I
SUPERIOR DECREE IN REGARD TO THE THREE PER CENT DISCOUNT FROM THE
STIPENDS OF THE PARISH PRIESTS FOR THE SUPPORT OF SEMINARIES
A measure having been formulated, in accordance with the royal decree
of February 27, 1796, in regard to the exaction of the three per cent,
which is to be paid by all the parish priests of the stipends which
they enjoy in these islands for the foundation and support of the
conciliar seminaries, [111] according to the order of the Council of
Trent, I determined in consequence the following:
"Manila, July 30, 1802.
"By virtue of the fact that, with the order of the fiscal of civil
affairs, all the objections and obstacles which have been imposed in
behalf of the regular parish priests and devout provincials of the
religious orders in a meeting of other persons, to exact the payment
of three per cent of their stipends for the conciliar seminaries;
and by the royal decree of June first, ninety-nine, the door is shut
to all contradiction in so far as it declares that it must be paid
by the missionaries of the Order of St. Francis, [112] and that the
exaction shall be in money and not in kind, with warning that in
the city where there are no seminaries, the collection shall also
be made, and its result deposited in the cathedrals in a chest with
three keys, which shall be held by the vice-patron, the bishop of
the diocese, and another member of the cabildo: I have just resolved
in consequence of the definitive statement of my assessor-general
that the superior decree of November twenty-five, one thousand seven
hundred and ninety-nine, shall have its total and due effect. That
decree was communicated on the same date to the diocesans of Cebú,
Nueva Cáceres and Nueva Segovia, the venerable dean and cabildo of
this holy church, the provisor of the archbishopric, and the devout
provincials of the orders of St. Dominic, St. Francis, St. Augustine,
and the Recollects. It is modified to the effect that the above three
per cent shall be collected generally, not only in this capital and
the bishoprics of Cebú and Nueva Cáceres, but also in that of Nueva
Segovia, which had been excluded before. It must be established
immediately, and the sum derived from it must be deposited in the
above-mentioned chest with three keys, according to the terms of
the above-mentioned royal decree of June first, ninety-nine. It must
be satisfied with money and not in kind; and for that purpose, the
necessary official letters shall be sent with insertion of this decree
to the bishops, the venerable dean and cabildo, and the provisor
of Cebú in vacant see, and the devout provincials, this superior
government expecting that by reason of all the abovesaid fundamentals
other difficulties will cease to be offered in the future."
As thereafter fuller instruction was given because of what was shown
in the reply of his Excellency, the bishop of Nueva Segovia, in regard
to the building of the seminary of his diocese; and considering the
information given by the royal officials in regard to the method
to be observed for putting into practice the abovesaid exaction:
I have resolved in general upon the following, which I send to you
with that superior determination for its fulfilment and observance
in the part touching you.
Manila, March 26, 1803. Since the collection of the three per cent,
assigned to the seminaries in the manner prescribed by the royal decree
of February twenty-two, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-six,
is now determined to include all the parish priests of these islands
with the exception of the hospitals, according to the declaration of
June first, ninety-nine; and that in the cathedral churches where said
seminaries are not established, they be founded, without prejudice to
the fact that the above-mentioned three per cent shall be collected
in the meanwhile, and deposited in a chest with three keys: it only
remains to advise that one of these keys shall be held in Nueva
Segovia, by the bishop of the diocese, another by the alcalde-mayor,
and the third by the father sacristan placed or appointed in
that church. It is to be noted that the chest shall be kept in
the episcopal palace, and when the see is vacant it will go to the
royal house, where the alcalde-mayor lives, for its due safety. This
same order must be kept in the bishoprics of Cebú and Camarines,
and information shall be given in this regard to the respective
bishops; although since the first see is vacant it shall be given
for the present only to his Excellency, Don Fray Domingo Collantes,
who has charge of its government; and in case anything inconvenient
is found in its execution, he shall have the goodness to inform this
superior government in regard to what he should esteem convenient
according to the situation of each church. The three per cent shall
be collected by the alcaldes-mayor of Ilocos, Camarines, and Cebú,
as subdelegates of the government, and the proper discount shall be
made for each of the parish priests at the time of paying them their
stipends, and the sum shall be placed in the above-mentioned chest
in the presence of the other keyholders. For that purpose they shall
send to them the proper advice, with the assignment of the day and
hour in which it must be done, at the disposition of his Excellency,
the prelate, and when the see is vacant, to those who shall have his
key. Inasmuch as the amount collected must be placed in said chest
with three keys, as ordered, a balance shall be struck at the end of
each year, in the presence of the three keyholders, and a copy of it
shall be sent by the subdelegates to the general superintendency,
with expression of the assets which are pendent. The governors,
corregidors, and alcaldes-mayor of the other provinces, shall send
the amount of their collections at the order of their respective
prelates, so that in the presence of the other keyholders, the same
deposit may be made. Since it was determined by the above-mentioned
royal decree, the persons who are to have charge of the three keys,
so far as this archbishopric is concerned, are this vice-patron [i.e.,
the governor], his Excellency the archbishop, and the member of the
cabildo who shall be elected; it is only to be noted, in order to
avoid any reason from which any doubt can result prejudicial to this
important object, that the peculiar provision for the collection of
the three per cent corresponding to the curacies of the district, is
comprehended in the preceding article; and by this methodical order,
all the governors, corregidors, and alcaldes-mayor, except those of
Cebú, Camarines, and Ilocos, must be guided. For the foundation of
the seminary of Nueva Segovia, the alcalde-mayor shall confer with
his Excellency, the bishop of that diocese, in order that they may
select a site fitting for the extension which should be given to it,
with respect to the number of persons whom it can maintain, and who
are necessary for the discharge of the duties of the bishopric. For
that purpose a plan of the work must be made by experts, and at the
same time its cost must be estimated, so that after it has been sent
to the superior government, with expression of the funds existing in
the three per cent, and of what it is calculated that those funds
will yield annually, the government may take the fitting measures,
in order that the construction may not be undertaken if it must be
suspended later through lack of funds. May God preserve you many
years. Manila, March 26, 1803.