that they should contain the expression of the royal will, the latter
would always have been sufficient provided that action were taken
in the proper bureau. Moreover, what ordinance 91 says about the
possibility of the sumptuous convents being used as a shelter by the
enemy, as was experienced in the war with the English, seems to me to
be lacking in common sense. For if they are susceptible of being used
as fortresses, they will be an advantage to those possessing them,
who may, if they wish, burn them when they have to abandon them. In
the same category are all the strongholds. For example, in the war
with the English above mentioned, the latter captured Manila, and
immediately made use of the forts to protect themselves from Anda's
troops. Consequently, according to the argument, the fortifications of
Manila ought to be demolished. If the enemy defend themselves in the
convents, it will be because they have to flee from us, and then we
can desire nothing better than that they shut themselves up, so that
we may surround them and take them prisoners. If the Spaniards are in
such a condition that they look upon the convent as a refuge, they can,
since they are in their own country, get aid at any moment. A large
and beautiful church, in the midst of a village of bamboo or board
houses, contributes not a little to inspire a lofty idea of what is
within it. All the sumptuous edifices of the ancients were temples.
The utility of protecting the religious spirit having been admitted,
the Spaniards of the province, who in general give a contrary example,
by not fulfilling their church duties, do great harm. This is so
much more harmful, as they are in the sight of the entire village,
which knows quite well the actions of their most private life. Finding
myself on the day of Corpus Christi at a place where a large procession
and Church function were being made, not a single Spaniard of the
several who were there, went to mass, including the governor of the
province. For an alcalde not to go to mass, becomes so much the more
scandalous, as it is the custom for the gobernadorcillo with all the
community and past captains to go to get him at the royal house in
order to accompany him as a matter of ceremony to the church.
It happens on account of this that it is enough for them to give
notice of a Spaniard to the cura so that the latter may have the cura
told that he is not at home--a thing which contributes to destroy
the prestige of our name and dominion. Surely, this, joined with
other motives, has contributed to diminish the spirit of devotion,
especially for the last fifteen or twenty years. This decrease is not
imaginary. I have assured myself of it through several channels, among
others, through a house that formerly traded in books of religion and
prints. From this I deduce that our foundations are becoming weaker,
and if they are not strengthened, it may be delayed more or less,
but the edifice will fall. I opine then, that if the colony is to
be conserved, it is absolutely necessary to take positive measures
to check the exterior manifestations of irreligion; to cause the
priests to appear under the most possible venerable point of view;
and to endeavor to have their influence over the masses powerful. One
of the acts to which the curas now see themselves obliged, and which
robs them of great prestige, is the collection of the parochial
fees at marriages and burials. A person who has lost a child or
a parent by death, has in addition to the grief for his loss, the
expense which it occasions. He goes to the cura weeping, and tells
him that he has no money. The cura, nevertheless, must show himself
inexorable; finally the native hands the cura a portion of the sum;
the parish priest bids him go get the part lacking; he returns with
another portion; and after seeing that the pretense of his poverty
avails him nothing, he pays the whole fee. There are some who come
with the money divided into the four corners of their handkerchiefs,
and unwrap them one after the other, trying each time to avoid the
payment. The same thing happens in marriages; and there are many
who live in concubinage waiting until the cura marries them free
of charge. These scenes are very unpleasant to the religious, and
yet, they can do no less than show themselves hard, for if they did
otherwise they would be unable to collect any of the fees which belong
to them and form the greater part of their income. And the worst of
all is, that this money which the cura would lose, would probably not
be used in reproductive investments, but would be spent in feasting
and the cockpit. It would be, then, much more advisable, and very
much to the taste of the religious, to have a general tax imposed,
and collected by the alcalde, as now happens with the sanctorum. [18]
One-half real annually for each soul would be sufficient and would
compensate, as some of them have assured me, for the present sum of
the parochial fees. The display in the ceremony of marriage and burial
ought to be suitable and designated by rules. Those who desired any
music or some extraordinary mourning decorations could pay something
extra. In that way, the parishioners would experience nothing more
from their parish priests than agreeable things--counsel, protection,
and alms.
Since it is very important that the religious, as guides of public
opinion, have essentially Spanish hearts, it is absolutely necessary
for all these men to be born, to have been educated and ordained in
España. From this is deduced the need of protecting the colleges
existing at present, and where friars are made who take a vow for
Filipinas. [19]
Their pride must be entirely broken, and they must in all places
and on all occasions consider the Spaniard as their master, and not
their equal. Our laws of Indias, dictated in the most beneficent,
but not always in the most wise, spirit, not only concede them all
the rights of Spaniards, but seem in several points to prefer them to
the Spaniards, especially in the possession of lands. These benevolent
regulations, often executed with exaggeration by the auditors of the
Audiencia, the protector of the Indians, and the governors-general
who come from España, overflowing with ideas of philanthropy and
humanity, and without knowing the natives otherwise than by their
humble hypocritical exterior with influential persons, have raised
their pretensions to an alarming degree.
[The natives have committed many acts of violence and contempt. A
Recollect cura was beheaded in Talibong, Cebú; the provincial governor
of Negros was assassinated in 1833, and another Spaniard severely
wounded; the alcalde-mayor of Capis was attacked in 1836, but saved
himself by his presence of mind; the house of the alcalde-mayor
of Antique was burned and he barely escaped the flames; another
alcalde-mayor was taken prisoner to Manila in an iron cage; the
cura and government employes were ridiculed in pantomimic dances
in Capan in 1841; a comedy was to have been enacted at the feast-day
celebrations at Santa Cruz, Laguna, in 1840, in which the alcalde-mayor
and his court were to be held up to ridicule, but it was avoided
by the arrest of the actors. It has happened sometimes that the
gobernadorcillo remains seated in the presence of a Spaniard with
whom he has contests in the ayuntamiento. The members of the village
ayuntamientos are not accustomed to rise when a Spaniard enters the
town hall, and even laugh at them; and should the Spaniard grow angry
and strike any of them, complaint is forthwith made to the governor,
who punishes the Spaniard. An artillery captain and an advocate
were stoned without cause in a Laguna village. A Spaniard, angered
by the insolent answer of a native, struck him, whereupon the native
threatened his life. In Manila, the natives are insolent. They do not
yield the sidewalk to Spaniards; coachmen and porters do not rise in
the presence of Spaniards; Filipino women do not yield to Spanish
women either in the stores or the church. Since the new governor,
Oraá, has ordered a verbal process against a commandant for punishing
a servant, they have become more insolent than ever. Other acts of
insolence are noted. These things are not heard of by the governor, or
they lay no stress upon them as they do not recognize their political
importance. "Before the justice, the Spaniards and the Filipinos are
equal." The latter, however, get better treatment from the governors,
who have even punished provincial governors severely, while they have
treated the natives with clemency. The prestige of the Spanish name
must be preserved. "He who merits it must without doubt be punished,
not only for the crime which he commits against humanity and justice,
but also because it obscures the luster of the Spanish character from
which righteousness, benevolence, and liberality ought always shine
forth. But it is advisable that this be among Spaniards, and that no
account or satisfaction of it be given to the natives. Place them
in the way of rights, and they will not pay until driving us from
their soil." It is wrong to treat the native with less severity than
the Spaniard. Mas asserts that in all the countries in which he has
traveled, he has had to exercise patience to no greater degree than in
the Philippines. The insolence and disrespect which he has witnessed
do not allow him to see safety and security for the Spaniards. "It
seems to me that the islands were more secure in the times when a
native got down on his knees when a Spaniard passed." Mas advises that
Spaniards alone be allowed to wear the neckerchief, and that natives
and mestizos be distinguished by the loose shirt and straw hat which
they have chosen themselves. Principales only should be permitted
to wear jackets. The religious have destroyed distinction in rank
among the natives in great measure, but while this is generous and
democratic, "the destruction of rank also destroys the principle of
ambition, the stimulus for economy and work."]