Chapter LVIII_The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 28 of 55 1637-38 Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of the Catholic Missions, as Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Close of the Nineteenth Century

General summary of all the Christian souls among the natives of

these islands

686. I have been unable to state separately the number of souls to

whom the seculars minister in the archbishopric and in the bishoprics

throughout these islands. I have seen them enumerated only in

common. They number 131,279 and live in 142 villages.

The seculars minister throughout this archipelago to 131,279

St. Augustine, throughout the islands 241,806

The Society, in all the islands 170,000

St. Dominic, in all the islands 89,752

Discalced Augustinians, in all the islands 63,149

Discalced Franciscans, in all the islands 141,196

Total 837,182

687. Thus, the number of eight hundred and thirty-seven thousand one

hundred and eighty-two Christian souls, among the natives of these

islands--who are ministered to spiritually in the above-mentioned

provinces, villages, and settlements--is what I get from the special

lists sent me for this work by the holy orders, made according to the

last enumeration, that for the years 1735 and 1736. I have supplied

those which have not been furnished to me (which I have solicited

by various means) from the clergy of these islands, with the number

mentioned, which is placed by the very reverend father Pedro Murillo on

his map. [68] This, together with the account of the royal officials

for the year 1735, are the citations that I offer for the proof of my

account, if there should be any discrepancy between it and others. I

reflect that no one can give a better account of the treasury than

he who has continual care of it. It is doubtless true that all or any

of them may have unavoidable errors; for the Indians are continually

removing, dying, or absenting themselves. Consequently, I judge that

the number of souls, of those who are at this time reputed to be

natives of these Islands, exceeds one million. The temples [of God]

where the instruction is given in villages and visitas are in excess

of seven hundred, as was represented to his Catholic Majesty by the

royal officials in a report in the year 1720. As for the number of

Spaniards and foreigners, the computation is extremely difficult and

uncertain; and therefore it is not safe to make a decisive statement.

688. After very painstaking efforts, at the time when this book is

in press I receive information about the curacies of the seculars

of Zebu, in the following form. The curacy of the sacristy of the

holy church, and that of the Parian of the Sangleys, in the city of

Zebu; in the island of Zebu, that of Bantayan and Barili; in the

island of Negros, in Dumaguete, Binalbagan, Tucauan, and Tanghay;

in the island of Panay, in the city of Arebalo, Ahuy, Aclang, Banga,

Ybahay, and Culasi. Nearly all those curacies are very large and

need assistants. Throughout that jurisdiction and in the Marianas

there are various outside vicars, who are generally the religious of

those regions. Such is the information which I have obtained from

the provisor of that bishopric; but he does not give the number of

parishioners, as it is very difficult to ascertain it.

RELIGIOUS CONDITION OF THE ISLANDS

[The following is from _Historia general_, by Juan J. Delgado,

S.J. (written in 1751-54), pp. 141-158. The chapters here presented

are from part i, book ii.]

Chapter II

Of the ministries of souls that pertain to the clerics in these

Filipinas Islands

In the assumption, so certain and evident, that the clerics, both

seculars and regulars, had been the primitive apostles and preachers

of the holy gospel in the Orient and in these archipelagos, I commence

with them to describe the ministries in these islands that have been

commended to their zeal and care. In the archbishopric of Manila,

the curacies of the venerable clergy amount to sixteen, besides some

visitas. There is one for Spaniards, and one for natives, in the

cathedral; that of Santiago, outside the city; that of the chapel

of Nuestra Senora de la Guia; that of Quiapo, which belongs to the

archiepiscopal jurisdiction: these belong to the province of Tondo. In

the jurisdiction of Cavite there are: that of the port of that city;

outside the walls, that of San Roque; not very distant, that of Bacoor;

and another, called Las Estancias [_i.e._, "the ranches"]. In the

province of Taal is that of Balayan; the Rosario, in the province of

Laguna de Bay; those of San Pedro, Tunasan, Tabuco, and Santo Tomas,

in the mountains. In the jurisdiction of Mindoro is that of Suban.

In the bishopric of Santisimo Nombre de Jesus of Cebu, there is one

Spanish cura in the city, and outside the walls is that of the Parian

of mestizos and Sangleys; that of Barili in the same island, and

that of Bantayan (of whose jurisdiction are the visitas of Maripipi,

Panamao, and Limancauayan); that of Siquijor, in that same island. In

the island of Panay, the curacy of Aclan, Banga, Ibajay, Culasi, Ajui,

and that of the town of Arevalo (which his Excellency the bishop, Don

Protasio Cabezas, has lately conceded to the Society of Jesus). In

the island of Negros, that of Dumaguete, with several visitas; and

those of Binalbagan, Tugcaban, and Tanhay.

In the bishopric of Nueva Caceres or Camarines, in the city which

is the capital and seat of the bishopric, there is one cura of the

sacristy, who is provisor and vicar-general. In the same province are

the curacies of Indang, Paracale, Capalonga, Caramoan, and Lagonoy,

with some visitas belonging to the same curacies. In the province

of Tayabas are the curacies of Pyris, Abuyon, Mulanay, and their

visitas. In the province of Albay are the curacies of Bulusan,

Casiguran, Sorsogon, Donsol, Tabaco, and Malinao, with their

visitas. In the island of Catanduanes are the curacies of Biga and

Birac, with their visitas.

In the bishopric of Cagayan is the curacy of Lalo or Nueva Segovia; in

the province of Ilocos, that of Vigan, and that of Bangar; and in the

mountains that of Abra, and that of San Diego among the Tinguianes,

with some separate visitas. Consequently, the venerable clergy in

these Islands have fifty-three beneficed curacies, which are new.

Chapter III

Of the ministries of the reverend calced Augustinian fathers

The reverend calced Augustinian fathers, the first founders of

these missions, have one convent in Manila, which is the head of all

their province of Santisimo Nombre de Jesus, and of all the other

parochial convents. In the province of Tondo, they have charge of

the village of that name, Tambobo, Malate, Paranaque, Pasig, and

Taguig, with various visitas annexed to them. On the river Pasig,

they possess the convent and sanctuary of Guadalupe, where several

devout religious live who have charge of the worship of the holy

image. Further they have the ministry of San Pablo de los Montes,

in the province of Taal and Balayan; the convents and ministries

of Taal, Casay-say, Bauang, Batangas, Tanavan, Lipa, and Sala. In

the province of Bulacan, they have the convent and ministry of that

name, and those of Dapdap, Guiguinto, Bigaa, Angat, Baliuag, Quingua,

Malolos, Paombong, Calumpit, and Haganoy. In the province of Pampanga,

the convents and ministries of Bacolor, Macabebe, Sesmoan, Lubao, Vana,

Minalin, Betis, Porac, Mexico, Arayat, Magalan, Tarlac, Gapan, Santor,

together with some missions, and a new village called San Sebastian;

and in addition, San Miguel de Mayumo, Candava, Cabagsa, and Apalit,

with a mission of mountaineers.

In the bishopric of Santisimo Nombre de Jesus of Cebu there is a

convent called Santo Nino in the same city [of Cebu] with its church

newly built, where the vicar-provincial of all the Visayas Islands

has his residence; and outside the walls the convent of Cebu el Viejo

[_i.e._, "Old Cebu"], and the ministry of San Nicolas. In the same

island are the convents and ministries of the villages of Argao,

Bolhon, Cabcat, with several visitas; the ministry and convent of Opon

in the island of Magtan, with the visitas of Olango, and Pangalanan,

and others on the opposite coast of Cebu. The reverend calced

Augustinian fathers made a cession of the villages and ministries of

Bolhon, Opon, and Liloan to the fathers of the Society of Jesus, by

their chapter of the year 1737; but afterward they recovered these,

because of various just causes that they had for it, improved as

to churches, houses, and silver ornaments--except that of Liloan,

a small visita which remained in the possession of the Society, and

was incorporated with the village of Mandaui, as it was near by. In

the province of Panay are the convents and ministries of the capital

city of Capiz, Batan, Mambusao, Dumalag, Dumarao, and Panay; in the

province of Oton, in the same island, the convents and ministries of

Magao, Antique, Bugason, Tigbauan, Cabutuan, Laglag, Pasi, Aanilao,

Dumangas, the island of Guimaras, Jaro, Oton, and Guimbal, with

several missions of wild people [_cimarrones_] in the mountains,

apostates and their children, in which the care and zeal of the same

fathers has been exercised since the year 1731, and in which the gain

and profit of many souls is not wanting.

In the bishopric of Camarines they have the convent and ministry

of the village of Tiaong, in the jurisdiction of the province of

Tayabas. In the bishopric of Nueva Segovia or Cagayan, the province of

Pangasinan, they have the convents and ministries of Agoo, Santo Tomas,

and Aringay, with several missions of Igorrotes in the mountains;

those of Bauar, Bona, Dalandan, and Cava, with another mission of

mountaineers; and those of Bacnotan and San Juan, with another similar

mission. In the province of Ilocos, they have the convent and ministry

of Namagpacan, with that of Balauan and its missions, and those of

Bangar and Tagurin, with another mission; those of Candon, Santa Lucia

de Narbacan, Santa Cruz, Santa Catalina, and Bantay, with those of San

Ildefonso and Nagsingal; that of Cabugao with Lapog; that of Sinait

with Badoc; those of Panay, Batag, San Nicolas, Lecrat, and Dinglas,

with that of Pirie; and various missions of Tinguianes and heathen

in those mountains, where the same reverend fathers are commencing

to form villages to the great advantage of those souls. They have

that of Ilanag and that of Bangui, with other visitas and missions,

and those of Bacarra and Vera. All of those ministries and convents

are adjudged to the same reverend fathers.

Chapter IV

Convents and ministries of the reverend Franciscan fathers, the third

to be established

The reverend Franciscan fathers reached the Filipinas Islands in the

year 1577. In Manila they have in their vigilant and watchful care,

close to the convent, a costly and beautiful chapel of the tertiary

order of penance, in charge of a religious who is commissary and

visitor. There is also a convent of the nuns of St. Clare in the

city, who are subject to and governed by the same religious. They

also possess another convent called San Francisco del Monte, one

legua from the city; and a hospital called San Lazaro, which they

administer near the village of Dilao, which belongs to the province

of Tondo; besides the villages and ministries of Sampaloc, Pandacan,

and Santa Ana de Zapa. In the province of Bulacan, they have the

convents and ministries of Polo, Meycauayan, and Bocaue, with several

visitas. In the province of Laguna de Bay, they have in charge the

ministries and convents of Morong, Baras, Tanay, Pililla, Mabitac,

Cabosan, Siniloan, Pangil, Paquil, Paete, Longos, Lucban, Cavinti,

Pagsanghan, Santa Cruz, Pila, and Mainit (where there is a hospital,

called Los Banos, because of the warm sulphur-charged waters in those

regions, for the cure of various ailments). In that same province

are the ministries and convents of Nagcarlang, Lilio, and Mahayhay;

and lastly, by cession of the Augustinian fathers, the villages of Bay,

and Binangonan, with the ranch of Angono. In the mountains of Daractan,

which extend from the lake of Bay to the east coast of the island

of Luzon, they have several visitas and missions. In the province of

Camarines, the convents and ministries of Naga, near the city of Nueva

Caceres, the seat of the vicar-provincial, together with Canaman,

Quipayo, Milaod, Minalambang, Bula, Bao, Naboa, Iraya, Buhi, Liban,

Polangui, Oas, Liyao, Guinobatan, Camarines, Cagsaua, and Ligmanan. In

the province of Tayabas, [the ministries and convents] of Pagbilao,

Sariaya, Lucban, Gumaca, Atimonan, Mayobac, and Macalilon. The missions

of Lupe and Ragay, in the mountains and along the coast of Bangon, and

another mission called Santa Cruz, in the mountains of Manguirin. In

that same province of Tayabas, in the mountains and along the coasts

of the opposite shore, are the ministries of Binangonan, Polo, Baler,

and Casiguran. In the province of Cagayan, the ministry of Palanan,

with a mission of Aetas and Irayas of those mountains.

Chapter V

Ministries of the Society of Jesus in these Filipinas Islands

After the preaching of the apostle of the Orient, St. Francis Xavier,

in these archipelagos, as far as the island of Mindanao and Japon

(as has been related already in its place), before the Spaniards

were established in these islands, the first fathers of the Society

of Jesus reached these islands by way of the west or by the Western

Indias, coming with the first bishop of the islands, his Excellency

Don Fray Domingo de Salazar, of the Order of Preachers--the city

of Manila having been already founded, and that colony established

in some fashion--in September of the year 1581. The first founders

were the fathers Antonio Sedeno and Alonso Sanchez, together with

the lay-brother, Nicholas Gallardo, the student brother, Gaspar

de Toledo--a legitimate brother to the illustrious doctor, Father

Francisco Suarez--having died on the voyage. For some years those

fathers remained without any ministry to the natives which they could

permanently carry on, busied only in preaching, hearing confessions,

and aiding in what necessity or obedience ordered them. Their first

dwelling was in the convent of the seraphic father St. Francis, until

they obtained a house of their own in the suburbs of Manila, in the

location called Aguio--whence, as facilities and opportunity came,

they moved, and established themselves inside the city, in the year

1591. There the Society has the chief residence of St. Ignatius, and

a fine church where they exercise to great and continual crowds all

the ministries peculiar to their institute. In that residence, there

is a pontifical and royal university, of which we shall speak later,

together with a royal college of San Jose, [69] and the college of

the fathers, established near the royal gate of the city, in which

are taught all useful learning and arts, commencing with grammar.

In the province of Tondo they have the residence [_colegio_] of Santa

Cruz, lately admitted as such, which is jointly a ministry of Sangleys,

mestizos, and natives; the village and ministry of San Miguel, on the

river brink; and about one legua above, the residence and novitiate

of San Pedro Macati, with a ministry of natives. In the mountains,

the village and capital of Antipolo, with the village and ministry of

Bosoboso, where the natives of two mountain missions, called San Isidro

and Pamaan, are settled together, whose administration was [there]

inconvenient, but who are now better governed and cared for. In the

plains, the fathers administer the village of Taytay, with a visita

near by, called Santa Catalina; and the ministry of Cainta, with a

visita of creoles called Dayap. Besides, they have the village and

ministry of Mariquina, of mestizos, Sangleys, and natives; and that

of San Mateo, the village and capital of the residence of Silan and of

Indang. In Cavite there is a residence of the Society of Jesus, and in

its jurisdiction the village and ministry of Cavite el Viejo [_i.e._,

"Old Cavite"]; in that of Mariveles, the residence of Maragondon; in

the province of Mindoro, the island of Marinduque, with the villages

and ministries of Boac, Santa Cruz de Napo, and Gasan.

In the bishopric and jurisdiction of Cebu they have a residence in

the city; the ministry of the village of Mandaui and Liloan; in the

island of Bohol, the ministries of Inabangan and Talibon, where is

located the residence [_residencia_] of Bohol with the villages and

ministries of Loboc, Baclayon, Dauis, Malabohoc, Tagbilaran (a new

village), and another on the bar of the river of Loboc, also new,

named Santisima Trinidad [_i.e._, "Most Holy Trinity"]; and, on the

opposite coast of the island, the village and ministry of Hagna. In

the island of Mindanao, the presidio of Zamboanga, where residence

has been begun, with a ministry, whose rector is the chaplain of that

presidio; those of Bagonbayan, Dumalon, Siocon, Cabatangan, Caldera,

Polombato, and Siraguay. In the northern part of the same island the

residence [_residencia_] and ministries of Dapitan, Iligan, Layavan,

Langaran, Lubungan, Disacan, Talingan, and various visitas and missions

on those same coasts and the bay of Pangue.

In the island of Negros, the ministries of Ilog, Cabancalan (with

the mission of Buyonan), Himamaylan, Cavayan, and the mission of

Sipalay. In the village of Iloilo and the jurisdiction of Oton there

is a residence, whose rector is the chaplain of that presidio (as is

he of Zamboanga), and the ministry of Molo; and lastly, by concession

of his Excellency Master Don Protasio Cabezas, the curacy of the

town of Arevalo, with the Parian, was given to the Society. In the

island of Samar, the capital and ministries of Catbalogan, Paranas,

Humavas, Calviga, Boac, Bangajon, Tinagog, Calvayog; in Capul, the

ministry of Abac; on the opposite coast in the province of Ibabao, the

capital and ministries of Palapag, Lavan, Gatubig, Catarman, Bobon,

Sulat, Tubig, and Borongan; on the south coast of the same island,

the ministries of Guiguan, Balanguigan, Basey, and Lalaviton. In

the island and jurisdiction of Leyte, the villages and ministries of

Carigara, Barugo, Jaro, Alangalang, and Leite; and on the opposite

coast, the residence [_residencia_] and capital of Hilongos, and

the ministries of Palonpon, Poro, Ogmuc, Baybay, Maasin, Sogor,

Liloan, Cavalian, and Hinondayan; in the north of the same island,

the residence [_residencia_] of Banigo, with the capital of Palo,

Tanavan, Dulac, and Abuyog; inland, Damagi and Burabuen. In the

Marianas Islands (the jurisdiction of a governor for his Majesty in

temporal affairs, and, in the spiritual, of the bishopric of Cebu),

the ministries and capital of Agana--where there is a residence of

the Society, with a seminary of Indian natives--Agat, Merizo, Pago,

Guajan, Inarajan, Umata, Rota, and Saipan.

Chapter VI

Administrations of the reverend fathers of St. Dominic in these islands

The religious of St. Dominic came to found a province in these

islands with an excellent mission, in the year 1587, on the eve of

St. Maria Magdalena. Inside the city they have a sumptuous church and

convent, which is the head of the most devout province of Santisimo

Rosario. Near the same convent is the college and seminary of Santo

Tomas, with collegiates, which has its own rector. There are taught all

the belles lettres, commencing with grammar. It is a pontifical and

royal university, and is attended by a sufficient number of students

when one considers the small size of this community. The pupils of

another institution, called San Juan de Letran--which was begun by

a Spanish resident, one Brother Jeronimo Guerrero, who dedicated

himself to the shelter and education of orphan boys and the sons of

poor Spaniards--attend the said university. After his death that

seminary remained in charge of the same religious. Within Manila,

there is a _beaterio_, [70] whose pupils profess the tertiary Order

of St. Dominic, although they do not make religious profession. They

are numerous and of exemplary life, and are subject to the same

fathers. The latter possess a convent in the Sangley Parian, for

ministration to those of this nation who are converted. On the other

side of the river they possess the hospital of San Gabriel, where

sick Chinese are treated; somewhat farther, the convent and ministry

of Binondo; and on the river brink the convent of San Juan del Monte,

without administration [_i.e._, of converts].

In the province of Pampanga, the convents and ministries of Abucay,

Samal, Oriong, Orani, with several visitas and missions; in the

port of Cavite, a convent without administration; in the province

of Pangasinan, the convents and administrations of Lingayen (which

is the capital of that province), Binalatongan, Calasiao, Magaldan,

Mananay, Cavili, Malonguey, Telban, Birmaley, Dagupan, Malasiqui,

Anguio, Salaza, Sinapog, Paniqui, Camiling, Baruc, Panglaguit, Ipantol,

and several visitas and missions in the mountains. In the province of

Cagayan, Lalo (which is its capital); Pata, together with Cavicunga;

Bangban, Pia, Conmacananan, Nasipin, together with Gataran; Malauig,

together with a mission of Santa Cruz; Tuvaco, together with the

mission of Capinatan; Masi, the Babuyanes Islands, the missions of

the Batanes, and Calayan; Cabangan, Tuguegarao, and Buguey, with the

mission of Ibangac; Siffun; Ilagan, together with Tumauini; Aparri,

and Camalayugan.

Chapter VII

Convents and ministries of the reverend discalced Augustinian fathers

or Recollects

The Recollect Augustinian religious arrived at Manila in the year

1606, and founded their first convent outside the walls of Manila,

in the suburb called San Juan de Bagonbayan. They afterward built a

convent and church inside the walls, under the advocacy of St. Nicholas

of Tolentino, which is the capital of their religious province. In

the province of Tondo they have the convent and ministry of San

Sebastian. In the jurisdiction and port of Cavite, they have a church

and convent without ministry. In that of Mariveles, the ministries

of Cabcaben, Bagac, Moron, and the coast of Zambales, with Subic

and several missions in the mountains. They also minister to all the

island of Mindoro, with all its villages, visitas, and missions. In

the bishopric of Cebu, outside the city walls, the church and convent

of La Concepcion, without administration. In the island of Mindanao,

the province of Caraga, with the villages of Butuan, Linao, Hibon,

Hingoog, Habongan, Maynit, Obot, Tubay, Tandag, Calagdan, Bayuyo,

Tago, Marihatag, Lianga, Bislig, Hinatoan, Catel, Baganga, Caraga,

Hagaguit, Pauntugan, Surigao, Cagayan, Iponan, Agusan, Manalaga (which

is a new village), Gompot, Balinuan, Tagalban, with several missions.

In the island of Siargao, the ministries of Caolo, Sapao, and Cabuntog;

in the islands of Dinagat and Camiguin, the ministries of Ginsiliban

and Catarman. In the islands called Calamianes, [71] the same discalced

religious have charge of [the following]: in Paragua, the village

and ministry of the same name, that of Taytay with the islands of

Dumaran and Calatan, the villages of Malampaya, Culion, Linapasan,

Busuagan, Cuyo, Canepo, Lalutaya, and Bejucay; the island of Romblon,

with the ministry of Banton and those of Tinaya and Maynit. In the

island of Simara, the ministry of the same name. In that of Tablas,

the ministries of Cabolotan, Oriongan, and Laloan. In that of Sibuyan,

those of Cavit, Catudyucan, with other visitas and missions. In the

island of Masbate, in the bishopric of Nueva Caceres, the ministries of

Mobo, Bulino, Palano, Abuyoan, Camasoso, Buracan, Limboan, Navangui,

and Baraga. In that of Burias, the village and ministry of the same

name, with some collections of huts. In that of Ticao, the village

of that name, and the port of San Jacinto, where the ships that sail

to Espana are provided with water and wood for the voyage.

Chapter VIII

Of the convents and hospitals of the reverend fathers of St. John

of God

The Order of St. John of God arrived at these islands in the

year 1641. Their religious founded their first hospital outside

the Manila walls, in the village of Bagonbayan. In the year 1656,

it was removed inside the city of Manila, as soon as there was an

opportunity for them in the place where they are at present--which

had before been a hospital begun by the reverend Franciscan fathers,

and aided by the alms given by the brothers of the Santamesa [72] and

other pious inhabitants. The hospital brethren had the Franciscans'

old church--which was of good appearance, although the hospital was

very dilapidated and threatened to fall--until the year 1726, when the

very reverend father Fray Antonio de Arce came to these islands, as

prelate and superior of the order. By his energy, economy, prudence,

and zeal, the church and hospital are now seen to be restored and

built anew from the foundations, in an elegant and tasteful manner,

as well as the convent and dwelling of the religious. Those works were

commenced in the year 1728, with the alms of the pious inhabitants

of the city of Manila; and in the year 1749, when I was in that city,

I saw them finished and completed.

In the village of San Roque, outside the Cavite walls, those same

religious had another hospital, the land of which was encroached upon

by the sea until they had to abandon it. In the said year 1749, when

I was also in that port, the religious had their sick in a private

house, in which they exercised their ministries, until God our Lord

provided them with a hospital by means of a benefactor who desired to

cooperate in a work of so great importance and mercy. Although they

had no hospital in Cebu, while I was there, there was one religious,

who had charge of the poor sick people, in a low apartment, or room

above the ground-floor of the episcopal residence. As the land is so

poor there, it is very difficult to found and preserve a hospital;

and more so since scarcely a Spanish inhabitant of importance is to

be found there now, for the reasons that were given in the proper

place. [73]

Chapter IX

General summary of the Christians who compose the ministries of

these islands

I do not doubt that the souls ministered to throughout the islands of

this archipelago, by the secular and regular priests, will exceed one

million and many thousands additional, inasmuch as the children who

are not yet seven years old are not found mentioned or enumerated in

the registers [_padrones_] of the ministries. Consequently, I shall

give attention only to the reckoning made a few years ago.

The ministries corresponding to those souls are first, as I have

written, those of the venerable clerics, who have sixteen beneficed

curacies, in the archbishopric of Manila; in the bishopric of Cebu,

fifteen; in that of Camarines, eighteen; and in that of Cagayan,

four. Consequently, the clerics have fifty-three beneficed curacies, in

the archbishopric of Manila and the three suffragan bishoprics. In them

there are, according to the best reckoning, one hundred and forty-two

villages, besides the visitas, collections of huts [_rancherias_],

and missions. This year of 1750 the Christians therein are reckoned

at one hundred and forty-seven thousand two hundred and sixty-nine.

The calced Augustinian religious have charge of two hundred and

fifty-two thousand nine hundred and sixty-three souls, in one hundred

and fifteen villages. The order of the seraphic father, St. Francis,

of one hundred and forty-one thousand one hundred and ninety-three

souls, in sixty-three villages. The Society of Jesus, of two

hundred and nine thousand five hundred and twenty-seven Christians,

in ninety-three ministries. The Order of St. Dominic, ninety-nine

thousand seven hundred and eighty souls, in fifty-one regular villages,

without counting the visitas and missions. The Recollect religious of

St. Augustine have charge of fifty-three thousand three hundred and

eighty-four souls, in one hundred and five villages. Consequently, in

five hundred and sixty-nine regular villages, not counting visitas,

groups of huts, and missions, nine hundred and four thousand one

hundred and sixteen Christians are ministered to in all these Filipinas

Islands, as will be seen from the subjoined table.

Villages Souls

The clerics in 142 147,269

St. Augustine in 115 252,963

St. Francis in 63 141,193

The Society in 93 209,527

St. Dominic in 51 99,780

Recollects in 105 53,384

Total 569 904,116

In regard to the royal tributes, which the natives pay annually,

although no fixed computation is possible because of their difference

from year to year (notwithstanding the number which seems to me more

regular and fixed from one year to another), on the hypothesis of

the number of souls (the children who are not eligible for the list,

as they have not reached the age of seven years, not being reckoned),

and allowing five persons for each whole tribute--on that hypothesis,

I say that the whole tributes which are collected in these islands

amount to two hundred and fifty thousand, at two persons to each

tribute who are eligible to be listed and of age sufficient to

pay. That age is for married men fifteen years, and for single men

twenty; for married women twenty, and for single women twenty-five; and

until each, whether man or woman, has completed the age of sixty years.

The appraisal of the tribute, according to the laws of these kingdoms,

is at ten Castilian reals--part in kind and part in silver, or more

commonly in what the Indian chooses to pay. Rice is received for

it, each fanega of which is valued at one real in silver among the

Tagals, because of its greater abundance. It had the same price among

the Visayas, where it was abundant; and, where it was not abundant,

two reals. Five or six years ago, on account of representations made

to the supreme government by the superiors of the religious orders,

of the extreme poverty that the Indians were suffering because of

the severe _baguios_ and tempests--which had ruined their houses,

fields, and cocoa plantations, and even the churches and the houses

of the ministers--an order was issued by the said supreme government

for rice, to be received in Visayas at the price of three reals per

fanega, which is the lowest among the natives. They also pay as tribute

white abaca mantas, which are called _medrinaques_, four brazas long

and one wide, valued at three reals; and also abaca in fiber, at the

rate of two reals per _chinanta_, which is one-half arroba. That abaca

is used to whip the strands of cables of the ships and boats instead

of hemp. They also pay lampotes, a kind of white cotton fabric, four

brazas long and one vara wide, at four reals. In Ilocos they present

thick mantas of cotton, which are called _ilocanas_, of which are

made the sails for the ships and boats, both of his Majesty and of

private persons. In other provinces, the natives offer on the tribute

account certain products (of which the alcaldes-mayor avail themselves)

such as balates and sigay, and other products which are explained in

their place; and these are valued at Manila, if there are champans

from China and pataches from the coast. For the balate (although we

do not eat it), is eaten in China by the princes and mandarins. The

sigay (which means certain shells that are gathered on the shore)

is the money and coin that is current on the coast of Bengala and all

those Mediterranean kingdoms. The natives give wax also in place of

money, at the rate of ten or twelve reals per chinanta, according to

its scarcity or abundance. Some gold is paid in certain provinces,

as those regions have placers and mineral deposits.

The two hundred and fifty thousand tributes which I mentioned are

collected annually throughout these islands, and are divided into

two parts--one of the royal encomienda, which amounts to two hundred

and thirty-one thousand five hundred and sixty-three whole tributes;

while the remaining eighteen thousand four hundred and thirty-seven

are from the encomiendas of private persons, whom his Majesty has

rewarded on account of their useful services, granting to them that

part of the royal tributes. But, from those tributes granted them,

they give his Majesty two reals per whole tribute, that sum being

called "the royal situado." They also pay to the ministers and parish

priests, from their encomiendas, the stipends of rice with the alms in

reals that belong to them--to the amount of one hundred pesos, and two

hundred fanegas of rice, for every five hundred tributes administered,

and one-half real from each whole tribute for the wine used in the

mass. His Majesty pays the same quantity to the said ministers from

his royal encomiendas; he also gives annually one arroba of wine for

masses, and ten of oil for each one of the lamps which burn before

the most holy sacrament, in all the ministries of the islands.

The stipends given by his Majesty to the archbishops and suffragan

bishops, the dignitaries of the holy church, and other ministers

are in the following form. Pope Gregory XIII, by his bull given at

Roma in the seventh year of his pontificate (which was the year 1587

[_i.e._, 1578]), at the petition of the Catholic king of the Espanas,

Don Felipe Second, erected the first parish church of Manila, and

assigned twenty-seven prebends to it, of which those that are suitable

and necessary were accepted. They consist of five dignidades--namely,

a dean, an archdeacon, a precentor, a schoolmaster, and a treasurer;

three canons, the fourth having been suppressed for the inquisitors,

according to custom in the Indias; two whole and two half racions,

established by royal decree given at Valladolid, June 2, 1604, and

countersigned by Juan Ibarra, his Majesty's secretary. Besides that,

there are in the cathedral two curas, two sacristans, one master of

ceremonies, one verger, and other officers; so that that holy church

is well established and the choir crowded, and their functions and

feasts are most splendid.

The salaries given by his Majesty to those who fill those offices are

as follows. To the archbishops of Manila, five thousand pesos of eight

Castilian reals per year, conceded by decree of his Majesty given in

Madrid, May 28, 1680. By virtue of the royal presentations, the dean

enjoys six hundred pesos; the four dignidades, namely, archdeacon,

precentor, schoolmaster, and treasurer, each five hundred pesos;

the three canons, namely, the doctoral, the magistral, and that of

grace, four hundred pesos apiece; the two racioneros, three hundred

apiece, and the two medio-racioneros, two hundred apiece; the master of

ceremonies, two hundred pesos, conceded by royal decree of February 22,

1724; the two curas, one for the Spaniards, and one for the natives,

each one hundred and eighty-three pesos, six tomins, seven granos,

besides their altar-fees, which are sufficiently generous.

The bishop of Cebu--whose extensive jurisdiction includes the islands

of Cebu, Leyte, Samar, and Ibabao; the provinces of Dapitan and Caraga

in Mindanao; the island of Panay, with its two provinces of Oton and

Capiz; with the other adjacent islands even as far as Calamianes,

Paragua, and the Marianas--enjoy four thousand pesos per year, by

virtue of a royal decree of May 28, 1680; the cura of the sacristy

of that holy church one hundred and eighty-three pesos, six tomins,

seven granos; the sacristan, ninety-one pesos, seven tomins, three

granos. The same sums are enjoyed by the bishops of Camarines and

Cagayan, with their curas and sacristans. Those sums are paid annually

by his Majesty, the amount totaling twenty-three thousand and eleven

pesos, two granos, besides the stipends, maintenance, and fourths of

mass-fees, which the other secular curas receive.

Chapter XIV

Of the ecclesiastical tribunals of these Filipinas Islands and the

city of Manila

The chief tribunal of the metropolitan church of Manila is the

archiepiscopal. It is composed of a provisor and vicar-general,

with his notary-in-chief and fiscals. The said tribunal has a house

which serves as a prison, and which has a separate and large part for

lodgings for the seclusion of men and women; it has its corresponding

officials.

The second tribunal is that of the holy Inquisition, which was

decreed by the Holy Office of Mexico. It is the superior of all

the commissaries who are scattered through the provinces of Cebu,

Camarines, Cagayan, and the islands of Negros--besides whom there

is in Manila another and special commissary for the fathers of the

Society of Jesus, who is generally an honored secular priest. The

commissary has his chief constable and notary. The councils are formed

of various ministers--examiners, familiars, and consultors. There

are besides three or four commissaries appointed by Mexico, in order

that there may be one who may promptly succeed to the office in case

of death or resignation--although the said duty is always exercised

by only one. That office has always been in control of the reverend

fathers of St. Dominic, successively, without other interruption than

that of seven years, when the reverend father Fray Jose Paternina,

an Augustinian, occupied it--who was summoned to Mexico, as will be

seen in due time.

The third tribunal is that of the Holy Crusade, whose creation was

the work of King Don Felipe IV [_sic_; _sc._ III], as appears from

his royal decree, dated San Lorenzo, May 16, 1609. It is composed

of a commissary-general-subdelegate, who exercises the office of

president and who is appointed by his Majesty, with the consent of

the supreme council of the Holy Crusade; and a senior auditor of the

royal Audiencia and the fiscal of the same body who receive a special

salary for those offices for the management of the accounts. As

accountant serves the oldest royal official, according to the terms

of the above cited royal provision. For the other business, there

are a secretary and a chief notary who receive salaries, besides four

other notaries who receive no salary, but only the fees for business

transacted by them. The publications in these islands are made every

two years. The day fell at the beginning on October 28, but since

1736 the publication was transferred to the first Sunday of Advent,

by order of the commissary-general, so that the publications might

occur at the same time in all the kingdoms and seigniories of Espana.

The brotherhood of the Santa Misericordia of Manila forms another

tribunal composed of the flower of the community. It has its purveyor,

twelve deputies, one secretary, one chaplain, and other officials. In

their charge is the administration of the charitable funds which are

connected with that holy institution. The Misericordia was erected

in imitation of the one founded in Lisboa in 1498 by the most serene

queen of Portugal, Dona Leonor, widow of Don Juan the Second, by the

advice of a Trinitarian religious, named Fray Miguel de Contreras. The

circumstances attending that foundation will be given later.

The first brothers built a church with the title of "Presentacion

de Nuestra Senora" [_i.e._, "Presentation of our Lady"], and near

it the seminary and house of Santa Isabel, in order that Spanish

orphan girls might be reared there with a good education in doctrine

and morals. They have a rectoress to govern them, a portress,

and several virtuous women of mature years. Thence go forth the

girls with sufficient dowries for the estate [of marriage] to which

they naturally tend--for which this Santa Misericordia applies the

sum of sixteen thousand pesos. The girls attending the seminary

usually number sixty, besides some pupils, six slave women, and

other serving-women. For their expenses and that of their chaplains

ten thousand eight hundred pesos are set aside annually. Many of

the inhabitants and people of the community send their daughters

to that seminary, so that they may learn good morals, because of

the great improvement that is recognized in those who have been

reared there. The said congregation is governed by special rules,

whose observance does not impose the obligation of mortal sin. [74]

It enjoys many privileges, indulgences, and favors conceded by the

supreme pontiffs. By his Majesty's decree, dated Sevilla, March 25,

1733, and countersigned by Don Miguel de Villanueva, his Majesty's

secretary, it is under the royal protection. In that decree the royal

arms are ordered to be placed in the church and seminary. The brothers

are ordered to go out in a body to make the stations on holy Thursday,

and entire faith is to be given in all the tribunals to the instruments

of the secretaries of that holy executive board. The charitable works

administered by that holy executive board are numerous; for, besides

the support and rearing of the girls, it maintains the hospital of

St. John of God, of the city of Manila, with generous alms. It may be

said that there is no estate that does not experience its charity;

for it spends annually in alms and charitable works alone, more

than seventy thousand pesos for the relief of poor, self-respecting

Spaniards, for those who are imprisoned, and for masses for the souls

in purgatory--in such manner that from the year 1600 until the present

one of 1751, in which this history is written, the alms that have been

administered by that holy executive board exceed five million pesos,

in addition to the supplements which it has made to the general fund

of these islands in cases of extreme necessity, and at the invasions

of enemies, which amounted between the years 1645 and 1735 to the sum

of one million sixty-nine thousand and ninety-nine pesos. Besides the

above that holy executive board is patron of twenty-nine collative

and ten lay chaplaincies, and maintains two fellowships in the royal

college of San Jose.

There are other charitable institutions in this community, although

none so universal and large. They have been founded in the cathedral

church, in the tertiary order of the seraphic order [of St. Francis],

in the convent of Dilao, in that of Binondo of St. Dominic and in

their beaterio, in the convent of the calced Augustinian fathers,

and in that of the discalced Augustinians. The Society of Jesus

also administers some charitable funds, of which the proceeds are

applied by their founders to various purposes of divine worship,

alms for the orders and the poor, dowries for poor Spanish girls,

Indian and mestizo women, hospitals, prisons, and suffrages for the

blessed souls in purgatory.

There is another royal seminary in the city of Manila. It was

established in the year 1591, while Don Fray Domingo de Salazar was

bishop, and Perez Dasmarinas governor, in certain houses given for

its foundation by Captain Luis de Vivanco, ex-factor of the royal

treasury. It has its own church, whose titular is St. Andrew the

apostle. It was intended for the rearing of orphan girls--the daughters

of Spaniards--in good education and virtue. They are under the royal

patronage, and his Majesty has the care of maintaining the students,

and supplying them with all necessities. They also admit some pupils,

serving-women, and women in retreat. A separate quarter was built later

for the latter, at the expense of Licentiate Don Francisco Gomez de

Arcellano [_sc._ Arellano], archdeacon of Manila and provisor of the

archbishopric. It has its rectoress and portress, and they live with

great edification and holy customs.

Chapter XV

Other matters pertaining to the ecclesiastics of Manila

The city of Manila has a rich and beautiful chapel of the incarnation

of our Lady, which was founded by Governor Don Sebastian Hurtado

de Corcuera, where the functions are performed and the feast-days

celebrated that are peculiar to the royal Audiencia. It serves also

for the burial of the soldiers of the army, and the ministrations for

the royal hospital. Its chaplains are independent of the parish church

and wear the cope and carry the uplifted cross, when they go for the

corpses of the soldiers, which they bury with all solemnity in the said

royal chapel. It has its own chaplain-in-chief and other subordinates,

who, besides serving there, fill the chaplaincies of the galleons and

armies, when there are any. It has its sacristans and other assistants

for the service, propriety, and pomp of the worship; and a fine

band of singers, with suitable salaries. The adornment, furnishings,

ornaments, sacred vessels, altars, and reredoses correspond to the

reality of the name. Among all those things, the first place is given

to a great golden monstrance which is worth eleven thousand ducados.

The royal hospital is located near the royal chapel. The soldiers

of the army of Manila and the seamen of his Majesty's service are

treated there. It has a chaplain, superintendent, physician, surgeon,

apothecary, and other followers with similar duties, and the employees

required for the care and refreshment of the sick.

There is another royal seminary and college in this city that bears the

title of San Felipe. It was founded in the time of Governor Don Fausto

Cruzat y Gongora, to whom an order, dated November 28, 1697, was given

in a royal decree, to report how the said college or seminary could

be founded, so that some boys might be reared there for the cathedral

service. The said governor having reported, his Catholic Majesty,

Don Felipe V, determined, by his royal decree of April 28, 1702,

[75] to erect the college for eight seminarists. The amount of its

building and maintenance was to be taken from the funds resulting from

vacant sees of bishops of these islands and from the tithes, while the

part lacking was to be taken from the royal treasury. The archbishop

of Manila was to have part in everything, and he was to inform his

Majesty of what should be done. The royal decree having been carried

out, while the master-of-camp Don Diego Camacho y Avila was governing,

it appears that four thousand pesos were paid by general council of

the treasury, held May 22, 1705, for the building. Full notice will

be given of the events connected with that seminary and royal college

in the body of this history.

ECCLESIASTICAL SURVEY OF THE PHILIPPINES

[The French scientist Le Gentil, in his _Voyages dans les mers

de l'Inde_ (Paris, 1781), pp. 170-191, speaks as follows of the

ecclesiastical estate of the Philippines.]

Ninth Article

Ecclesiastical survey of the Philippine Islands

The first church in Manila was erected as a parish church in the year

1571, and dedicated to the Immaculate Conception. The Augustinians

and the discalced Franciscans had charge of it until 1581, when the

first bishop arrived. Gregory XIII, by a bull, dated Rome, 1578,

erected the parish church of Manila into a cathedral, and Philippe

II, king of Espana, established the chapter. It is composed of five

dignitaries--dean, archdeacon, orecentor, schoolmaster [_ecolatre_],

[76] and treasurer--two whole prebendaries; two half prebendaries

[77] two parish priests [_cures_]; sacristans; master of ceremonies;

and beadle. The divine office is celebrated in this cathedral with

great state and majesty.

The archbishop receives 5,000 piastres [78] (25,500 livres); the dean,

600 (3,030 livres); archdeacon, schoolmaster, precentor, and treasurer,

each 500 (2,525 livres); the three canons--namely, the doctoral,

the magistral, and the one of grace or favor--and the two half

prebendaries, each 400 (2,020 livres); the master of ceremonies, 1,200

livres; and last, the two parish priests [_cures_], each 924 livres.

The fixed revenue of these parish priests is, as one can see,

very little, but they have a little in perquisites, as marriages,

baptisms, etc. Not more than forty years ago, one of the two parish

priests had charge of the Spaniards, while the other attended only to

the Indians. Today this ridiculous distinction no longer exists. The

parish priests alternate month by month in their duties as curates,

and during that time they minister indiscriminately to Spaniards

and Indians.

The cathedral of Manila was erected into a metropolitan in 1595. The

bishoprics of Zebu, Camarines, and Nueva Segovia are of the same date,

and were made suffragan to Manila. This archbishopric has more than

two hundred livings, of which only thirteen are served by secular

priests--who are subject, say the friars, to visitation; the other

livings, to the number of about two hundred, are administered by the

religious, who, as they say, are not at all subject to the visitation

of the archbishop. We shall discuss this subject and the rebellion

occasioned by this matter in Manila in 1767, while I was still there.

Tenth Article

Of the ecclesiastical tribunals established at Manila

These tribunals are three in number: that of the archbishop; that of

the Inquisition; and that of the Holy Crusade.

The tribunal of justice of the archbishop is composed of a

vicar-general, one notary, and two fiscals. The archbishop has his

prison, where there are lodgings for lewd women.

There is not, properly speaking, a tribunal of the Inquisition at

Manila, but only a commissary of the Holy Office, appointed to this

place by the tribunal of Mexico. He is the chief or superior of all

the other commissaries scattered throughout the provinces. It is

worthy of remark that the fathers of the Society had a private and

special commissary, who was always a secular priest. The office of

commissary-superintendent has always been filled in the convent of the

Jacobins [_i.e._, Dominicans]. There has been only one interruption, of

seven years, during which a father of the convent of the Augustinians

had the commission, because the Jacobin father who was then commissary

was deposed, as we were told, for having unjustly brought suit against

the governor of Manila, and having had him arrested. [79]

At present these commissaries have no right to bring suit against

anyone at all, nor even to cause any arrest. They are under obligation

to write to Mexico, in order to inform the tribunal of charges and

accusations. Thereupon the tribunal renders a sentence, which it sends

to the commissary, who has it executed. That sentence comprehends

arrest. Thereupon the commissary causes the arrest of the accused

person, and ships him to Mexico. The trial is conducted there, and

the accused is sent back to Manila for the execution of the sentence,

if there is cause therefor.

The tribunal of the Holy Crusade has nothing especially deserving

that I should stop to mention it.

Eleventh Article

Which contains details in regard to the churches and colleges of Manila

Next to the cathedral of which I have just spoken, must be reckoned

the royal chapel. It is used for all the feast-days and ceremonies of

the royal Audiencia. It has in charge the spiritual administration

of the royal hospital of his Majesty's soldiers; it is their parish

church, and they are buried there. This chapel has a chaplain, who

is, as it were, the rector. He has five other chaplains under him,

besides sacristans and assistants. The divine office is celebrated

there with great state. The royal chapel furnishes chaplains for

the galleons. The royal hospital, which is located quite near by,

has its chaplain, its administrator, its physician, its surgeon,

its apothecary, and everything necessary.

Formerly the royal seminary of San Felipe, composed of eight

seminarists and one rector, was located at Manila; theology and the

arts were taught there. These two chairs have been suppressed, and

those who wish to avail themselves of the schools go to the university

of Santo Tomas. Since the war this seminary no longer exists; that

is to say, it is no longer maintained, so that it amounts to the

same thing. Its annual expenses were paid from the royal revenues,

so that its maintenance depended absolutely upon the good-will of the

governor. For that reason, I saw it, in 1767, without support. That

lasted after the war, which caused great outcry at Manila against the

governor. The archbishop was never able to succeed in reestablishing

it, although he contended that a seminary was very useful in this

capital. But the religious took the opportunity to oppose it secretly,

for, as they wish to extend their authority, the fewer the priests

who can be trained in the archbishopric, the more need will there be

of religious to serve the curacies.

In 1717, the king caused three persons to go to Manila, in order to

teach the institutes and laws there; and assigned them the suitable

incomes, namely, one thousand piastres (5,050 livres). These three

persons took one of the largest houses in Manila, and in fact, began to

teach there; but they generally had no scholars. The royal Audiencia

represented to the king that since there were two universities at

Manila, those three posts were useless, since the same branches could

be taught in the universities. Consequently, the king had to pay four

places instead of three, for it was necessary to establish a chair

of canon law and another of the institutes in the university of Santo

Tomas, and the same in the university of the fathers of the Society.

The seminary of Sancta Potenciana was established in 1591; it

served for young girls bereft of father and mother, who were reared

and instructed there at the expense of the king. They had a mother

superior, a chaplain, and a portress. The building of this seminary

having fallen into ruins, Archbishop Roxo proposed to rebuild it,

but the English prevented him from doing so. The bombs and bullets

having finished its destruction, its pensioners were transferred to

Santa Isabela. Santa Isabela is a sort of house or seminary designed

for the rearing of young Spanish girls and orphans. The church is

dedicated to the Presentation of our Lady.

That church and that house are dependent on a confraternity called the

Brotherhood of La Misericordia, founded in 1594, on the model of that

founded in Lisboa, in 1498, by Queen Leonore, widow of Jean [_i.e._,

Joao] II, who died in 1495. That confraternity is composed of persons

of the richest families in Manila, and has a manager, twelve deputies,

one chaplain, and some officers who take charge of affairs. The

revenues of La Misericordia are immense. They all come from legacies

which zealous citizens have left, successively, for employment in

charitable works. Now these funds grow and increase considerably every

year, for the confraternity invest them by furnishing moneys for the

voyage to Acapulco at a very large rate of interest. The cathedral,

the third Order of St. Francis, [80] the Franciscans, the Dominicans,

the Augustinians, and the Recollects, have also legacies or charitable

funds; but their funds are insignificant when compared with those of

the confraternity. The fathers of the Society also have some.

All those houses have been thriving for many years on that silver

that comes on the galleons, from which one may judge of the immense

wealth that they enjoy. We will give an idea of it here in the list

of the revenues of La Misericordia. The girls at Santa Isabela have a

mother superior and a portress. When they are married, they leave the

college with a dowry; and La Misericordia, in order to dower them,

has established a fund of 16,000 piastres (84,000 livres). There

were about fifty girls aided by La Misericordia when I was at

Manila. Santa Isabela also receives boarders; and for the expenses

of all the necessary supplies for the support of the orphans, for

the domestics, etc., La Misericordia gives 10,700 piastres (56,175

livres). Besides that, that confraternity has disbursed in alms

according to a statement that I have seen for the years 1599-1726,

3,448,506 piastres (181,046,656 livres), which amounts to 142,556

livres of French money per year. Furthermore, La Misericordia has

assisted the public in cases of extreme necessity, and when the city

has been threatened by an invasion on the part of enemies--as happened

in the years 1646, 1650, 1653-1663, 1668, and 1735. According to an

exact account, it has given 1,069,099 piastres (5,612,769 livres). I

say nothing of the considerable sum that it furnished in 1762, when

the English captured Manila.

The house of La Misericordia has its peculiar statutes, according

to which it is governed. It has many privileges and, above all,

indulgences, which the popes have successively heaped on it. Finally,

in 1733, the king took it under his protection.

One may judge, from the sample, of the wealth of all the convents

of Manila, which, during the more than one hundred and fifty years

while they have been established there, have profited from the money

for charitable works, without having diffused it outside.

The calced Augustinians were the first religious estate to appear

at Manila; they went there in 1565. The convent has about fifty

religious, and furnishes laborers to all the provinces where those

fathers have livings. They have forty-five or fifty in the bishopric

of Manila alone. The church of the Augustinians is a very beautiful

edifice, being built of cut stone. It has suffered considerably

from earthquakes.

The fathers of the Society went to the Philippines in 1581. Their

principal residence was at Manila, and was named the college of San

Ignacio. Those fathers had so prospered in the Philippines that they

had eight other residences scattered throughout the islands. They

were the spiritual masters of the Marianas. They had twenty or thirty

livings in the archbishopric of Manila. Monsieur de Caseins [81]

took them all to Cadiz in 1770, on the "Santa Rosa," except five

or six who remained, and whom Don Joseph de Cordova took with him

the following year on the "Astrea," and with whom I journeyed from

the isle of France to Cadiz. The Augustinians have inherited their

possessions. The college of San Ignacio is a very beautiful building;

[82] in spite of its defects, it is without doubt the best built and

the most regular in Manila. The exterior of the church (which fronts

on the Calle Real) offers an order of architecture very rustic,

be it understood. The front, by way of retaliation, is frightful,

without order or proportion. The interior of the church is very well

planned; but the principal altar, although overloaded with gildings,

does not correspond at all to the building; it is as poorly executed as

the front. [83] There was a university, to which Pope Clement XII had

granted, by a brief of December 6, 1735, rights without number. Beside

the college of San Ignacio is that of San Jose; it was founded in 1585,

by Felipe II, for the teaching of Latin. But since the existence of

the two universities, that college is almost deserted.

The marquis de Ovando [84]--to whom navigation owes so much at

Manila, as I have said--having seen that there was no attention

paid to navigation in the center of two universities (although

those universities were in a maritime and commercial city), founded

a chair of mathematics in 1750, for the utility and progress of

navigation. He died in 1754, and his school died with him. As long

as he lived it maintained its standing, but after him it declined;

in 1767 that school was no longer frequented. Manila gets the pilots

for its galleons from Nueva Espana.

The Dominicans went to Manila in 1587, in order to found a mission

there. They have a fine convent, with about thirty religious. Their

university dates from 1610. The Dominicans have only a dozen livings

in the archbishopric of Manila.

The college of San Juan de Letran owes its institution to a Spaniard

of singularly exemplary life, who took charge of the orphan children

of the Spaniards, and those whose fathers and mothers were poor. He

supported them and taught them at the expense of his own income,

and when that did not suffice, he collected alms to assist the lack

in his own funds. The king, in order to make it easier for him to

exercise his humane acts, gave him an encomienda in the province of

Ilocos. At the approach of old age, he retired into the infirmary

of the Dominicans, with the permission of the archbishop, and died

there a religious. He renounced his encomienda, his house, and all

his possessions, in due form; and placed them at the disposal of

the Dominicans, on condition that they take charge of the rearing

of his orphans. According to the act that was passed June 18, 1640,

the house was erected into a college under the advocacy of St. John

of the Letran. The king added to it some revenues from the royal

chapel; and the students who left that college belonged to the king,

and had to enter his service, either in the military or otherwise. The

Dominicans have gradually changed those rules. The students of that

college, to the number of about fifty who are supported there annually,

are all or nearly all destined for the priesthood. Consequently they

study philosophy and theology in the university of Santo Tomas.

Opposite San Juan de Letran, on the other side of the street, stands

the royal community of Santa Catalina. It has undergone various changes

since 1695, the year in which it was founded. [85] The Dominicans

had charge of it at first; while now they have a mother superior,

they follow, nevertheless, the third Order of St. Dominic. They have

no church of their own, but the college of San Juan de Letran serves

them as one. Without celebrating there any office, they attend mass

there, being separated from it by the width of the street, where they

have a gallery which communicates from their cells with the church

of San Juan de Letran.

The Recollects arrived at Manila in 1606. They have built a fine

convent there, and so large that two hundred religious could be very

comfortable in it; however, they never have more than forty. They

have a dozen livings in the archbishopric of Manila.

The hospital Order of St. John of God obtained permission from the

king in 1627 to send ten religious to Manila. In 1656, the board of La

Misericordia made those fathers a present of their old hospital. The

king approved that gift, but the hospital has fallen many times. In

1726, the archbishop undertook to reestablish it, and to rebuild it

again on new foundations; and that has been executed. That hospital is

a vast and elegant building. The church is beautiful. The wards for

the sick are large, and filled with very comfortable beds, and there

are plenty of religious. Those fathers are very useful in Manila,

for they are very charitable to the sick. The Spaniards of Manila

and its environs send their domestics there when they are sick;

and they are given especial care, and treated gratis. Those fathers

are, beyond doubt, the most useful in Manila; but, in spite of that,

they are poor and often in want. They live only on alms, and without

the Confraternity of La Misericordia that house would find it hard

to subsist.

I shall make here only one reflection, which the love for humanity

tears from me. The Confraternity of La Misericordia have amassed

immense wealth, but they scatter and spend it on the unfortunate who

are in need: the State itself has often found aid there. The religious

orders also have their treasures, but I have been assured that no one

benefits by them; and that, on the contrary, like those treasures

of the Igolotes, their treasures only increase each year. Also the

_Histoire Espagnole_ [_i.e._, "_Spanish History_"], that tells of the

employment made by La Misericordia of its charitable contributions,

is silent as to what the religious orders do with theirs.

The discalced Franciscans went to Manila in 1577. They are allied

to the Capuchins. [86] Their convent is superb and immense. They

generally have thirty religious, besides fifty others who are nearly

religious and who fill a like number of curacies in the archbishopric

of Manila. Inside the convent enclosure is to be seen a fine chapel,

where the holy sacrament is continually kept. That chapel is intended

for the exercises of the tertiaries.

Outside the walls of Manila, and a gunshot from that city, stands the

hospital of San Lazaro; the Franciscan religious have charge of its

temporal and spiritual administration. That hospital is for lepers,

many of whom are seen in Manila. The Spanish call that disease _el

mal lazaro_. [87]

Article Twelve

Of the bishops of the Philippines suffragan to Manila; and of the

general number of Christian souls in those islands.

The bishopric of Zebu is the first; it was created in 1595. Its

cathedral is built of wood, and is quite large; it is dedicated to

St. Michael. It has no canons. There is one cura there, one sacristan,

one vicar-general, and several priests. The bishop is almost always

a religious. When he officiates, he is generally accompanied by two

mestizo [_mulatres_] priests. [88] Moreover, there is at Zebu a convent

of calced Augustinians, one of discalced Augustinians or Recollects,

one residence of the Society of Jesus, and one alcalde. There are

generally three fathers in each convent, and that is the largest number

that they have ever had. The city of Zebu, which ought not to bear

the name of city, is a collection of a few miserable straw shacks,

like those of all Indians; the convents, on the contrary, are finely

built. The latter are immense buildings, and that for only two or

three persons. That is true of all the convents of the Philippines,

which are seven or eight times larger than are necessary for the number

of fathers whom they contain. It remains to ascertain whether that is

the case because the number of religious is at present less in Espana

than it was one hundred and fifty or one hundred and eighty years ago;

or whether those buildings were erected with the expectation and idea

that they would some day be peopled and filled. I have been unable to

learn which is correct. There was a quarter for the Chinese at Zebu,

as at Manila. The bishop of Zebu receives a salary of four thousand

piastres (21,000 livres), the cure, one hundred and eighty piastres

(960 livres), and the sacristan ninety-one (472 livres).

The bishopric of Camarines dates from the same time as that of Zebu,

and was founded in the same manner. That city is not more beautiful

than that of Zebu. The calced Augustinians, the Recollects, and the

discalced Franciscans are established at Camarines.

The bishopric of Nueva Segovia was founded at the same time and

in the same manner as the preceding. The city (if it is one) has a

convent of calced Augustinians, one of discalced Franciscans, and

one of Dominicans.

The secular priests, according to a list that I have seen, govern one

hundred and forty-two livings, which include 131,279 persons. The

other livings, to the number of more than five hundred and fifty,

are divided among the Augustinians, the fathers of the Society,

the Dominicans, the Recollects, and the discalced Franciscans.

The Augustinians have charge of 241,806 persons

The fathers of the Society had 170,000

The Dominicans have 89,752

The Recollects have 63,149

The discalced Franciscans 141,196

Sum total 705,903 persons.

The above sum is for 1735, and is very exact, as it is taken from

the communities and from the statement of the royal officials. There

may, however, be some error in it, due to the fact that the Indians

change their dwelling from time to time, or absent themselves for

some time. Mortality must also have some effect on it. It results

always that the natives of the Philippines, the subjects of the king

of Espana, form a colony about as numerous as the city of Paris;

and that that colony, if it were well governed and well directed,

might become very flourishing.

Article Thirteenth

Of the power and influence enjoyed by the religious in the Philippines

If the governor of the Philippines is absolute, the religious orders

form there a body that is not less powerful. Masters of the provinces,

they govern there, one might say, as sovereigns; they are so absolute

that no Spaniard dares go to establish himself there. If he tried to do

so, he would succeed only after having surmounted great difficulties,

and removed the greatest obstacles. But he would always be at swords'

point: the friars would play him so many tricks; they would seek

so many occasions of dispute with him; and they would stir up so

many things against him, that in the end he would be forced to go

away. Thus do those fathers remain masters of the land, and they are

more absolute in the Philippines than is the king himself.

In 1763 or 1764 an alcalde of Manila, zealous for the public welfare,

had a royal road lengthened two or three leagues from the city, and

had both sides of it planted with trees. It produced a very beautiful

effect, and facilitated the carriage of food to Manila. The fathers

of the Society began a suit against the alcalde, because, they said,

he had encroached upon the lands of the poor Indians. The alcalde,

and rightfully, paid but little attention to the suit. The fathers of

the Society, upon seeing that the matter was not turning out at all

to their advantage, caused the trees to be cut down by the Indians,

and reduced the road to its former condition--that is to say, they

administered justice themselves. Will it be believed that the affair

is left in this condition? However, nothing is more certain; it was

still quite recent at my arrival at Manila, and was related to me by

several persons worthy of credit.

According to an ordinance of the king, renewed, perhaps, a hundred

times, the religious are ordered to teach Castilian to the young

Indians. But his Majesty, the Spaniards of Manila have assured me

universally, has not yet been obeyed to this day, and has not been

able to succeed in having the ordinance executed. Public schools

are to be seen at a half-league's distance from Manila, where

the youth are taught, but good care is taken not to teach them

Castilian. They are taught the language of the country. They have,

it is true, little prayer-books written in Castilian, and the youth

are taught now and then a few words of that language; but the chief

language that the teachers try to have them speak and read well is

the language of their own country. So, go one league from Manila,

and you can scarcely be understood if you do not know the language

of the country--a fact which I can attest, for I have experienced

it. It is still worse in the provinces. Thus are the friars the

masters of the Indians. A great abuse that follows from that is,

that the Spaniards themselves cannot get any knowledge of the

condition of things in those provinces. They would have no safety

in traveling, if they were not known to the religious, and if they

did not have with them recommendations presented by the religious

of Manila. Those recommendations are infinitely more to be preferred

than the orders which the governor could give to the alcaldes or to

those religious. The latter would probably not deign to receive them;

while the alcaldes, who themselves need to keep on good terms with

the friars, would give but faint response to the governor's orders.

Notwithstanding all the recommendations possible, it yet happens that

the friar in charge of the people among whom you travel, allows you

but rarely to speak alone with the Indians. When you speak in his

presence to any Indian who understands a little Castilian, if that

religious is displeased to have you converse too long with that native

he makes him understand, in the language of the country, not to answer

you in Castilian but in his own language. The Indian obeys him; and,

if you are not aware of that practice, you cannot guess his reason,

inasmuch as you have not understood what the religious said. I have

been assured of this by several Spaniards, among them the engineer

Don Feliciano Marques. He has several times complained to me that,

in spite of his great desire to travel in the provinces, he did not

dare resolve to do it, in view of the great difficulties that he saw

to be inseparable from such an undertaking.

We went together, he and I, several times, on the river in a

_pangue_--the boat of the country. Once we went up stream for three

leguas. No one could understand us at that short distance from Manila,

for no one knew any Castilian; neither did they even pay any attention

to us. One would not believe that the Spaniards were the masters of

the country. That, I was told by the Spaniards, was the result and

the effect of the policy of the friars.

If the religious in the Philippines have resisted the temporal power

in these matters, they have not been more docile, in another matter,

to the ecclesiastical power; for they have been able, even to this

day, to elude the visitation of the archbishops, and those prelates

have never been able to succeed in that.

The great obstacle in this matter is, that there are very few

[secular] priests in the Philippines, and the majority of those who

are there are Indians. The people, say the Spaniards, have almost

no respect or veneration for the latter. Most frequently they are

dressed like their compatriots, the other Indians, in the fashion

of the country. The friars, on the contrary, are necessarily more

respected, and even though it were only by reason of their mode of

dress, they would inspire more awe in the people than do the Indian

priests. Those religious hold the people in a sort of dependence in

which the priests of their own race, and clad as they, could not hold

them. But so the religious, because they know that they are necessary

in the present condition of affairs, have always raised an opposition

when the archbishops have tried to visit them, so that the latter

have never been able to surmount the difficulty. The religious are,

so to speak, entrenched or fortified in castles (_encastillados_, to

use the peculiar expression of the Spaniards), so that all the zeal

of the archbishops has been unable to reduce them to the footing of

the other curas. As a rule, there are no difficulties at all in the

other bishoprics; for, as the livings there are almost always filled

by religious, the curas easily allow themselves to be visited by a

person of their own class. It is true that, since the governors have

not as yet taken sides with them, the archbishops have always been

the weaker party.

Monsieur Arandia, of whom I have already spoken, a man fit to govern

a state, would have doubtless put an end to it had he lived. Don

Manuel Antonio Roxo was appointed archbishop of Manila under his

government. Don Andres Roxo, nephew of that archbishop, told me

several times that Monsieur Arandia was only awaiting his uncle's

arrival to conclude that important matter. But Arandia died before

his arrival, and it is claimed that he was helped to die. However

that may be, Archbishop Roxo, having lost his support, could not,

although he became governor and captain-general of the islands, make

the friars submissive. He wrote to the king that the briefs of the

pope and the decrees of his Majesty would always be without force and

validity; and that the one and only way of succeeding in regulating

that matter was to issue imperative commands to the general of each

order in Europe to direct their friars at Manila to receive the visit

of the archbishop. In the meantime, the war comes--Manila is captured;

Roxo dies, and all is as before.

Roxo was replaced only in 1767. That year the court of Espana sent an

archbishop. [89] I saw him, and even went to make him several visits

when he had made his [public] entrance. He wrote to all the communities

that he was preparing to visit his diocese. He had, so it was said,

left Europe with the fullest authority for that purpose. He had bulls,

briefs from the pope, and orders from the court. He thought that he

would succeed with all these arms, but he did not know that there

would be an answer for everything at Manila. The friars answered then

that they could not allow him to visit them; and such is their answer

[to their superior]. They went, say they, first to the Philippines;

they have received the care of souls, under certain conditions and

certain charges that cannot be set aside; [and they said] that the

archbishop might, if he wished, take away all the livings in their

charge and provide the same with secular priests. I have said that

the archbishopric of Manila contains more than two hundred livings,

of which only thirteen are in charge of secular priests. Consequently,

there are about two hundred still occupied by the friars. Now the

case was very embarrassing for the archbishop, who did not then

have two hundred priests at his disposal. As to the briefs, bulls,

etc., consider the pleasant response that they made, and which their

partisans scattered abroad in public; they said, then, that his

Excellency had not brought any new rulings with him from the courts

of Rome and Madrid. It was very true that there existed a bull of

the pope in regard to that matter, but it would have to be looked

for in the books. In order that it might, on the other hand, become a

law, it was necessary for the archbishop to give notification of it,

legalized by notary in the ordinary manner. Such, they said, were the

laws of the kingdom, in consideration of the fact that there might be

some difference in the books, either by the transposition of a comma,

or by some other error that might have slipped into the printing.

Such are the intrenchments that the friars opposed in 1767 to the new

archbishop of Manila. In the beginning, the Dominicans and Augustinians

were disturbed; the Dominicans in fact submitted, and the archbishop's

party already thought that he had the victory. But, toward the

end of the year, some repented, and changed their minds; and, as a

consequence, there was a schism in the convent. The Augustinians also

were divided, and they came even to blows among themselves. One of

the chief actors was imprisoned in his room. However, the matter was

arranged, and it was agreed that all of them should assemble and be

reconciled, without saying a word of what had occurred. It produced

a singular effect. At my arrival the dissension had again commenced,

but I am not aware how the affair terminated.

The other religious and the fathers of the Society held firm. These

last especially, in appearance, were very assiduous in visiting the

governor [90]--and that at an hour when no one is received in the

houses of Manila, unless it be for matters which cannot suffer delay;

that is to say, the fathers went just after dinner, at the time when

all people retire to take their siesta. Having gone one day during

that time, just after his dinner, to see the governor about a pressing

matter which concerned me, scarcely had I begun what I had to say when

a father of the Society appeared, who had ascended by a little private

stair-way. I was unable to terminate my business. The reverend father

took possession of the governor, who made an appointment with me for

another time. I cannot be positive that that father had gone on the

matter of the visitation; I only report that fact because it agrees

with what was said then at Manila in regard to the frequent visits

which the fathers of the Society made to the governor, at times when

no one dared present himself at the government [house].

I must tell what side the governor took in so delicate a matter. On one

side he was pressed by the archbishop; on the other he was solicited

by the Jesuits and the friars. During these contests I found him

one evening when I went to see him, meditative and thoughtful. He

had two letters in his hand, which the archbishop had written to him,

successively, that same day. He told me, with demonstrations of feeling

which showed his embarrassment, that the archbishop was writing to

him letter after letter, on a matter that depended on him in no way

at all. He said that he had no instructions on the matter, and that he

could not exceed his powers. And, as he repeated that to me time after

time, I answered him that, since he had no orders from his court, and

especially since he had no secular priests at his disposal, it was in

fact very difficult for him to proceed as the archbishop desired. It

must be observed that I was living with a wealthy French merchant,

one of whose daughters had married the secretary of the government;

and I have often remarked that that secretary was not at all inclined

to the archbishop's side.

Next morning, four _pasquinades_ [91] or injurious and very defamatory

placards, were found posted in the city: one at the government offices;

the second, on the gate of the Parian; a third at La Misericordia;

and the fourth at our door. Those lampoons stated distinctly that the

governor for twenty thousand piastres (105,000 livres), had prevented

the archbishop from fulfilling his duty. The secretary was beside

himself at the boldness of the lampoon, and especially at the one

posted at his door. He spoke of it as a crime which deserved the most

severe chastisement. He added that it would be better for him who had

done it, if he were discovered, that he had never lived. In fact,

I am quite sure that Sambouangam [92] (in the island of Mindanao),

which I have before mentioned, would have been his dwelling, and that

he would not have enjoyed himself there very greatly.

The friars in the Philippines are, as can be seen, absolute in the

provinces. It is quite true that, according to the ordinances, the

governor ought to send the auditors there from time to time in the

quality of visitors. But besides that that scarcely ever happens, these

visitors, although members of the royal Audiencia, are obliged to take

recommendations from the convents of Manila before their departure,

in order to be well received. However, that great authority of the

friars over the people does not prevent the latter from revolting very

often in the provinces; and those revolts are nearly always followed

by the death of some religious. Then there is no means of restoring

order except by sending troops to reduce the Indians to obedience,

for the eloquence of the religious can do nothing. Such an emergency

occurred in my time, at the end of 1767. Several settlements about the

large lake revolted, and carried their boldness even to the point of

killing the friar curas. It was necessary to send a cavalry officer at

the head of a detachment of fifteen men, to make those rebels submit.

These disorders always happened when the provinces of the Philippines

had at their head, to govern them, only an alcalde and the friars. I

believe that it would be necessary for the court to have four or five

hundred troops (or at least a sufficient number), for the sole purpose

of scattering them through those different provinces, in posts of only

fifteen or twenty men. That number, besides being but inconsiderable

and of little expense, would be sufficient to maintain the Indians

in their duty, since only fifteen men have appeased the disturbance

in a considerable district near the lake.

[The following, also from Le Gentil (pp. 59-63), treats in part of

the ecclesiastical estate.]

Ninth Article

Of the genius of the inhabitants of the Philippines, and the peculiar

punishments inflicted by the religious on the women who do not attend

mass on the prescribed days.

This article is the fourteenth chapter of the Franciscan religious

from whom I have extracted a portion of my details. But I believe

that it will be important to reproduce here in exact translation the

text of the original.

[The extract is from San Antonio's _Chronicas_, vol. i, part of chapter

xl of book i; it is not, however, an exact translation, but in part

a synopsis. The meaning is not distorted; but we have preferred to

translate this portion of the chapter, entitled in San Antonio "Of

the characteristics and genius of the Filipino Indians," directly from

the Spanish, reproducing exactly the matter synopsized by Le Gentil.]

"412. Among the gifts with which man is adorned, those of the

soul are the most noble and most important--for instance, the

characteristics or bent, and the skill or understanding in the

exercise of a man's reasonings and mental operations. And since

the soul is so dependent on the body and on its sensations, the

spiritual operations are tempered by the bodily characteristics. These

characteristics (in the judgment of Galen, Plato, Aristotle, and

Hippocrates), are such or such, according to the varying climate of the

[different] regions. Consequently, the difference of nations in bodily

characteristics, and in disposition, genius, and morals, springs from

the various climates of the regions, and from the difference in air,

water, and food--in accordance with that maxim, _Natura facit habilem_,

[93] in its common interpretation. That makes evident (in distant

regions) the difference between Spaniards and French, Indians and

Germans, Ethiopians and English. It is experienced, within distances

not so great, in the many provinces of Espana alone. Even in Ubeda

and Baeza, only one legua apart, this diversity of men and women is

found. There are more marked differences of this sort encountered in

Philipinas; for there are certain peoples at the mouth of one river,

while at the source are others very different in complexion, customs,

and languages. In the same province are found stupid and intelligent

peoples; white, black, and brown; and those of distinct degrees of

corpulency, and features according to the various temperatures and

climates. It is a matter which is truly surprising, to see so great

a diversity of temperatures and so great a diversity of men within

so small a space. But that happens in districts here and there,

for usually there is but little differentiation in these islands in

characteristics and genius. If one Indian be known, I believe that

they are all known; but God alone can have this complete knowledge.

"413. The very reverend father, Gaspar de San Agustin, an Augustinian

and a native of Madrid, with the practical experience of forty years

of life among those people, confesses, in a letter which he wrote

concerning their characteristics--and which although in manuscript,

deserves to be printed, for he understood those natives as far as it

is possible to comprehend them--that it is so difficult to describe

their characteristics that it would be more easy to define the formal

object in logic; more feasible to compute the square of a circle;

more discoverable to assign a fixed rule for the measurement of the

degrees of longitude on the globe; and after the four knowledges of

Solomon could be placed this fifth, as impossible. [94] In fact, after

so many years, he says that he has only been able to understand that

_quadraginta annis proximus fui Generationi huic, & dixi: semper hi

erant corde_. [95] He speaks at length and from experience and with

remarkable detail. Although the letter is worth printing, my lack of

space does not allow me to copy it. [96]

"414. Granting, then, as true the experiences that he writes, and

reducing them to a brief summary I assert that _the character of

these Indians is a maze of contradictions and oppositions_; and I

believe that this is not the worst of the descriptions. For they

are at once proud and humble; bold in wickedness, and pusillanimous

cowards; compassionate and cruel; negligent and lazy; but for their own

affairs, whether evil or good, careful and watchful; easily credulous,

but incapable of understanding, and fickle, after so oft repeated

sacred teachings. They are very much inclined to attend the church,

and its feasts and solemn rites, but it is necessary to oblige them

by the rigor of the lash to attend mass on the prescribed days,

and confession and communion when holy Church orders; and are very

reverent toward the ministering fathers because of the superiority

that they recognize in them, while at the same time they mock them,

murmur against them, and even deceive them. Consequently, a religious

called them jokingly 'the schoolchildren of St. Casiano;' [97] for it

is a fact that they go astray in all their resolutions without the

government of the fathers, and it is necessary to treat them like

schoolchildren in their instruction."

[Here we resume the narrative of Le Gentil, who italicises the words,

"It is necessary to employ the lash in order to get them to attend

mass on the prescribed days when holy Church orders it, and to treat

them as schoolchildren," and continues:]

This is an abuse which reigns in the provinces. The religious give

the lash to women and girls with a cat-o'-nine-tails, even in the

presence of their husbands, and no one dares say a word. That is not

practiced at Manila, and the religious are not so absolute there as

they are in the provinces; and, besides, one is able at times not

to attend mass on Sunday without that act of irreligion reaching the

ears of the religious or the cures.

I was intimately acquainted at Manila with some army officers, with

whom I had gone from the Ile de France to that city on board the

"Bon-conseil." Although Spaniards, they dared to revolt publicly

against that ridiculous custom; others approved it. Sometimes the

religious or fathers have their own executioners, and the church is

the place of the action. In this regard a singular chance procured

me a knowledge of the following.

A short league [_lieue_] from Manila is a parish called Las Penas (_les

Roches_) [_i.e._, "the rocks"]. It is under the charge of a secular

priest, and has a very small church, built of bamboo and thatched with

straw. It is a charming place, and pleasure-parties often go there

to dine, or walk there after dinner. I went there quite frequently

with Father Melo. One Sunday, Don Andres Roxo and Dona Ana Roxo,

his wife, asked me to go there to dine with them. Don Andres Roxo

had married one of the daughters of the marquis of Villa-Mediana,

a distinguished family of Spain. The marquis, who has died since my

return to France, was then commandant of the troops in Manila, and was

to come to join us in the afternoon. As I was walking with Monsieur

and Madame Roxo in the country quite near the village, about four or

five in the afternoon, we beheld a great concourse of people gathered

about the entrance of that same village. We went in that direction, to

ascertain what could be happening. It was a woman who had not attended

mass that day, whom they were taking to the church to lash. She was

led along by the executioner. He had a heavy cat-o'-nine-tails on

his shoulder, which hung down to the middle of his back. The father,

more black than white, went behind, and a crowd of Indians followed,

especially of Indian women. Doubtless they were those of the village,

who were obliged to witness the ceremony, in order to teach them not

to stay away from mass. Madame Roxo, seeing this sight, was touched

with compassion. She left us, forced her way through the crowd, and

easily succeeded in reaching the father. She asked clemency for that

woman, which was obtained.

At this juncture the marquis of Villa-Mediana arrived. From as far

as we could see him we went to meet him. When he asked us whence we

came, Madame Roxo told him what had just happened. But the marquis,

far from approving the generosity of his daughter, put on a severe

countenance, and scolded her for it roundly in my presence. He told

her in express terms _that she had performed a very wrong action,

which would be the cause of a greater evil; that that woman would not

fail to commit that sin again, and perhaps several times, and the blame

and sin for it would rebound on her who had asked for the pardon_.

[Le Gentil concludes this article by a further translation and synopsis

of the same chapter of San Antonio, which relates entirely to the

characteristics of the natives--matter which will, if space permit,

be embodied in this series.]

CHARACTER AND INFLUENCE OF THE FRIARS

[The following is taken from volume ii of Sinibaldo de Mas's _Informe

sobre el estado de las islas Filipinas en 1842_ (Madrid, January,

1843).]

The ecclesiastical estate

The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 28 of 55 1637-38 Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of the Catholic Missions, as Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Close of the Nineteenth Century · 第 12 / 15 章