Shortly after Legaspi had discovered the_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

religious of St. Augustine, St. Dominic, and St. Francis, who spread

through the interior and founded convents in Manila. They were the

ones who accomplished most in the spiritual and temporal conquest,

as is attested uniformly by writers, native and foreign, even the

least devout. Some years later, bishoprics were erected; and from

that moment began a struggle between the bishops and the monastic

orders as to whether or no the friar curas should be subject to the

diocesan visit. Innumerable are the treatises, opinions, superior

decrees, and scandalous disputes, which took place on this account,

as we have already seen in the chapter called "History." The arguments

of the religious were founded on the fear of falling into relaxation

of their regular observance, as they believed that they could not

be good ministers without being good religious. The religious of

the Order of St. Dominic, discussing this point in the year 1710,

resolved that, if the lords ordinary [98] attempted to subject them

to the diocesan visit, they would first abandon all their missions;

_for the province regards it as certain and evident that the ruin

of the ministering religious must follow the said visit; and of this

opinion have been, for many years past, grave religious and zealous

and superior prelates whom the province has had_. In the year 1757,

Governor Don Pedro Manuel Arandia claimed, with the greatest firmness,

that the regulars should submit to the laws of the royal patronage in

respect to the appointment of religious for the curacies, and that they

should receive the canonical installation. He first directed himself

to the provincial of the calced Augustinians, even going so far as

to warn him that, if he did not obey his behests and commands in this

matter, the governor would proceed to his exile and the occupation of

his temporalities. To that the provincial replied that he could not

under any circumstances accede to his demands, adding that "he knew

by proof in his establishment the ruin of their regular institute,

with notable harm to souls;" and that "he was at the same time assured

that the piety of the king (whom may God preserve) would not take it

ill at seeing the aforesaid province [of Augustinians] reduced to their

profession and subject to the same laws of the royal patronage. Those

laws, although so just, do not bind the regulars to continue in their

missions, which they obtain precariously, in case that all the royal

patronage is impracticable to them with their institute." In the year

1767, and during the government of Don Simon de Anda, there came

an order from Madrid, together with a bull from Pope Benedict XIV,

requiring the curas to submit to the metropolitan. The religious of

St. Augustine still resisted, which caused Anda to have all the curas

in Pampanga arrested, and to send the provincial and definitors to

Espana. In the year 1775 arrived a decisive order from the court,

requiring all the regulars to submit to the visit and the royal

patronage, and the restoration of the curacies of Pampanga to the

Augustinians. They submitted, and from that time the regular curas

have been subject to their provincial in matters _de vita et moribus_

[_i.e._, of conduct and morals], of the bishop in all that pertains to

spiritual administration, and to the captain-general as the viceregal

patron. According to a royal decree of August 1, 1795, it is impossible

to remove a regular cura against his will without formulating a cause

against him and trying him according to law, unless he is appointed to

fill some office in the order; and even in this case it is necessary

that the consent of the ordinary and the royal vice-patron precede,

in accordance with the terms of another royal decree of September

29, 1807. Perhaps this subjection of the curas to the bishops and

vice-patrons will have resulted in great advantages; but there is

no doubt that the relaxation of morals which the regular superiors

foresaw has been verified. There are many, there are numberless faults

which a director recognizes and knows positively, but which cannot

be proved in a judgment, especially when one is conducting a cura of

souls. Further, in a cause, it is necessary to take depositions from

the parishioners, and to make public matters which it would be highly

important to keep secret; for scandal does more harm than the evil

which one is trying to remedy, especially in a colony where the good

man and the prestige of the religious is so important. And, above all,

it ought to be remembered that since the will of three must unite to

punish one cura, it will be very easy for the cura to find a means

of securing favor from some of them. Those evils would probably be

remedied by rigorously obeying the commands of Benedict XIV in his

constitution beginning _Firmandis_, given November 6, 1744, in which

it is ruled that the regular curas may be removed from their curacies

according to the will of one or the other superior, without its being

necessary for either to declare to the other the causes of the removal.

As a result of these continuous and obstinate quarrels between the

regular curas and the bishops and civil authorities, and as if to

cut the Gordian knot, the government ordered, in 1753, that all

the curacies be handed over to secular priests of the country. The

execution of this decree presented so many difficulties, and raised so

many remonstrances that it was decided in 1757 that, until it should

be ordered otherwise, none of the curacies administered by regulars

should be granted to a secular priest under any circumstances, until

it was really vacant, and that then the viceroy and the diocesan should

agree together whether or no it were advisable to make it secular; and

the opinion of both should be carried into effect, and that in equal

accord they should execute the decree of 1753. By this decision, the

governor-general had the power to deprive the friars of their curacies

at will, since the bishops have almost always desired or solicited

that. Carlos III, wearied at the obstinacy of the Augustinian religious

in not submitting to the diocesan visit, ordered by decrees of August

5 and November 9, 1774, that all the missions should be secularized

as they fell vacant. The governor, then Don Simon de Anda, in spite

of being at open war with the friars--because they had intrigued in

Madrid against him when the government was conferred on him--and

of his being, perhaps, the governor-general most hated by them,

inveighed so strongly against this order, asserting that it was not

advisable to the service of God and the State, that the same Carlos

III resolved that the decree of 1774 should not have effect, and that

the curacies and missions which the religious had filled before the

decree, should be returned to them. Nevertheless the government of

Madrid was so annoyed and wearied at the continual strife which the

friars maintained with the bishops and authorities, that it desired

to cut the dispute short, at any risk; and in this same decree it was

recommended that a body of Filipino secular priests be formed, so that

the curacies could be surrendered to these as they became vacant--thus

carrying into effect the decree of 1757, when they should be ready

for it. This same order was confirmed by another decree of December

11, 1776, and another of September 7, 1778--although in this last,

in consideration of a representation of Don Pedro Sarrio, which will

be seen later, it was provided that there should be no innovation in

what was contained in the decree of '76, without the express order of

the Council and of the king. In 1822, in consequence of a decree of

the Cortes, the curacies which fell vacant were presented at a meeting

of opponents. In regard to the first, which was that of the village of

Malate, the superior of the calced Augustinians, Fray Hilarion Diez,

made a representation; but the archbishop, Don Fray Juan Zulaybar, was

interested in complying with the decrees of the Madrid government. In

1826, order was given to return that curacy to the religious, and all

[others] that they had, and what was declared to them by the decree

of 1776; and that the secularization of any curacy should not be

proceeded with except by express order of the king.

I am going to insert what Don Tomas de Comyn said about the religious

of Filipinas in a book which has not had the appreciation that it

merits, and which is already rare.

"The valor and constancy with which Legaspi and his worthy companions

conquered these natives would have been of little use, had not

the apostolic zeal of the missionaries aided in consolidating the

undertaking. The latter were the true conquerors--who, without other

weapons than their virtues, attracted the good-will of the natives,

made them love the Spanish name, and gave the king, as by a miracle,

two millions more of submissive and Christian vassals. They were the

legislators of the barbarous hordes who inhabited the islands of this

immense archipelago, thus realizing with their persuasive mildness

the allegorical prodigies of Amphion and Orpheus.

"As the means, then, which the missionaries employed to reduce and

civilize the Indians, were their preaching and other spiritual

instruments, and as, although they were scattered and working

separately, they were at the same time subject to the authority

of their superiors--who as chiefs, directed the great work of the

conversion--the government primitively established in these provinces

must necessarily have shared much of the nature of the theocratic;

and there is no doubt that it so continued until, the number of the

new colonists, as well the effective force of the royal authority,

increasing with the lapse of time, it was possible to make the

governing system uniform with that which rules in the other ordinary

establishments of Espana.

"Further, this same is deduced from the fragments which even yet

remain of that first constitution in the islands of Batanes and

the missions of Cagayan, which are administered spiritually and

temporally by the Dominican fathers; and from what can be noted at

every step in the other provinces, by whoever gives the matter but a

little attention. For although the civil magistracies are regulated

now, and their respective attributes determined with all precision,

it has been as yet impossible to lay aside, however much they have

tried to show the contrary, the personal authority which the parish

priests hold among their parishioners; on the contrary, the government

has indeed seen itself constantly under the necessity of making use

of this same authority, as the most powerful instrument to acquire

respect and due subordination. Consequently, although the parish

priests are not today authorized to intervene by law in the civil

administration, they become in fact the real rulers.

"It certainly is the case that, since the parish priest is the

consoler of the afflicted, the pacifier of families, the promoter of

useful ideas, the preacher and example of all good; as generosity

is conspicuous in him, and the Indians see him alone among them,

without relatives, without trade, and always engaged in their greater

good--they are accustomed to live contentedly under his paternal

direction, and to give him their whole confidence. Master in this way

of their wills, nothing is done without the counsel--or, to speak more

correctly, without the consent--of the cura. The gobernadorcillo, on

receiving an order from the alcalde, goes first to get the permission

of the father; and it is the latter who, in strict terms, tacitly

sees to its fulfilment, or prevents its course. The father concludes

or directs the suits of the village; makes the writs; goes up to the

capital to plead for his Indians; opposes their petitions, and at

times their threats, to the violences committed by the alcaldes-mayor;

and manages everything by the standard of his own desire. In a word,

it is impossible for there to be any human institution, at once so

simple and so firmly grounded, and from which so many advantages

can be derived for the State, as that (which is admired with reason)

which is firmly established in the ministries of these islands. And

by the same fatality it is very strange that since the true art of

governing a colony like Filipinas, which is different from all others,

consists in the wise use of so powerful an instrument as secrecy,

the superior government has been laboring under an hallucination for

some years past, to the point of pledging itself to the destruction

of a work that it is so advisable to maintain.

"In this as in other things, one may very plainly see how absurd

or how difficult it is to organize a system of government which is

equally well suited to the genius of all peoples, regardless of what

discordance may exist in their physical and moral make-up. Hence, when

one tries to assimilate _in toto_ the administrative regime of these

provinces to that of the Americas, he meets obstacles at every step

which evidently originate from this erroneous principle. The regime,

however much one may try to assert it, must either make itself obeyed

by fear and force, or respected by means of love and confidence. And

in order to convince one's self that the first is impracticable,

it is quite sufficient to take into consideration the following

circumstances and reflections.

"The number of the whites in proportion to that of the natives is so

small, that it can scarcely be set at the ratio of 15:25,000. These

provinces, infinitely more populous than those of America, are given

into the care of their alcaldes-mayor, who take there no other troops

than the title of military captains and the royal decree. Besides the

religious, no other whites than their alcalde-mayor generally live

in the whole province. He has the care of the royal possessions; he

attends to the punishment of evildoers; he pacifies riots; he raises

men for the regiments who garrison Manila and Cavite; he orders and

leads his subjects in case of an invasion from the outside; in short,

he alone must do everything, on the word of alcalde-mayor and in

the name of the king. In view, then, of the effective power that the

fulfilment of so great a variety of obligations exacts spontaneously,

and the fact that no one assists him with what is in his charge, who

could deny that it would be to risk the security of these dominions too

greatly to try to rule them by means so insufficient? If the villages

are in disorder or revolt, to whom will the alcalde turn his face for

aid in checking and punishing them? What other recourse is there for

him in such a conflict than to flee or to die in the attempt? And if

it is considered indispensable among cultured nations that authority

always present itself accompanied by force, how can one expect that

bare and unprotected law be respected among Indians?

"It is clear that it is necessary to appeal to force of another kind,

and to employ means, which although indirect, are without dispute

the most adequate under the peculiar circumstances of these lands;

means which, by influencing the imagination, excite veneration,

subjugate the rude intellect of the inhabitants, and lead them to

endure our dominion without repugnance. And well can one understand,

too, how ready these means are found, and how we are envied for them

and have always been envied by all the other European nations who

have aspired to extend and consolidate their conquests in both Indias.

"Let one listen to La Perouse, if he would know and wonder at

the arms with which our missionaries captured the natives of the

Californias. Let him read dispassionately the marvelous deeds of the

Jesuits in other parts of America. And above all, let him go to the

Filipinas Islands, where he will be surprised to see those remote

fields strewn with spacious temples and convents wherein divine

worship is celebrated with splendor and pomp; regularity in the

streets; ease and even luxury in dress and house; primary schools

in all the villages, and the inhabitants very skilful in the art

of writing; paved highways disclosed to view; bridges constructed

in good architectural style; and the greater portion of the country,

finally, in strict observance of the provisions of good government and

civilization--all the work of the union of the zeal, apostolic labors,

and fiery patriotism of the ministering fathers. Let him traverse the

provinces, where he will see villages of five, ten, and twenty thousand

Indians, ruled in peace by one weak old man who, with his doors open

at all hours, sleeps secure in his dwelling, without other magic or

other guard than the love and respect with which he has been able to

inspire his parishioners. Can it be possible, on contemplating this,

that by the efforts of foolish zealots, and by the vain endeavor that

only those persons assigned by the general laws in ordinary cases

shall intervene in the government of the natives, there should not

only be a waste of the fruit obtained in so long a time and by so

great constancy; but also that, scorning and repelling for the future

a cooperation as efficacious as economical, the attempt should be

made purposely to destroy the royal regulator, the principal wheel

of this machine. Such is, notwithstanding, the deplorable upheaval

of ideas that has conduced in these latter times to the adoption

of regulations diametrically opposed to the public interest, under

pretext of restraining the excessive authority of the parish priests.

"The superior government does not content itself with having

despoiled the ministers of the power of themselves prescribing

certain corrective punishments--which although of slight importance,

contributed infinitely, when applied with discretion, to strengthen

their predominance, and consequently that of the sovereign. But,

in order more effectively to exclude them from and deprive them of

all intervention in civil administration, the attempt has been made

directly to destroy their influence, by arousing the distrust of

the Indian, and by separating, when possible, the latter from their

side. In proof of this, and so that my statement may not be taken as

an exaggeration, it is sufficient to cite substantially two notable

measures which, by their tendency, were obviously intended to weaken

the influence and good reputation of the spiritual administrators.

"By one measure it is decreed that, for the purpose of preventing

the abuses and notorious maladministration of the fund of the saints

(especially attached to the cost of the festivals and the worship

of each parish, formed from the principal and medium parishes--which

are contributed by each individual tributario for that purpose, and

are collected and administered privately by the cura), it should

thereafter be kept in a box with three keys, one of which was to

be in the possession of the alcalde-mayor, another in that of the

gobernadorcillo of the respective village, and the other in that of

the parish priest. By the other measure, it is declared, as a general

point, that the Indian who is or has recently been employed in the

domestic service of the parish priest is disqualified for being chosen

to any office of justice.

"It is surely superfluous to make comments upon measures of such

a nature, and which so clearly speak for themselves. The only thing

that ought to be said is, that means could not more intemperately have

been chosen, that are more harmful to the state, to the propagation

of religion, and even to the natives themselves. It is, indeed, very

strange that so much effort should have been exercised in impeaching

the purity of the parish priests, by degrading in passing their

respectable character, just at the moment when circumstances would

make it appear natural that because on account of the mortality and

scarcity of religious, the ardor and authority of even the few who

remain ought to be encouraged by new stimulation. [This comes, too,]

at a time when because the sending of missionaries to China has been

suspended, and the spiritual conquest of the Igorrotes and other

infidels who inhabit the interior of the islands has been almost

abandoned the said Spanish laborers can neither give any help to

the ordinary administration, nor prevent the transference of whole

provinces to the hands of secular Indians and Sangley mestizos (as

is happening)--who by their crass ignorance, disgraceful morals,

and utter lack of decency, incur universally the contempt of their

parishioners, making them, because of the tyrannies of these, sigh

for the gentle yoke of their former shepherds.

"If it is desired, then, to keep this colony subject, and to elevate

it to the lofty grade of prosperity, of which it is susceptible, in my

opinion the first thing that ought to be attempted is the efficient

organization of its spiritual administration. I say again, that we

cannot be blind to the fact that, if the local government is powerless,

because of the lack of military force and the scarcity of Europeans,

to make itself duly obeyed through its own efforts, it is necessary

to call to its aid the powerful influence of religion, and to bring

new reenforcements of missionaries from the peninsula. For the latter

differ essentially by their nature from the rest of public servants;

it is well known that they neither claim nor expect any remuneration

for their labor, aspiring only to obtain in the community the degree

of respect to which they rightfully believe themselves entitled. Let

their jurisdictions, then, be preserved, let them be treated with

decorum, and let the direction of the Indian be entrusted to them; and

instantly, they will be seen, in turn, reconciled, and the supporters

of the legitimate authority.

"Nothing is more unjust, nor of which the ministering fathers complain

with more reason, than the little discernment with which people have

been accustomed to judge and condemn them, representing as common

to all the body the vices of a few of the members. Consequently,

there is not one who does not read without shame and indignation the

insidious motives and the defamatory expressions lavished against them

in the ordinances of good government drawn up in Filipinas in 1768

[99]--which, although ordered to be modified by his Majesty, are now

in force for lack of others, and are found, printed, in the hands of

all. For even granting that in any case there can actually have existed

a cause for complaint, what will it matter at the end that this or

that father may have abused the confidence reposed in him, so long as

the spirit that animates the whole body of the religious is in accord

with the sanctity of their estate, and in accordance with the aims

of the government? Why must one forever pursue an ideal perfection,

which cannot be obtained, and which is unnecessary in human society?"

Even though this be matter which pertains to a chapter on internal

policy rather than to religion, I can do no less than say, succinctly

and in passing, that in my opinion the ideas of Senor Comyn are very

true; and that nothing could better qualify as men weak in affairs of

state the governors or counselors who dictated the present ordinances

and the above-mentioned measures and phrases printed in them against

the religious. Even supposing those sentences to be very just, wise,

and merited, what need would there be, what gain would result from

printing them and placing them in the hands of the Filipinos?

Those who have no liking for the friars, censure them as egoists

and buffoons; as living in concubinage; as gamblers and usurers;

as arrogant, and ambitious for power.

In respect to refinement, it is known that the majority [of the friars]

are of obscure birth. They pass from the bosom of the family to their

novitiate; thence in a boat to the convent at Manila, and then to

a village where there are no other Spaniards than themselves. Is

it strange, then, that they are not more in the current of social

forms? On that account one ought to overlook the fact that they do

not know more, as is done with an honored artist or farmer. But other

is the motive for this accusation of guilt. It is said that on the

arrival of a Spaniard at a village the friars do not offer him lodging,

and they often will not drink his health in a glass of water--or,

at least, do not go to receive him; while everything is open for

a Filipino. This is sometimes a fact, and has happened to me more

than once; but everything needs explanation, and one must not pass

judgment without hearing both sides. One must remember that there

are at present many vicious and abandoned swindlers in the islands,

especially of the class of creoles; and that such men very often form

the plan to go to travel through the provinces at the cost of the

curas, either to amuse themselves or to seek their fortunes. But,

for amusement, the silver spoons and other trifles of one [of the

curas] have been carried away. There are various others; especially

among the recently-arrived military men, who, brought up among

disturbances, and accustomed to insult the religious with impunity,

have no scruples about telling them what they call "the truths of

the coxswain." "Who could eat free soup [100] as you do, father,

without working?" "What matters to you the good or poor harvest, so

long as you have fools to impose upon?" "How is the stewardess?" "How

many children have you?"--and innumerable others of the same kind,

and even much worse. Anyone can recognize that it is very natural for

these things to happen, and I myself have been a witness of them. There

are more things--namely, that many of those persons who have been in

the convents take delight immediately in publishing the weaknesses

of the cura, abusing the confidence that the latter reposed in him,

and (what is worse) exaggerating, and even mentioning things that

never occurred. If the friar, carried away by the good humor born

of the company of a compatriot, drank a little and became jolly,

then he relates that the friar was drunk. If he saw a woman with a

child in her arms who had come to speak to the friar on any of the

innumerable matters that arise in the village, then he says that

he knew the sweetheart and a child of the friar. If some curas of

neighboring villages assembled, and engaged in playing _brisca_, or

"thirty-one," [101] in order to pass the time, then it is said that

they engaged in gambling. On that account the curas are so cautious of

giving the freedom of their houses and their friendship to transient

Spaniards, that they will now scarcely receive anyone who does not

bring a letter of recommendation; and, considering this sensibly, it

does not seem that they are to be censured for this caution toward

people whom they do not know, in consideration of the fact that in

Manila there is no police office, and a passport is easily given

to whomever asks for it. In spite of all this, some curas--as for

instance, Father Lorieri of Paniqui--without having any notice of

me, received me with gratifying and ready hospitality. For the rest,

the convents are usually the lodging-houses and inns of the village.

The friars in Filipinas are quite different from those in Espana. They

are very glad to see a Spaniard arrive, when they know that he is not

a malicious person. They have traveled, and they have escaped from the

conversations and meetings of the convent; they are more tolerant,

because they have rubbed against many Spaniards of liberal ideas;

they have found that the lion is not so fierce as it is painted, and

that there are respectable people in all parties, and men with good

hearts--especially in that which takes for its goal the good of the

country. How often would we abhor people less if we approached them

and became acquainted with them! We must confess also that the hate

cherished by the religious in Espana toward the liberals proceeds

in great measure from the personal insults which they have endured;

while in Filipinas these are very few and are neutralized by the

tokens of veneration and respect which others pay them, because of

circumstances which are entirely distinct from those of Espana. A

man without prejudice and with a suitable standard of judgment, who

lives in the metropolis [_i.e._, Madrid], sees in a friar the enemy

of reforms, of progress, and of public prosperity; but, when he is in

Filipinas, he sees in this same friar the benefactor of the public,

and the preserver of tranquillity and of the colony. Consequently

he considers and treats the friar differently than in Espana, and

is repaid in the like coin. From this it happens that many who come

from Espana with very exaggerated and preconceived ideas against

the religious--even to the point of never having had relations or

speech with a friar--and here have to come in contact with them, are

surprised to find some (and even very many) of them very sociable,

serviceable, tolerant, and worthy of all appreciation; and this has

happened to me myself, both in Filipinas and in Palestina.

In regard to their being gamblers, I can say that when several curas

of the neighboring villages assemble on the feast-day of a village,

they sometimes play to pass the hot hours of the day; but I have

never seen in the houses of Spanish religious what can be called

play for gaining and losing money, and, in the convents of Manila,

cards are not even played for amusement. I know this positively.

As for some of them leading licentious lives with women, I will

not say that it is false, although I could not say that I know of

such. I believe, indeed, that there is much exaggeration in this as

in other things, and that not one quarter of it is to be believed. An

official, not at all partial to the friars, and who lived several

years in Pangasinan, told me that he never could discover that any

of the Dominicans who minister there had a sweetheart; and that, if

perchance any of them had one, he concealed it very carefully, since

he himself had never known any trace of it. Concerning that point,

I will say, although it appears evil to many, that that offense is

the most excusable, especially in young and healthy men, placed in the

torrid zone. Nature must struggle continually with duty. The garb of

the Filipina women is very seductive; and it is known that the girls,

far from being untractable to the cura, consider themselves lucky to

attract his attention, and their mother, father, and relatives share

that sentiment with them. What virtue and stoicism does not the friar

need to possess! Let those who criticise them on this point imagine

themselves to be living in a village without relatives or friends,

or any other fellow-countrymen, at least with whom they can converse;

and then let them be candid. Don Inigo Azaola told me that, meditating

on the reason why so many Spanish religious went mad, he thought

that it had its origin in the continual struggle between nature and

devotion. [102]

In regard to usurers, there may be some among them who are addicted

to trade, since the business carried on in the provinces consists

chiefly in advancing money at seed-time, in order to receive the

fruits at harvest time at a much lower price than is current in the

market. Surely the cura who embarks in these speculations not only

fails in his most sacred duty, [103] but even gnaws at and gives

a deathblow to the principal base upon which rests the prestige and

veneration enjoyed by the religious of Filipinas. Nothing infuses these

weak and greedy islanders with so much love, surprise, and respect as

does contempt for gold and for earthly goods. The generous minister,

he who gives, will be considered as good, most good, and will obtain

whatever he wants from his parishioners. The greedy and avaricious,

he who does what common and vile men do, will, notwithstanding the

habit in which he is clad, notwithstanding the sermons he preaches,

be considered as mean, if he does not end by being despised and

abhorred. Nevertheless, I can affirm that the religious who trade

are very few, and among the Dominicans, not any. And this, and their

anxiety for saving their stipends and for making money, proceeds

in great measure from the information which they receive concerning

the wretched condition of the religious in Espana, and their fear of

falling into the same condition.

In respect to their pride and ambition to govern, all men have that,

for this is our most powerful instinct; and the priests of all times

and countries have had it. The royal decrees and the articles of

which we have spoken demonstrate quite clearly that those of Filipinas

have not escaped from falling into this sin. Up to a certain point,

one can affirm that the civil government itself--or, to speak more

accurately, circumstances--have placed them in a position where they

must take part in the temporal administration. In a whole province,

there is no other Spaniard in authority except the alcalde-mayor, and

he never knows a word of the idiom of the country (see my remarks on

the administration of justice). Hence it necessarily arises that the

alcalde-mayor does not know more than the natives allow him to know;

and that the gobernadorcillos of the villages are masters, inasmuch

as in everything they do whatever they think proper. In order to

obviate these inconveniences, scarcely is any document asked in

which the government does not require the supervision of the cura;

and in this way it obliges him to be acquainted with matters quite

at variance with his ministry. The cura possesses the language,

resides in the village, has the means of the confessional, [104]

and when he wishes there are but few matters, even the most trivial,

that can be hidden from him. On the contrary the alcalde, not having

any of these advantages, can have knowledge of but few things, if

the parish priest does not communicate them. I shall quote here what

father Fray Manuel del Rio says on this point. "Although the temporal

government of the village that he administers does not belong to the

obligation of the minister of souls, but it may, on the contrary,

be prejudicial to his obligation and ministry for him to meddle

too much in this; yet on certain occasions it is necessary for the

minister to put his shoulder to the wheel so that the village may be

well governed--now by directing the gobernadorcillos in its employ,

now by encouraging them and giving them zeal and energy and courage in

certain decisions which they, through their cowardice, do not dare to

make unless an order or command proceed from the minister; now also by

restraining the audacity of the greater against the less, in order to

prevent the annoyances that the chiefs practice upon their _cailianes_

[105]--thereby protecting the cause of the wretched, which is one

of the duties that the council of Trent (in the place cited at the

beginning of this work), commits to those who are ministers of souls.

"There are two kinds or modes of annoyances which the Indians who are

more influential practice on those of lower rank. Some are peculiar

to the cabezas de barangay, with their cailianes; others are common

to every kind of rich Indian toward the poor. I shall first treat of

those of the first class, and next, of those of the second.

"First, the cabezas are accustomed to impose on their cailianes certain

taxes of silver, rice, and other products, under pretexts that they

there feign, of service to the church or to the village. Perhaps,

they cast the blame on the alcalde, who is most often unaware of such

taxes and is not told of them. The remedy is that, when the minister

learns of it, he causes the cabezas to be punished, and the silver

to be returned to the cailianes.

"Second, when the father or some passenger pays the Indian rowers

or carriers, or tanores, through the medium of the cabeza or of the

government, the silver generally does not reach the hands of the

Indians; but the cabezas keep it, under pretexts which they advance

that the Indians owe a certain polo or tribute, long overdue, or

similar things. The same thing happens with the money which the father

or passengers give them with which to buy provisions, and, with the

_opas_ of those who perform personal duty for others. The remedy for

all this is for the minister to solicit him to pay the money to all

[the Indians] into their own hands; and especially should he do that in

what he buys [from them] or when he makes the Indians perform any work.

"Third, that in the polos the cabezas exempt whomever they wish,

without other justification than that they choose to do so; and

because those persons contribute silver, tobacco, or rice to the

cabeza, thereby exempting themselves from personal service throughout

the year. In that way the yoke of the polos and personal service is

loaded on those of less influence. Consequently the personal service

comes upon the Indians more frequently; _e.g._, although the village

can have two months of rest (if there is order and harmony), it is

usual for lack of that to have a return [of the personal service]

every month, or every six weeks, if the minister does not attend

to it, or intervene in the distribution of the personal service,

by investigating and showing up these frauds of the cabezas.

"Fourth, in the tree-cuttings that arise for the king or for the

village, all those who are cited do not go, many redeeming themselves

with money which they give to their cabeza or to the petty officer

[who exacts the work], thus burdening with all the work those who

go--from which it follows that the felling of the timber is extended

in time, and lasts longer than is necessary; and also that the petty

officers or the cabezas make the Indians work for their own private

interests. All of the above cannot be remedied unless the minister

undertake to station secret spies, to advise him of the number of

those who go, and also of those who work there more than is necessary

for the king or for the village--so that those who shall be involved

in such frauds may be punished, and so that they may be made to pay

what they have usurped.

"Fifth, the gobernadorcillos of the villages appoint the officials

whom they wish to help in their government. Many of them buy off

their personal attention to it with money, which they give to the

gobernadorcillo, and only help on Sundays with their authority,

remaining the rest of the time in their houses. Consequently,

the personal service of the village falls on very few, because of

these and other like exemptions by the gobernadorcillos and cabezas

for money, by which they themselves alone profit. For this reason,

one must assign a definite number of bilangos or constables, outside

of which number the gobernadorcillo cannot assign others. It appears

sufficient that in villages of five hundred tributes twelve bilangos

be appointed, so that each week four may aid, together with their

constable-in-chief and lieutenant. In smaller villages nine are

sufficient, so that three may aid every week. In very large villages

there may be fifteen or eighteen, so that five or six may assist every

week. Thus in all the villages the bilangos would rest two weeks, which

is sufficient relaxation, since their personal duty is not very heavy.

"Sixth, in the collection of tributes, the cabezas perform many acts

of injustice; for some are accustomed to collect the entire tribute

of rice, and then to collect separately what they call 'the stipend

of the father,' as if that were not included in the tribute. Some

collect from each person six gantas more than they ought to give;

for in many villages they receive fifty-eight cates as a kind of half

tribute, and in others they receive from one house sixty cates from

one and fifty-five from another, and it amounts to the same. There

is generally an inequality in the balances used for weighing there

in the field, where only God is witness, and the cabeza or collector,

who weighs according to his pleasure. Not less is the deceit existing

in the collection of oil, for double the amount asked from them by

the king is usually taken, and the cabezas keep it; because they

assess it among all the cailianes, although often half the barangay

would be sufficient to obtain the assessment, and thus they could

alternate between the two halves each year. All these troubles are

usually encountered, and the worst is that they are often concealed

so skilfully that the minister can learn of them but seldom; and for

that reason I write them here, so that warning may be taken and the

remedy procured--not only in respect to the charge on the consciences

of those who occasion them, but in the matter of restitution to the

sufferers, not neglecting to check these abuses, and to solicit that

they be condignly punished by the civil authority.

"Seventh, others make their cailianes serve the entire year in their

house or field, under pretext of paying their tribute for them. Some

deliver them to mestizos or to other Indians, as if they were their

slaves. In this way there are cabezas who hold many cailianes in

slavery, making them serve in their houses for many years--without

allowing them sometimes to hear mass or to go to the village, so that

the father may not see them.

"All public works, both great and small, ought to be consulted over

with the village itself which has to construct and pay for them. But

it is to be noted that the village does not settle upon them, but

the cabezas only. Rather they are a suspicious party, in this point,

for if there is any work in the village, the cabezas are wont to have

the greatest advantage from it. Consequently, they are generally the

first to encourage the government officials to undertake any work;

for not only do they not have to work at it, but they hope to get

some benefit from it by the methods which they know how to use."

The reading of these instructions can give an idea of the internal

government of a Filipino settlement, and the impossibility that

impartiality and efficient justice can rule, if there is no

intervention by the cura. I will add that the latter regards the

village in a certain manner as his own. He enjoys seeing its prosperity

and its advancement, as he thinks that this is his work. He takes an

interest in its having good roads, harvests, tools, irrigation, and

everything that can enrich and beautify it. Many curas spend all their

money in public works, and on their churches. They rival one another,

each striving to have in his own village the richest altars, the best

houses, musicians, schools, and finely-dressed people. It is a sight

worth seeing, a friar constituting himself overseer and director of a

wooden bridge or of a causeway--administering a buffet to this one,

a shove to another; praising that one, or calling this other a lazy

fellow; giving a bunch of cigars to the one who stays an hour longer

to work, or carries most bricks up to the scaffold; promising to

kill a cow for the food of next day; and making them offers, often

without any intention of fulfilling them, only with the object of

encouraging them, and deceiving them like children. [106] But whoever

knows the country can do no less than confess that this is the only

means to get any advantage out of the lazy and childish Filipinos,

who have no needs; and that the cura has infinite advantages over

the governor, for his buffets do not offend, his requests oblige,

and his love to the village and his disinterestedness captivate

and interest these people, and make them as wax. Thus indeed can it

be said that the cura is the soul of the village. In any province

where its ruler is united with the curas, where the latter honor the

alcalde and instruct him of all that happens, and he gives them the

aid that is necessary to preserve their prestige--in that province,

I say, there are no thefts, no disorders, no complaints, no tears, no

insurrections, nor any other thing but a complete and durable peace,

[107] and great submission and reverence to the Spaniards. At the

present time that may be seen in the provinces where the governor has

the right desires and a clear understanding, and recognizes the error

into which the government has fallen during the last few years, in

trying to deprive the curas of the civil administration, by forcing

them to reduce themselves to spiritual matters, and to tolerate

irreligious acts. The province of Pangasinan, for example, finds

itself in this case under the orders of the worthy alcalde-mayor,

Don Francisco de Lila, a volunteer of the militia of Manila and

a very decided liberal: I have traveled through this province by

night, with only one servant, without arms, and quite without fear,

although there was not a soldier in the whole province. The horses

and buffaloes were feeding in the meadows without herders; and, on my

arrival at the capital, I went out with him in his carriage. In all

the streets and from all the windows, we were saluted with great show

of affection, and the children began to jump for joy, and to cry out,

"Good afternoon, father." The tears started to my eyes, and I said:

"Ah, simple people, how little do you know the blessing that you

enjoy! Neither hunger, nor nakedness, nor inclemency of the weather

troubles you. With the payment of seven reals per year, you remain free

of contributions. You do not have to close your houses with bolts. You

do not fear that the district troopers will come in to lay waste your

fields, and trample you under foot at your own firesides. You call

'father' the one who is in command over you. Perhaps there will come

a time when you will be more civilized, and you will break out in

revolution; and you will awake terrified at the tumult of the riots,

and will see blood flowing through these quiet fields, and gallows

and guillotines erected in these squares, which never yet have seen

an execution." "But is it not true also," I reflected later, "that

this present happiness may be transitory up to a certain point, and

that a changing of the captain-general or of the alcalde can cause

great evils, and change the aspect of so pleasing a picture? Yes,

it is a lamentable truth; and I shall do what is in my power so that

your lot may be less precarious, and so that the government which

rules you may be so organized that you may be as little as possible

subject to the injustice and avarice of men; and so that, wherever

you see a Spaniard, you may salute him with love and call him father."

But returning from our digressions to our matter in hand, I believe

that if it is useful and indispensable for the parish priest to

know, directly or indirectly, the particular affairs of the village,

it is evident that far from undermining his authority, it ought to

strengthen it as much as possible. From the time of the conquest,

the curas have availed themselves of the expedient of applying some

lashes to the natives, when the fathers have believed it necessary

in order to correct faults, whether religious or those of another

kind; and it is known that this has contributed not a little to the

preservation of devotion. It is also known that they have not been

hated for this by the islanders; but, on the contrary, the friars

have constantly merited their love and have enjoyed a prestige which

no one doubts. Everyone knows that if the friars have shown themselves

exaggerated and unreasonable in anything, it has been in the protection

of the Filipinos--more, indeed, than they deserved and than healthy

justice demanded. Let us listen to the following words of Fray Casimiro

Diaz: "The old laws in regard to the execution of the tributes were

harsh, even to the point of making slaves of the debtors, and even

killing them with lashes, or mutilating them. And although these laws

were abolished from the time of Constantine as wicked, and have with

the law of Christ been moderated within judicious limits, this benefit

has not been obtained by the Indians. The Indian is beaten for his

tribute. The goods of the Indian are sold for the tribute, and he is

left destitute all his life. The Indian is enslaved for the tribute;

for the cabeza de barangay, under pretext that he is getting back

what the Indian owes, takes his house away from him, and, for the five

reals that the Indian owes, makes him serve one whole year. In short,

the wrongs which the tribute brings upon the poor wretch are so many,

that the greatest charity which the parish priest can show him is to

pay it himself." The above shows how this good father grieves because

the Indian has to pay five reals per year--five reals, which a Filipino

can get by simply planting a cocoa or cacao tree at the door of his

hut. How happy would be the Spaniards, or the French and English, and

any other Europeans, if they had no more to pay than that! But it is

not credible that Father Diaz was unacquainted with the people who so

broke his heart, and that he did not know the measures resorted to in

the country. A few pages farther on the same father says: "The poverty

of these Indians is not their curse, but it is their own idleness

and laziness, and they content themselves with little. They are not

ruled by covetousness; and, although there is some covetousness,

their fondness for doing nothing tempers it, and they wish to live

rather by providence than to dedicate themselves to work." What, then,

would the good Father Diaz wish? that the Filipinos should not be

made to contribute even the little amount that they now contribute,

and that the government of Espana should send money there from the

mother country in order to meet all the expenses of state, at the cost

of increasing the heavy taxes which the Spaniards already pay? And

all this, for what motive? Because the Filipinos are very "fond of

doing nothing, desiring rather to live under the care of providence

than to dedicate themselves to work." For thus are the fathers all,

often carrying this enthusiasm or mania for protection to a ridiculous

extreme--for it is the same to touch one of their parishioners and the

apple of their eye. At times they make use of unjust and compromising

expressions: Thus the tobacco monopoly is "an imposition" or "a bit of

knavery." The impost for elections of gobernadorcillos, the signing

of a passport, or any other accidental expense which is incurred [by

the Indian], is "a theft." The services for the repairing of roads

and bridges are "annoyances" or "tyrannies." And so on all in this

tenor. Many would wish that the Filipino be left stretched out at ease

all day long, and that afterward the manna should fall, and he have

no other work than to open his mouth. Whoever has known the country,

especially in former years, can do no less than say that there is not

the least exaggeration in the picture which I draw; that the letters

and remonstrances of the religious are what have been influential

in dictating the laws of the Indias--which breathe out in every one

of their lines, so great piety and mildness that one would believe

that they treat only of innocent and tender lambs which are found

among wolves. These know, too, that this same spirit has always led

the religious to support the quarrels that have arisen against the

civil and military government, which have, for the greater part,

given origin to royal orders against them, and to the indiscreet

articles of the ordinances which we have cited. Notwithstanding

all this, during the last years certain new arrivals from Espana,

especially those of the class of auditors and governors-general,

have been feverish on hearing that the curas of the villages have

whippings administered; and decrees have been fulminated against

many provinces, in order to check this. In fact, they have attained

that object; but the result of this most fatal error has been the

increase of impiety in an astonishing manner, and there are a great

number of villages where few go to mass, and more than the third part

refuse to take the communion--which is probably also the cause of the

increase in criminality which has been noted. But a short time ago,

during the government of General Lardizabal, the religious presented

a petition through the archbishop, asking that they be allowed to

administer corrective punishment at the door of the church, as had

always been their custom with those who were remiss in complying with

the duties of religion. The government replied that the curas should

avail themselves in such cases of advice and admonition, but that

they should under no circumstances punish anyone corporally; and to

complete matters, this ruling was circulated and communicated to the

natives themselves, a measure that caused the greatest grief to the

parish priests. The good Senor Lardizabal, who had an excellent heart,

himself told me this incident, very well satisfied at the manner in

which it had worked. We shall discuss this matter more at length in

the chapter on "Internal policy."

There are regular and secular clergy in Filipinas. The latter are more

numerous, and include some mestizos, Chinese, and many full-blooded

Filipinos. The bishops, in spite of being Spanish, have almost

always shown themselves hostile to the friars and patrons to the

seculars. The origin of this partiality must be found in the old-time

fight between the bishops and the regular curas--who defend their

rights with tenacity; while the natives are submissive and most humble

to the prelates and flatter them. Notwithstanding the protection of

the bishops, the seculars have generally had a very bad reputation;

and many private persons, of every class and in every epoch, have

openly declared against them.

The religious now living in Filipinas, excepting those of the

Order of St. Francis, are not able to fill the curacies in their

charge--although there are curas who take under their charge an

extension which they are unable, notwithstanding all their efforts, to

administer well. The cura of Surigao has twelve visitas or dependent

towns. From this condition there results, among other evils, this:

that when there is any cura who is unruly or of evil conduct, there

is no method of summoning him to the convent and replacing him with

another. Hence proceeds the laxity which is consequent on impunity.

I have been not a little surprised to see that there is a lack of

religious in Filipinas, where they enjoy the thorough protection of

the government, and great consideration in the villages; where all

have at least what is necessary to live with ease, [108] since they

are able to command more from their domestic servants, and from all

the singers, sacristans, and other dependents of the Church--and this

while in Espana there is such an oversupply of them, and they live so

uncomfortably. The curacy is generally worth to the parish priest one

peso fuerte [109] to each tribute. The ministers of villages which

contain more than one thousand five hundred or two thousand tributes

usually have one or more assistants, according to their wish, with the

consent of the bishop. The parish priest generally gives the assistant

a house, his board, and ten or twelve pesos fuertes per month; and

leaves to him the fees for the masses, which are worth to him in

excess of one peso fuerte every day--so that, besides his lodging

and support, the assistant can count upon thirty-five or forty pesos

fuertes per month. The administrative ecclesiastical division follows:

There is one archbishop in the capital, and three suffragans--to wit,

the bishop of Nueva Segovia, he of Nueva Caceres, and he of Zebu.

The archbishopric includes the provinces of Tondo, Bulacan, Pampanga,

Batangas, Cavite, Laguna, Bataan, Zambales, and Mindoro. It contains

one hundred and sixty-seven curacies, of which ninety-five are served

by religious, and seventy-two by secular priests.

The bishopric of Nueva Segovia comprises the provinces of Pangasinan,

Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, Cagayan, and the missions of Ituy, of

Pangui, of Abra, and of Batanes. It contains ninety-two curacies,

of which eighty are served by religious, and twelve by seculars.

The bishopric of Nueva Caceres comprises the provinces of Tayabas,

part of Nueva Ecija, Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, and Albay. It

contains eighty-four curacies, of which twenty-seven are served by

religious, and fifty-seven by seculars.

The bishopric of Zebu comprises the provinces of Zebu, Iloilo,

Capis, Antique, Negros, Caraga, Misamis, Zamboanga, Samar, Leyte,

and Marianas (three hundred leguas distant). It contains one hundred

and forty-three curacies, of which eighty-six are served by regulars

and fifty-seven by seculars.

At present there are four hundred and fifty Spanish religious

in Filipinas, and seven hundred Filipino secular priests, or

thereabouts. More than three per cent of the Spaniards die annually;

so that, in order that their present number may not diminish, it is

necessary for fifteen to go there annually.

As a conclusion to this chapter, I cannot resist the desire to insert

the words of a wise religious of Filipinas of former days, Father

Pedro Murillo Velarde, as it may be useful to the ministers of the

present time who may read these pages.

"To take the mean of the proportion in the administration of the

Indians is one of the most difficult matters of the prudence. The

parish priest must be in the village the loving father, the hospitable

tutor, the master and diligent teacher of his parishioners; and as

such he must not treat them as if he were a seignior of vassals. He

must be dignified, but without affecting majesty. He should always

strive to be loved, rather than feared. He must be affable, but not

vulgar. He must not separate himself far from intercourse with his

parishioners, nor be too familiar. He should visit them in charity

rather than in affection. He should listen to their complaints, but

not to their malicious reports. He should settle their controversies,

but not in a partial manner. He should not be altogether credulous,

nor despise everything. If one Indian accuses another, he should

ascertain, before all else, whether they have quarreled. He must not

be all honey, nor all gall. He should punish, but not flay off the

skin. If the Indian knows that there is no whip near, the village

will be quickly lost. A good beating at the proper time is the best

antidote for all sorts of poisons; for, in the end, fear guards the

vineyard. In punishments, let him show himself a father, not a hangman;

and, in case of doubt, let him incline rather to mildness than to

severity. Let him hear quarrels and discussions with the alcaldes,

but let him not allow them to fleece his sheep. Let him defend his

own jurisdiction, but not usurp that of another. Let him not become

an alcalde unless the alcalde tries to become a cura. If he is unable

to settle the quarrels of the Indians satisfactorily, he shall allow

them to go to the alcalde, who will quickly render them harmonious by

laughing at the matter of the quarrel. Let him handle books, but not

cards. [110] Let him [not] direct the Indians in the government of

his village, but let him leave them to those who govern them; for the

wish to command is a sort of itch in Filipinas. Consequently, let him

leave to each one the care of what God has given him. Let him check

sins, but not lawful games and amusements, since thereby other and

illicit amusements will be prevented. Let him eradicate drunkenness,

but not prohibit all use of wine to all; for, if the cura drinks wine,

why should not the Indian drink it in moderation? Let him not pour out

the wine or break the wine-jars; for who has given him any authority

for that? Because of some of these acts of imprudence, certain foolish

laymen say that the ministers who come from Europa to become martyrs,

become more than kings in their villages.

"Let him attend to the affairs of God, and not obstruct those of

Caesar. Let him be the mirror of the village, so that all may imitate

him; but not a telescope, to register foolish trifles. Let him get

from the Indian what the latter is able to give; for he who tries to

get everything loses everything. If the Indians learn that their sins

are unpardonable, many will take to the hills. If the father is very

harsh in the confessional, many sacrileges may be feared. In assigning

penance, let him incline to mildness rather than to rigor, if he wishes

the penance to be observed. Let his diligence when he preaches be not

long, but fervid; for one onza of gold is worth more than an arroba

of straw. Let him explain to the Indians what is necessary for their

salvation, and let him not play the discreet among them. Let him use

similes and examples in his sermons that they can understand, and

not plunge into depths of abstract ideas, for that is a jargon which

they do not understand; and they especially detest Latin phrases. The

statement that the Indians have no faith is a pretext of the devil,

to discourage the gospel ministers. Let him do with fervor whatever

he finds to do, that the corresponding fruit may not be lacking; and

even when there should be no fruit, God will reward his zeal. Let

him not raise difficulties in taking the sacraments to the fields,

but let it be with the reverence due. Let him insist on the presence

of the boys at the school, for the good that follows from that is

great; but let him not urge them so much that he wearies them. Let

him receive the fees of the Church, but let him not collect with

the severity of a warrant-holder. Let the Indians know that the

cura is looking after their souls, not their purses; and let him

remember that he came from Europa to remove disease from the sheep,

not to take their wool. Let him give alms, but let him not scatter the

patrimony of Christ uselessly. It will be a suitable alms to provide

his parishioners with medals, rosaries, catechisms, and bulls [of

the crusade]. [111] Let him not permit idle spongers in the village,

who are goblins of cursed consequences; and the whiter they are, the

worse. Let the cura be found more often in the houses of the sick and

dying, than in weddings, games, and dances. He should let the customs

of the villages alone, when they involve no grave disadvantages,

for innovations alter men's dispositions; and more than anything

else must he shun causing innovation in the prayer, and in matters

pertaining to the Church and the method of administration. Let him

encourage congregations, devotions, and novenas, frequent confession,

daily mass, and the rosary, but let him warn the Indians that these are

not for obligation but for devotion, since perhaps they sin through

ignorance, when there is no guilt. The soul of the missionary or

parish priest has a thousand dangers in the solitude of a village;

but with prayer and mortification he can overcome all. Chastity is

a flower so delicate that it takes but little to make it wither:

the heart of man, the opportunity for temptations, the frequency of

errors, and the ease with which men stumble, are as tinder and fire,

which are kindled, whoever blows. Do not believe that in this regard

there is any caution that is too great in the Indias. In the external

encounters that may arise with alcaldes or with others, let the cura

endeavor to conquer them by patience rather than by arrogance. Let

him remember that Jesus Christ says we should offer the other cheek

to him who smites us; and let him reflect that in the tribunal of

God, and even that of men, more is to be gained by humility than by

valor. Let him reflect that he is a secular or a religious; and that

the weapons of such are tears, prayer, and penance."

ECCLESIASTICAL SYSTEM IN THE PHILIPPINES

[Buzeta and Bravo (_Diccionario_, i, pp. 542-545; ii, pp. 271-275,

363-367) thus describe the ecclesiastical estate of the Philippines:]

Archbishopric of Manila

Manila is in this regard, as in all other departments, the metropolitan

city of the Spanish countries in the Orient. Its see is archiepiscopal,

and has as suffragans the bishoprics of Nueva Caceres, Nueva Segovia,

and Cebu, descriptions of which can be found in their respective

articles. The territory over which it presides, as proper to itself,

includes the ten civil provinces nearest to Manila--namely, Tondo,

Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva-Ecija, Batangas, Laguna, Cavite, Bataan,

Zambales, and Mindoro--in addition to the small island of Corregidor,

which is found outside the said province, and which forms a military

police commandancy. It is not so extensive, with these provinces,

as are its suffragan sees; but it is the one that unites the greatest

number of souls.

The territory included in it extends about 100 leguas north and south

and 29 more in breadth toward the west, the villages most distant from

its capital being some 40 leguas to the north, and about 60 to the

south. It is bounded on the north by the diocese of Nueva Segovia, and

on the south by that of Cebu. Its western boundaries are maritime. The

number of parishes of this diocese, the secular and regular curas who

have charge of them, and the number of villages that they contain,

will be seen in chart number 8. [112]

For the more efficient ecclesiastical administration of the territory

included in this archbishopric, the parish curas of certain villages

also extend their jurisdiction to eighteen vicariates or outside

districts, namely: in the province of Tondo, that of Mariquina; in

the province of Bataan, that of Balanga; in the province of Cavite,

that of Bacor; in the province of Mindoro, those of Calayan and

Santa Cruz; in the province of Batangas, those of Taal, San Pablo,

and Rosario; in the province of Laguna, those of Limban, Calauan,

and Cabuyas; in the province of Bulacan, those of Quingua and Marilao;

in the province of Zambales, that of Iba; in the province of Pampanga,

those of San Fernando and Candaba; in the province of Nueva-Ecija,

those of Puncan and Baler. The curas of the above-mentioned villages

are the outside vicars of their respective districts. They receive

orders and instructions indiscriminately from the vicar-general and

from the diocesan, from each one in accordance with the attributes

of his office. It must be noted that this division into districts

is subject to continual variations at the will of the bishop who

wears the miter--now in relation to the number, and again with

respect to the village. When it is said that the outside vicars

depend immediately on the vicars-general or provisors, one must not,

under any consideration, understand that the latter constitute an

authority or jurisdiction intermediate between the outside vicar and

the archbishop; but that they are the means by which communication

with the said archbishop ought to be held. The present prelate of

this metropolitan church is his Excellency the most illustrious and

reverend Don Fray Jose Aranguren, member of his Majesty's Council,

knight of the grand cross of Isabel the Catholic, senator of the

kingdom, and deputy vicar-general of the royal land and naval armies

of all our eastern possessions. He was consecrated on January 31,

1847. The cabildo of this holy and metropolitan church, the only such

church in Filipinas, is composed of five dignitaries, three canons,

two racioneros, two medio-racioneros, and the suitable number of

ministers, whose salaries may be seen in the following chart.

Chart of the revenues of the clergy of the cathedral of Manila

Personal Pesos Reals of

fuertes silver

The archbishop, 5,000

The dean, 2,000

4 dignitaries, at 1,450 pesos each, 5,800

3 canons, at 1,250 pesos each, 2,690 [sic]

2 racioneros, at 1,100 pesos each, 2,200

2 medio-racioneros, at 915 pesos each, 1,830

1 master of ceremonies, 400

2 cura-rectors, at 500 pesos each, 1,000

1 sacristan, 250

Another sacristan, 150

1 verger, 190

Material

For the archbishop's mail, 14 6

To the cabildo, for the music, church

repair, wine, wax, and oil, 2,860

To the cura of the cathedral for oil

and wine, 26

Total, 25,410 [sic] 6

The ecclesiastical court is composed of the most excellent

and illustrious archbishop, the provisor and vicar-general, the

ecclesiastical fiscal, a recording secretary, a vice-secretary, an

archivist, and two notarial treasurers of the secular class. The

provisorial court is formed by the provisor, who is at the same

time vicar-general and judge of the chaplains. He is charged with

the performance of judicial acts in ecclesiastical matters, and is

accompanied by notaries. This unctionary did not formerly have the

investiture as licentiate of laws, and was assisted by a matriculated

lawyer of the royal Audiencia. The creation of the ecclesiastical

fiscal was posterior to that of the ecclesiastical courts; and

his institution is due to the authority of the pontiffs, who have

especially charged said functionaries with the defense of the integrity

of marriages, and other duties peculiar to their employments. The

charge of provisor was at first exercised constantly by the Augustinian

fathers, by virtue of the _amnimodo_ authority granted by the popes;

later, their attributes passed to the Franciscan fathers, by agreement

with them. But the archbishop of Mejico, considering himself empowered

to appoint ecclesiastical judges (who were to be the vicars and

provisors of these dominions), sent two clerics with authorization to

exercise the said offices. The governor, [113] however, with his rank

as royal vice-patron, protected the regulars in their privileges, and

ordered Father Alfaro to exercise the said office alone. Afterward,

when the suffragan bishoprics were created, and that of Manila was

erected to the dignity of a metropolitan, with the archiepiscopal

hierarchy, the appointment of provisors was regulated.

The spiritual administration of any of the bishoprics that fall

vacant devolves upon the metropolitan archbishop, and the latter is

the one empowered to appoint a provisor or capitular vicar. In case

that the archiepiscopal metropolitan see should become vacant also,

the government devolves upon the nearest bishop; and if there be two

bishops at equal distances, it devolves upon the senior of these. In

accordance with the terms of a royal decree dated April 22, 1705,

it is ordered that the expenses incurred by the prelates on their

episcopal visits are to be met by the royal treasury. The manner in

which the _espolios_, [114] are collected was determined by a royal

decree, dated June 24, 1821.

The secular clergy is divided into parochial and non-parochial. In the

latter class are included the persons employed in the metropolitan

cathedral; to the same class belong the four provisors of the other

dioceses.

The provisor or vicar-general of this diocese holds the title of

judge of chaplains, but that title is not held by the provisors of

the other bishoprics.

By a general rule, the provisors of the respective dioceses are

directors of the conciliar seminaries; but that is not the case with

the provisor of this archbishopric, who is at present dean of the

cathedral. The presidents of the said establishments are, as a rule,

also procurators of the same. The commissary of the crusade and the

attorney-general of the ecclesiastical court are at present members

of the choir of the cathedral of Manila--as are also the rector of

the college of San Jose, and the secretary and the vice-secretary of

the archbishop. But this circumstance does not constitute a general

rule, as it is a purely personal favor. Among the employees of the

ecclesiastical court of Manila are five chief notaries--of whom one

is pensioned [_jubilado_], another despatches the business relative to

the tribunal of the crusade, and the three remaining ones form part of

the ecclesiastical courts suffragan to this archbishopric. There are,

further, two secretaries of the diocesan courts of Manila and Cebu--the

latter being a modern creation, as are also a vice-secretary of the

archbishop, and a vice-secretary of the bishop of Nueva Caceres;

also an archivist of the archbishop, a commissary-general of the

crusade, eight royal chaplains (inclusive of the chaplain-in-chief),

one supernumerary, and the father sacristan; and twelve employees in

the seminaries of the four bishoprics, with the name of directors,

presidents, rectors, vice-rectors, lecturers, and sacristans. To this

number one must add ten more who proceed from the three colleges and

the university--who bear the titles of rector, professors, readers,

secretary, and master of ceremonies--and thirty chaplains. In the

latter number are included those who serve in the detachments of the

army; those assigned for the colleges, hospitals, and hospitiums; and

those who are paid by certain corporations, such as the Audiencia,

etc. In this number those of the royal chapel are not included; for

their institution is to provide their divisions, and the boats of the

fleet, with priests when those of the former class are lacking. Their

total amounts to ninety-three.

Coming now to the seminarists, their number cannot be determined, for

it varies every year. But by adopting an average for the students in

the conciliar seminary of Manila in 1842 and 48 [_sic_; 43?]--namely,

some twenty-five, counting priests, deacons, subdeacons, those who have

taken the lesser orders, and those who have taken the tonsure--one may

calculate that the four seminaries will contain about one hundred

students; so that, adding these to the ninety-three preceding,

belonging also to the secular clergy, the number increases to one

hundred and ninety-three. There are also in each one of the bishoprics

some secular ecclesiastics employed under the immediate orders of the

diocesans, who bear the name of pages, cross-bearers, etc., whose

number cannot be determined. One is also unable to calculate the

number of those who have been ordained under the title of patrimony,

[115] and chaplaincies [116] of blood or of class, etc. By a royal

decree of June 1, 1799, order was given for the curas to pay the

three per cent for the sustenance of the seminaries.

Before concluding this review, we must also show that there are some

arrangements that are common to both secular and regular clergy--those

which make it indifferent, for the discharge of certain duties or

commissions, whether they are secular or regular priests. Such are

outside vicariates, and the chaplaincies of presidios, fortresses, etc.

From the founding of Manila until it obtained its first bishop there

was a space of ten years. Its first prelate was suffragan to the

metropolitan see of Mejico. But seventeen years after, and twenty-seven

from the foundation of the city, in the year 1596, and by means of the

bull of Clement VIII, despatched at the proposal of King Don Felipe II,

it was separated from that see, and was erected into a metropolitan,

with the three suffragan sees which it has at present.

Bishopric of Cebu

Cebu, formerly called Sogbu, is a suffragan bishopric of the

archbishopric of Manila, which bounds it on the north. This diocese was

created in 1595, at the same time as those of Nueva Segovia and Nueva

Caceres, at the request of the monarch, Felipe II, by brief of his

Holiness Clement VIII. Its first bishop was Don Fray Pedro de Agurto,

who took possession of this bishopric on October 14, 1598. He who at

present occupies the see is his Excellency Don Romualdo Gimeno, who

is governing the diocese worthily to the honor and glory of God, and

the gain of the metropolitan see, having begun his office February 27,

1847. This diocese includes at present the civil provinces of Cebu,

Negros, Leyte, Samar, Capiz, Antique, Misamis, Caraga, Nueva-Guipuzcoa,

Zamboanga, Calamianes, and the Marianas. Among those provinces are

counted one hundred and seventy-nine curacies, of which one hundred and

twelve are held by regular missionaries, and fifty-five by seculars

(either Indian or mestizo clergy), as will be seen from chart number

6. [117]

The ecclesiastical court is composed of a provisor and vicar-general,

who is at present the priest Don Esteban Meneses; of a secretary of

the exchequer and of government, which office is filled by Doctor Don

Marcos del Rosario; and of a notary, who is Don Pedro Magno, a priest.

In the following chart can be seen the revenues assigned to the parish

clergy of the cathedral of Cebu, and the expenses for worship assigned

to the same.

Chart showing the revenues of the clerical cathedral of Cebu, and

their distribution for the services of divine worship

Classes Pesos Reals of Maravedis

fuertes silver

One reverend bishop, 4,000 0 0

Two assistant chaplains

for the throne, at 100

pesos apiece, 200 0 0

Two sacristans of the

cathedral and curacy, at

91 pesos, 7 reals, and

6 maravedis each, 183 6 12

One chaplain of the fort, 96 0 0

Expenses

For the wine, oil, wax, etc.,

which are allowed to the

chaplain of the fort or

fortress, 52 2 0

For the alms assigned to the

cathedral for divine worship, 438 4 17

_Idem_ to the chapel del

Pilar of Zamboanga for the

festivities, 41 4 17

Total, 5,012 0 46

The college seminary of San Carlos, which is located in the city of

Santo Nino de Cebu--the capital of the island of its name and of

those called Visayas, and the residence of the most excellent and

illustrious bishop, to whose authority and vigilance are submitted all

matters relating to the spiritual part--has about eighteen or twenty

pupils, counting seminarists and collegiates. In that institution

are taught grammatical studies [_minimos_], syntax, philosophy, and

moral theology, whose respective chairs are in charge of learned and

industrious professors. The territory of the civil provinces which

form this bishopric is divided into twenty-four outside districts

for its better ecclesiastical administration, eighteen of which are

in charge of the parish priests of the following villages: in the

province of Negros, those of Jimamailan and Siquijor; in the island of

Cebu, there is one in the city of that name, and the rest in Danao,

Barilis, Siquijor, and Dimiao; in Caraga, that of Bacuag; in the

island of Leyte, that of Jilongos or Hilongos, and that of Burauen or

Buraven--the first on the western coast, and the second on the eastern;

in the province of Iloilo, that of Tigbauan (which also belongs to

the province of Antique), and that of Mandurreao in the province of

Capiz, that of Manga or Banga, and that of Mandalay or Mandalag; in

the province of Nisamis, that of Cagayan; and in the Marianas Islands,

some three hundred leguas distant, those of Agana, Agat, and Rota. In

this number are lacking those of the provinces of Nueva-Guipuzcoa,

Calamianes, and Samar, which can all be thus calculated: at one

parish in the first province, as it is of modern creation and thinly

populated; three in the second, as it is composed of various islands;

and some two in the last. This is a total of twenty-four vicariates

or outside districts. The ecclesiastics, both secular and regular,

appointed to discharge these duties, exercise, in addition to the

functions peculiar to their ministry, the ecclesiastical jurisdiction

in the villages assigned to their respective outside districts,

which are immediately subordinate to the vicar-general of the diocese,

who is the provisor of the same. It is to be noted, in regard to this

ecclesiastical division, that it is found to be subject to continual

alterations, in regard both to the number of ecclesiastical vicariates,

and to the curas who discharge these duties.

The considerable extent of this bishopric, which is the largest in

the Filipinas Islands--whose provinces are widely separated from

one another, some of those provinces even being composed of numerous

islets as its separate parts--has given occasion for various petitions

proposing the division of this bishopric into two parts, as a matter of

greater advantage to the Church and to the State. Apropos of this, the

bishop of Cebu, Don Fray Santos Gomez Maranon, declared in a respectful

representation which he addressed to his Majesty, King Don Fernando

VII, under date of Cebu, August 25, 1831, the following, which we copy:

"Sire:

"The bishop of Cebu, in order to relieve his conscience, finds it

necessary to relate to your Majesty with the greatest frankness, that

it appears necessary for the greater service of God, the welfare of

souls, and [the service] of your royal person, to divide into two

bishoprics this so extensive and scattered diocese of Visayas--in

whose innumerable islands there are, in his judgment, more than one

million of Christian souls, notwithstanding that the census of the past

year shows no more than 858,510 souls. In addition to this there are

a multitude of infidels, whom it would not be difficult to civilize

and convert, were there two bishops among them who could take care of

their conversion in an efficient manner; for one bishop alone has too

much to look after in the conservation of so many Christians, without

other duties. There are three provinces in the island of Panay alone,

in which there are 54 parishes and many annexed villages, who have at

least 378,970 souls, besides the heathen. If there were a permanent

bishop in that island, their number would quickly be duplicated.

"The prelate could easily visit and confirm the distant provinces of

Calamianes and Zamboanga (whither no bishop has as yet gone, because

of their great distance from Cebu, and because it is necessary to

consume several months [in such a trip] by reason of the monsoons,

thus neglecting other things which require attention) from his

see, which could be established in the well-populated village of

Jaro. [118] The islands of Tablas, Sibuyan, Romblon, and Banton, and

the western part of the island of Negros, would belong also to this

new bishopric, and Christianity would be considerably increased. The

bishop of Cebu would not on that account remain with nothing to do;

for besides the island of this name, those of Bojol or Bohol, Leyte,

Samar, the laborious island of Surigao, Misamis, and the eastern part

of the island of Negros (where a mission is already established),

and various other smaller islands remain. Thus he retains charge of

at least 434,846 souls, besides an infinite number of heathen.

"The bishop of Cebu is addressing his king and sovereign with all

sincerity and frankness; and he can say no less to your Majesty

than that it is impossible for one bishop alone to visit and confirm

his people, and to discharge his other pastoral duties, in all the

numerous and intricate islands of Visayas, which have been in his

charge until the present--especially in the so distant Marianas

Islands, which have no communication with Cebu. Those islands ought

to be assigned to the archbishopric of Manila, with which capital is

their only communication. Even in this case, authority ought to be

conceded to their ecclesiastical superior, with chrism consecrated

by the archbishop, over all the Christians who live there.

"As soon as the writer was consecrated in Manila, he set out to

visit his bishopric. I visited the island of Romblon, and the three

provinces of the island of Panay, confirming in those islands 102,636

persons; the island of Negros and half of Cebu, in which two districts

1 confirmed 23,800, as I inform your Majesty by a separate letter. I

have employed one-half year in this first visit, without the loss of

a second of time, taking advantage of the good season.

"I am intending to conclude the visit for the half of this island

during the monsoon of the coming year; and to continue my visit

to the islands of Bojol, Leyte, Samar, Surigao, and Misamis. But

notwithstanding the efforts of the bishop, and his desire to fulfil

his obligations, he cannot visit Zamboanga or Calamianes, and much less

the Marianas islands--so many souls remaining without the sacrament of

the confirmation and benediction of their bishop, as it is impossible

to visit them.

"With what conscience, Sire, will you abandon him who dares to

call out before your Majesty's throne, asking you, as so Catholic

[a sovereign], and as the patron of all the churches of the Indias,

to remedy this evil? The bishop of Cebu finds no other remedy than

the creation of another bishopric, and the division into two parts of

this most extensive diocese, as he has already declared. Consequently

he proposes it, in order to lay the burden of his conscience on that

of your Majesty; and so that he may not have to give account for his

negligence to the Supreme Judge. If your Majesty considers it fitting

to approve this so useful and even so necessary proposition, your

bishop is of the opinion, as he has already intimated, that the see

of the new bishopric can be determined, and that it may be entitled

the bishopric of Panay or of Jaro--which is a well-populated village,

as I have said above. Its foundation and administration belongs to the

calced Augustinian fathers, as does that of almost all the villages

of that so fierce and fertile island. Your Majesty might show it the

favor to allow it to be entitled hereafter 'the Christian city.'

"Since the Augustinian fathers have been the first conquistadors and

founders of the greater part of the villages of Visayas, and even of

those of the island of Luzon, it appears to be the most natural thing

that the first bishop be a calced Augustinian; and that he should know

the language of the country, so that he can sooner establish this new

bishopric in better order, civilization, and increase of Christianity,

and tributes.

"Accordingly, this aged bishop expects this, Sire, from the pure

Catholicity of your Majesty, and from your ardent zeal for the increase

of the Christian church and of prosperity in these your so distant

dominions--which have always shown themselves so loyal and constant,

even in the midst of so many revolutions, to their beloved king and

sovereign; and he even dares, knowing your Majesty's goodness of heart,

to propose three Augustinian fathers who have accomplished much for

the happiness of these Visayas Islands, so that your Majesty may

choose one of the three; for any one of them would completely fulfil

your royal desires.

"The proposal is sent under other covers, and I am sending it to

his Excellency, the vice-patron, for his approval. But the decision

of your Majesty, on whose delicate conscience your bishop of Cebu

places this whole matter, and [thus] relieves his own conscience,

will always be the most suitable one. May God, etc."

If the creation of a new bishopric was considered as an absolute

necessity at that time, in order that the Christian church in the so

numerous islands might be better attended to, with how much more reason

cannot the present bishop and his successors solicit this grace from

his Majesty, since the population has increased to about double what

it was then--and especially since new provinces have been created,

and most of their wandering tribes, scattered throughout most of the

islands in the jurisdiction of this diocese, conquered for God. We

believe also, with that venerable bishop, that the division of this

extensive bishopric into two parts is highly advisable (_for_ it is

wellnigh impossible for any diocesan to visit his so numerous and

scattered flock)--not only in the interests of religion, but also

in those of the State, inasmuch as the former is preserved by their

vigilance and authority purer and more incorruptible from the vices

that have invaded it on more than one occasion; and the country will

increase in wealth and prosperity, in proportion as the numerous

nomadic tribes, who are yet wandering through the rough thickets,

are reduced to the social life. [A list of the bishops of Cebu to

1847 follows.]

Nueva Caceres

Nueva Caceres, or Camarines, is one of the three of the present

ecclesiastical divisions of the island of Luzon. It includes all the

eastern part of that island, and the adjacent islands, as we shall

presently see. It extends from the sea on the west, at the mouth of

the strait of Mindoro, where it is bounded by the archbishopric of

Manila--as likewise in the interior, where pass its northern limits,

the only boundaries that it has within the land--to the eastern

sea in the extreme southeast of the province of Caraga, [119] also

the boundaries of the archbishopric. However, it has jurisdiction

in the village of Baler and in that of Casiguran, in the province

of Nueva Ecija; and those of Polillo and Binangonan de Lampon, in

Laguna. For the rest, it is surrounded by the sea and indented with

numerous bays. Beginning at the mouth of the above-mentioned strait

(where it is bounded by the archbishopric), the first part of the

ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Nueva Caceres is the bay formed

by the point of Galban, belonging to the province of Batangas,

and the headland of Boudol. [120] It follows the bay of Peris as

far as Guinayangan, which lies in the same angle of the bay, where

the province of Tayabas ends. Then follows the village of Bangsa,

which belongs to the province of Camarines, next to which is found the

province of Albay. The bishopric follows the coast until it meets the

bay of Sorsogon. Beyond that bay is seen that of Bulsnan and then that

of Albay (which is beyond the Embocadero of San Bernardino), which is

formed by the islet called Baga Rey and the point of Montufar. Then

follow the bay of Malinao and the point of Tigbi, where the province of

Camarines begins again. This point and that of Lognoy form the mouth

of the bay of Bala. Past the point of San Miguel is seen the bay of

Naga, where the city of Nueva Caceres was located. That great bay

is formed by the point of Siroma, and is seventy-six leguas round to

the point of Talisay. Six leguas from that point is the bay of Daet,

into which flows a river of great volume, which comes down from the

highlands. Following this coast there is a small bay into which empties

a river which flows from the mountain of Paracale, well known for its

gold mines. About six leguas from that river is seen Punta del Diablo

[_i.e._, "Devil's Point"], so called because of the shoals that run

out into the sea, which are very dangerous. Past that point is the

river of Capalonga, [121] where the province of Camarines ends and

that of Tayabas begins again. At this point the sea runs inland and

forms an isthmus only five leguas [wide] with the sea of Visayas. That

small gulf is found in the sea of Gumaca; it is very rough, and along

its coast are found the villages of Gumaca, Atimonan, and Mambau

[_sc._ Mauban]. Going north, one meets the island of Polo [_i.e._,

Polillo?], the bay of Lampon, and the villages of Baler and Casiguran,

the last ones of this ecclesiastical jurisdiction--which, as we said,

are situated in the province of Nueva-Ecija. Then is encountered the

point of San Ildefonso, the boundary at which meet the bishoprics of

Nueva Caceres and Nueva Segovia.

This bishopric was founded by a bull of Clement VIII, dated August

14, 1595. Four thousand pesos' salary was assigned to the bishopric

annually, payable from the royal treasury of Mejico, as there were

no tithes in Filipinas because the Indians did not pay them, and

the Spaniards cared but little for the cultivation of the lands. A

salary of one hundred and eighty pesos was assigned to the cura of

the cathedral, and ninety-two to the sacristan. Two honorary chaplains

were also created, to assist in the pontifical celebration; and they

were assigned salaries of one hundred pesos apiece. The bishop resided

in Nueva Caceres, in the province of Camarines, which was founded by

the governor Francisco de Sande; but no other trace of that city has

remained than the Indian village called Naga, which is the capital of

the province and where the see is also located. It has a cathedral

and episcopal palace of stone, and a conciliar seminary for the

secular clergy of the country. Its jurisdiction extends throughout

the provinces of Camarines (Norte and Sur), Tayabas, and Albay;

the politico-military commandancy of Masbate and Ticao; the islands

of Burias and Catanduanes; and the villages of Baler and Casiguran

in Nueva Ecija, and Polillo and Binongonan de Lampon in Laguna. In

this vast territory, the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Nueva Caceres

includes the following provinces, curacies, and villages. [122]

Besides the assignments which were made from the beginning, as we have

said, to this bishopric, and which are at present paid from the royal

treasuries of the colony, there is allowed to the miter 500 pesos

for the relief of poor curas; 400 pesos to expend on the building

of the cathedral and other objects; 135 pesos 2 reals for wax, oil,

etc.--the total amount being equal to 5,516 pesos, 7 silver reals,

and 37 maravedis.

The name of this bishopric is preserved solely in official documents,

that of Camarines prevailing, as it is the name of the province where

the bishop lives. [The names of the bishops of this bishopric until

1848 follow.]

The diocesan visits are to be made at the account of the royal

treasury, in accordance with the royal decree of April 22, 1705. When

the episcopal see becomes vacant, inasmuch as it has no cabildo its

government belongs to his Excellency the metropolitan archbishop,

who appoints a provisor or capitular vicar. If the archiepiscopal see

should be vacant at the same time also, the government would pertain

to the nearest suffragan; and if distances be equal, to the senior

of these.

The form of administering and collecting the income was prescribed

in a royal decree dated June 24, 1712, as has been stated elsewhere

in this work.

Nueva Segovia

This is one of the three bishoprics of the island of Luzon. It includes

the provinces of Cagayan, Nueva Vizcaya, Pangasinan, Union, Ilocos

Sur, Ilocos Norte, Abra, and the Batanes Islands. This diocese extends

throughout the northern part of the island, from longitude 123 deg. 21'

on the western coast, where the point called Pedregales is located,

to 126 deg. 5' on the eastern or opposite coast, where the point Maamo

projects; and from latitude 16 deg. 17 to 18 deg. 38'. It is bounded on the

south by the archbishopric of Manila, to which belong the provinces

of Zambales and Pampanga, on the extreme west and northeast. On the

southeast it descends to latitude 15 deg. 30', to point of Dicapinisan and

to Nueva Ecija, with that of Nueva Caceres or Camarines in the upper

limits of the province of Tayabas. It is also bounded on the east by

the archbishopric [of Manila] in the above-mentioned province of Nueva

Ecija. Its boundaries on the west and north are maritime. Beginning

where this last province ends (which may be considered as the point

of Dicapinisan), the opposite coast offers nothing more noteworthy

than the bays of Dibut and Baler until one reaches that of Casiguran;

and there is nothing worthy of mention. When one leaves this last

bay, he must double the cape of San Ildefonso, where the ancient

ecclesiastical jurisdiction of this bishopric began. Continuing north

for a matter of some sixteen nautical leguas, one meets the port of

Tumango, the safest and most capacious of all this rough coast. A

short distance from that port are found the village of Palanan and

the missions of Dicalayon, and Dauilican or Divilican. Thence, until

one reaches the cape of Engano, [123] one finds nothing more than

some small anchoring-places, which offer but scant refuge to the

vessels, as they are all exposed to the vendavals. On the northern

coast as well, which begins at the said cape of Engano (so called

because of the deceitfulness of its currents), one does not meet bay

or port until he reaches the village of Aparri, some fifteen leguas

away. This village is located a short distance from the ancient city

of Nueva Segovia, which is known to the natives under the name of

Laen [sc. Lal-lo]. A matter of fifteen leguas more from the above

village of Aparri, is encountered the beginning of the Caraballos

mountains, whose point, called Balaynacira, or Pata, projects into

the northern sea and is the most northern point of the island. At this

point ends the province of Cagayan, and begins that of Ilocos Norte,

in the village of Pancian which is nine hours' distance from that of

Bangui. Then one doubles the cape of Bojeador, where the western coast

of the island begins, and passes the provinces of Ilocos (Norte and

Sur), Union, and Pangasinan, which abound with many villages, until

the cape of Bolinao is reached--where this bishopric is bounded by

the archbishopric, to which belongs the province of Zambales.

This see suffragan to the metropolitan of Manila was erected by brief

of his Holiness Clement VIII, August 14, 1595. The bishop formerly

resided in Nueva Segovia, the capital of the province of Cagayan;

but now he resides at Vigan, the capital of Ilocos Sur, where the town

called Fernandina formerly stood. The endowment for this miter is four

thousand pesos fuertes for the diocesan, one hundred and eighty-four

pesos for the cura of the cathedral, ninety-two pesos to the sacristan,

and one hundred pesos to each one of the chaplains of the choir. Its

jurisdiction extends, as we have said, through the eight provinces of

Cagayan, Nueva Vizcaya, Pangasinan, Union, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte,

Abra, and the Batanes Islands. [124]...

[The name Nueva Segovia is preserved only in official documents,

and it is more frequently called the bishopric of Ilocos, from the

name of the province where the bishop lives. The names of the bishops

until 1849 follow, and the article ends with information identical

with that concluding the article on the bishopric of Nueva Caceres.]

CHARACTER AND INFLUENCE OF THE FRIARS

[From Feodor Jagor's _Reisen in den Philippinen_ (Berlin, 1873),

pp. 95-100.]

Chapter Twelve

Travels in Camarines Sur. Description of the province. Spanish

priests. Alcaldes and mandarins. [125]

The convents are large, magnificent buildings, whose curas at that

time--for the most part, elderly men--were most hospitable and

amiable. It was necessary to stop at each convent, and the father in

charge of it had his horses harnessed and drove his guest to his next

colleague. I wished to hire a boat at Polangui to go to the lake of

Batu; [126] but there was none to be had. Only two large, eighty-foot

_barotos_, each hollowed from a single tree-trunk and laden with rice

from Camarines, lay there. In order that I might not be detained,

the father bought the cargo of one of the boats, on condition that

it be immediately unladed; thus I was able to proceed on my journey

in the afternoon.

If the traveler is on good terms with the cura, he will seldom have

any trouble. I was once about to take a little journey with a parish

priest directly after lunch. All the preparations were completed at

a quarter after eleven. I declared that it was too bad to wait the

three-quarters of an hour for the repast. Immediately after, it struck

twelve, and all work in the village ceased. We, as well as our porters,

sat down to table; it was noon. The [following] message had been sent

to the bellringer: "The father ordered him to be told that he must

surely be sleeping again; it must have been twelve o'clock long ago,

for the father is hungry." _Il est l'heure que votre Majeste desire._

[127]

Most of the priests in the eastern provinces of Luzon and Samar

consist of Franciscan friars, [128] who are trained in special

seminaries in Spain for the missions in the colonies. Formerly,

they were at liberty to return to their fatherland after ten years'

residence in the Philippines. But since the convents have been

suppressed in Spain, [129] this is no longer allowed them; for there

they would be compelled to renounce the rules of their order, and

live as private persons. [130] They know that they must end their

days in the colonies, and regulate themselves accordingly. At their

arrival they are usually sent to a priest in the province, so that

they may study the native language. Then they first receive a small

and later a profitable curacy, in which they generally remain for the

rest of their life. Most of these men spring from the lowest rank

of the people. Numerous existing pious foundations in Spain make

it possible for the poor man, who cannot pay for schooling for his

son, to send him to the seminary, where he learns nothing outside

of the special service for which he is trained. Were the friars of a

finer culture, as are a part of the English missionaries, they would,

for that reason, have but little inclination to mix with the people,

and consequently would not obtain over them the influence that they

generally have. The early habits of life of the Spanish friars, and

their narrow horizon, quite peculiarly fit them to live among the

natives. It is exactly for the above reason that they have so well

established their power over those people.

When the above-mentioned young men come quite fresh from their

seminaries, they are incredibly narrow, ignorant, and at times

ill-mannered, full of conceit, hatred for heretics, and desire

to proselyte. Gradually this rough exterior wears away; and their

estimable position, and the abundant emoluments which they enjoy,

make them kindly disposed. The sound insight into human nature and

the self-reliance which are peculiar to the lower classes of the

Spanish people, and which are so amusingly revealed by Sancho Panza as

governor, have full opportunity to assert themselves in the influential

and responsible post which the cura occupies. Very frequently the

cura is the only white man in the place, and no other European lives

for miles around. Therefore, not only is he the curator of souls,

but also the representative of the government. He is the oracle of the

Indians, and his special decision in anything that concerns Europe and

civilization is without appeal. His advice is asked in all important

affairs, and he has no one from whom he himself can seek advice. Under

such circumstances all their intellectual abilities come into full

play. The same man, who would have followed the plow in Spain, here

[_i.e._, in the Philippines] carries out great undertakings. Without

technical instruction and without scientific help, he constructs

churches, roads, and bridges. However, although these circumstances

are so favorable for the development of the ability of the priest,

yet it would be better for the buildings themselves if they were

executed by professionals; for the bridges collapse readily, the

churches often resemble sheep-folds, the more pretentious have at

times most extravagant facades, and the roads quickly deteriorate

again. However, each one does as well as he can. Almost all of them

have the good of their village at heart, although their zeal, and the

course followed by those who pursue this aim, differ widely according

to their personality. In Camarines and Albay, I have had considerable

intercourse with the curas, and they have, without exception, won my

esteem. As a rule, they have no self-conceit; and in the remote places

they are so happy whenever they receive a visit, that they exert all

their efforts to make their guest's stay as pleasant as possible. Life

in a large convent very much resembles that of the lord of the manor

in eastern Europe. Nothing can be more unconstrained. One lives as

independently as in an inn, and many guests act just as if they were

in one. I have seen a subaltern arrive, who, without waiting until

the steward assigned him a room of his own accord, took one himself,

ordered his dinner, and only casually asked whether the priest,

with whom he was only very slightly acquainted, was at home.

Frequently the priests in the Philippines are upbraided about their

gross licentiousness. [It is said that] the convent is full of

beautiful girls, with whom the cura lives like a sultan. This might

often be so of the native priests; but at the houses of numerous

Spanish priests whose guest I have been, I have never once happened

to see anything objectionable in this regard. Their servants were

only men, and perhaps an old woman or two. Ribabeneyra asserts: [131]

"The Indians, who observe how the discalced friars maintain their

chastity, have come in their thoughts to the conclusion that they are

not men ... and although the devil has endeavored to corrupt many

chaste priests now deceased, and also those who still live, making

use of the shamelessness of some Indian women for that purpose, yet

the friars remained victorious, to the great shame of the Indian women

and of Satan." However, this author is very unreliable. He says further

(chapter iii, page 13), that the island of Cebu is known under another

name as Luzon! At any rate, his description does not fit the present

conditions. The young priest lives in his parish as did the lord of the

manor in earlier times. The girls consider it an honor for themselves

to associate with him. The opportunity is very favorable for him, for

he is watched over by no jealous wife; and, as the father confessor

and priestly adviser, he has opportunity at discretion to be alone

with the women. [132] The confessional must especially be a perilous

rock for them. In the appendix to a Tagal grammar (which is lacking

in those copies intended for public sale), is a list of questions

for the young priest who is not yet conversant with the language,

which he must propound to the persons confessing. Several pages of

those questions relate to sexual intercourse.

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 13 / 15 章

Shortly after Legaspi had discovered the islands, came successively