Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
produced from images generously made available by The
Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
THE
FRIARS IN THE PHILIPPINES.
By
Rev. AMBROSE COLEMAN, O. P.
Permissu Superiorum.
Boston:
Marlier, Callanan & Co.
1899.
Copyright, 1899,
By Marlier, Callanan & Co.
C. J. Peters & Son, Typographers,
Boston.
PREFACE.
The following pages originally appeared as magazine articles. In
both England and America the papers were favorably received; and as
the public has not heard the last of the Friars in the Philippines,
it seemed worth while to reproduce them in the more permanent form
of a small volume, making such corrections and additions as might
be deemed advisable. Whatever may be the shortcomings of the book,
there is a real and pressing need for the information it contains,
and this need must remain the excuse for its imperfections. A fair
consideration of the facts it presents is confidently expected from a
people whose love of justice is almost proverbial: Truth should have
nothing to fear from Americans.
May 5, 1899.
CONTENTS.
Chapter Page
I. The Work of the Religious Orders in the Philippines 7
II. The Charges made against Them considered 37
III. The Rebellion Largely the Work of a Secret Organization 60
IV. The Rebels and Their Grievances 86
V. The Sectarian Missionary Movement 99
Postscript 116
APPENDIX.
I. A Short Account of Missions in China, conducted by the
Dominican Friars of the Philippines 122
II. Extracts relating to the Friars, from the Official
Correspondence of Generals Weyler and Moriones 124
III. The Work of Freemasonry in South and Central America 129
IV. Interview with Augustinian Friars 138
V. Letter from a Friar in the Power of the Rebels, to a
Friend in Manila 145
VI. The Rev. Mr. Hykes on Burial Fees, and the Paco
Cemetery outside Manila 149
THE FRIARS IN THE PHILIPPINES.
CHAPTER I.
THE WORK OF THE RELIGIOUS ORDERS IN THE PHILIPPINES.
A recent traveller designates the Philippines as the birthplace
of typhoons, the home of earthquakes,--epithets undoubtedly strong
yet well deserved; and typhoons at certain seasons of the year, with
earthquakes at uncertain periods, when taken together with the torrid
heat, trying at all seasons, and the malaria fruitful of fevers,
make these islands of the Eastern seas, which otherwise would be a
veritable Paradise upon earth, an undesirable place of abode to the
average European, unless, indeed, he is attracted thither by the
greed of gain or by the nobler desire of missionary enterprise.
For Nature, bountiful there almost to prodigality, revelling in
all the luxuriance of tropical vegetation, has always at hand, as
a set-off to her gifts, terrible manifestations of her power. The
seventeenth-century navigator, William Dampier, in his own quaint
and amusing way, describes how the natives and the Spanish colonists
of Manila strove to guard against the double danger of earthquakes
and typhoons, and how they both failed ignominiously. The Spaniards
built strong stone houses, but the earthquake made light of them, and
shook them so violently that the terrified inmates would rush out of
doors to save their lives; while the natives from their frail bamboo
dwellings, which were perched on high poles, placidly contemplated
their discomfiture. All that the earthquake meant to them was a
gentle swaying from side to side. But the Spaniards had their turn
when the fierce typhoon blew, against which their thick walls were
proof. Then, from the security of their houses, could they view, with
a certain grim satisfaction, the huts of the natives swaying every
minute more violently in the wind, till, one by one, they toppled
over--each an indescribable heap of poles, mats, household utensils,
and human beings.
By way of general description it may be said that the Philippine
Archipelago consists of between one and two thousand islands; two of
which, Luzon and Mindanao, are much larger than Ireland, while the
rest vary in size down to mere islets, rocks, and reefs. Altogether
the islands stretch from north to south a distance as great as from
the north of England to the south of Italy. The soil is extremely rich,
and easily cultivated; vast forests abound, containing valuable timber;
and the mineral resources, up to the present undeveloped, are apt to
prove a sure source of income under modern methods of working.
But what concerns us most in this inquiry is the character of the
inhabitants. The population, which is variously estimated at from
eight to ten millions, is made up of more than eighty distinct tribes,
which nearly all belong to the Malay race. There are still to be
found in some of the islands, and principally in the mountainous
districts, the remnants of the aboriginal inhabitants, usually called
Negritos. These are of a distinctively inferior type, are rapidly
diminishing in numbers, and seem to many observers incapable of
civilization. Our only concern therefore is with the Malays, who form
the vast bulk of the population, and have in the course of time been
nearly all converted to Christianity. Nearly seven million Christians
are counted among them; while the unconverted pagans, together with
the Moros, or Malay Mohammedans, of Mindanao and the Sulu islands,
are not a million in number.
Christianity has effected a wonderful transformation in the character
of the people, softening and refining it, as we may judge by the
contrast presented by their cruel and bloodthirsty neighbors in
Mindanao and the Sulu group, who, nevertheless, belong to the
same race, and whose characteristics they must originally have
shared. Travellers have not sufficiently dwelt on this important
point. They note that the civilized native is self-respecting and
self-constrained to a remarkable degree, patient under misfortune,
and forbearing under provocation. He is a kind father and a dutiful
son. His relatives are never left in want, but are welcome to share
the best his house affords, to the end of their days. Unfortunately
for himself, he is a happy-go-lucky fellow, delighting in cock-fighting
and games of chance, and naturally indolent, his wants being so few and
simple. He is a born musician, genial, sociable, loving to dance, sing,
and make merry among his companions. His wife is allowed a degree of
liberty hardly equalled in any other Eastern country, a liberty she
rarely abuses. She is the financier of the family, and the husband
consults her when making a bargain. She does her share of the work;
but it is not more than her just share, and she is not overburdened
with labor. Hospitality is cheerful and open-handed, and the traveller
is welcomed to the hut of the native with cordiality. The houses of
the natives are kept neat, and are models of cleanliness, and the
natives also keep themselves extremely clean. They are practical and
fervent Catholics. At the vesper Angelus bell "there is always a pretty
scene. An instant hush comes over the busy village. In each house
father, mother, and children fall on their knees before the image or
picture of some saint, and repeat their prayers. The devotions over,
each child kisses the hand of his father and his mother, at the same
time wishing them good evening. He then makes an obeisance to each of
his brothers and sisters, as well as to each guest who happens to be
present, repeating his salutation with each funny bow. Host and hostess
also greet one in the same way; and in remote places, where white men
are a rarity, the little tots often kneel to kiss one's hand." ("The
Philippine Islands and their People," by Dean C. Worcester.)
In sharp contrast to the happy, contented, and peaceful character
of the Christian native, is his southern neighbor of the same blood,
the fanatical Moro. Mohammedanism has accentuated rather than softened
the underlying fierceness of the Malay; as it gives him a religious
sanction to cruelty, treachery, murder, pillage, and piracy when
directed against the hated Christian. Inhuman and cold-blooded cruelty
is the great characteristic of the Moro, who will calmly cut down
a slave merely to try the edge of a new weapon. For two centuries
and a half the Moros organized piratical expeditions against the
northern islands. The coming of the dreaded fleet of war-praus was
looked forward to as an annual event; and while the southwest monsoon
was blowing, vigilant sentinels were on the lookout night and day
from the watch-towers with which every village was provided. The
introduction of modern artillery and quick-firing guns at last turned
the scales in favor of the Spaniards, and the piratical expeditions
are now a thing of the past. All Christians, however, living near
the Moros must still carry their lives in their hands, owing to the
juramentados. A juramentado is a man who takes an oath to die killing
Christians. The more Christians he kills, the higher place of course
he is to get in heaven, especially if he loses his own life in the
holy work. He dresses in white, shaves his eyebrows, conceals a weapon
under his clothing, and then seizing a favorable opportunity, runs
amuck, killing without mercy men, women, and children. Of course he
gets killed himself in the end, but sometimes not until he has made
himself accountable for a great number of deaths.
Though Magellan discovered the Archipelago in 1521, no serious attempt
to take possession of it was made till 1565, when an expedition of
four hundred soldiers and sailors was fitted out by Philip II., and
placed under the leadership of Miguel Lopez de Legaspi. As Philip
was inspired by religious zeal, and his principal and perhaps only
object was to spread the light of the Gospel, six Augustinian friars
accompanied the expedition. We may say with truth that it was these
missionaries, and the others who followed in rapid succession,
who conquered the Archipelago for Spain. There was no conquest in
the strict sense of the term. The Spaniards in most places simply
showed themselves to the natives; and the religious, who accompanied
them, persuaded the untutored savages to submit to the King of Spain,
through whom they would obtain the two-fold blessing of civilization
and Christianity. The retention of these rich and fertile islands,
so great a source of revenue to the mother-country, was on the whole
a very easy task. The religious Orders planted themselves firmly in
the colony, and spread themselves everywhere, winning the natives to
Christ, keeping them also in loyal obedience to that great European
power by whose means the missionaries had been sent to them. They
were thus the real bulwarks of Spanish power there, which was kept up
rather by gentle persuasion than by force of arms. Mr. Mac Macking,
a Scotch Protestant who spent some years there, says: "The warriors
who gained them over to Spain were not their steel-clad chivalry, but
the soldiers of the Cross,--the priests who astonished and kindled
them by their enthusiasm in the cause of Christ." Up to a few years
ago profound peace reigned; and a garrison of 4,200 soldiers, 3,500
gendarmerie, and 2,000 sailors and marines, was considered sufficient
to overawe a population of eight millions, besides keeping in check
the fanatical and bloodthirsty Moro pirates.
The Augustinians were the pioneers in religious enterprise, coming,
as we said already, with Legaspi, in 1565, four years before the
Philippines were formally annexed to Spain. They were followed,
in 1577, by the Franciscans; and the labors of both Orders were
so successful that Manila was erected into an episcopal see in
1579. Two years later Salazar, a Dominican friar laboring in Mexico,
was appointed bishop; and he brought the Dominicans with him to
Manila. About the same time, also, the Jesuits and the Recollects, or
discalced Augustinians, entered the country. All the Orders went about
their work with truly religious zeal; and their success was so great
that at the end of the century Mendoza could say: "According to the
common opinion, at this day there are converted and baptized more than
four hundred thousand souls." It was a success to be proud of among a
people who, when the missionaries came, had no religious worship, nor
temple, nor priest, nor form of worship. They had but a hazy notion
of a Deity, their sole religious ideas consisting of some imperfect
notions of a hell and a heaven. Persecution only gave zest to the work,
both in the Philippines and in the Ladrones, of which we may speak
together in this connection, as they have a common history. Towards
the close of the sixteenth century, as we learn from Argensola, more
than six thousand Christians had already been martyred in the single
province of Ternate, "that so," he adds, "the foundation of our faith
may be in all parts cemented with the blood of the faithful. They
dismembered the bodies, and burned the legs and arms in sight of
the still living trunks. They impaled the women, and tore out their
bowels; children were torn piecemeal before their mothers' eyes, and
infants were rent from their wombs." ("Discovery and Conquest of the
Molucca and Philippine islands," by B. L. de Argensola.) Opposition,
and persecution too, came from the Mohammedan element in the
population, which was already formidable when the Spaniards arrived
on the scene, Mohammedanism having been introduced into the islands,
especially the more southerly group, as far back as the thirteenth
century. Accordingly the Mohammedans waged a long and bitter warfare
both against missionaries, and the new Christians, numbers of whom
were called on to seal their faith with their blood. Still, in spite
of persecution, the Church prospered in those early days. Dampier,
the English navigator, who visited the Philippines towards the close of
the seventeenth century, testifies to the wonderful progress made even
then in civilization. "In every village," he says, "is a stone church,
as well as a parsonage-house for the rector, who is always one of the
monks. These last, who are all Europeans, are very much respected by
the Indians, while the secular clergy, who commonly are Creoles, are
held in contempt. Hence the Government shows great deference to the
rectors; for, generally speaking, the Indians always consult them
on entering on any enterprise, or even as to paying taxes." Thus,
one century had changed the people from savagery to civilization. In
Manila, Dampier found the natives pursuing all the avocations of
civilized life--they were merchants, skilled artisans in various
trades, clerks, etc.
There were three large colleges,--two under the care of the Dominicans,
and one carried on by the Augustinians. There was also a Poor
Clare convent, containing forty nuns, together with a hospital and
an orphanage. The religious establishments occupied one-third of
the city as it then stood. This may seem out of proportion to the
religious needs of the city; but we must remember that in Manila,
then as now, priests of the various Orders were in training for the
numerous missions of the Archipelago, Tonkin, and China (see Appendix
I.), and, at the period of which we are speaking, of Japan as well.
Passing on to the present century, the Rev. David Abeel, a Protestant
missionary, says of the Philippines: "The Church of Rome has here
proselytized to itself the entire population. The influence of the
priests is unbounded." In the year 1858 Mr. Crawford, who was formerly
governor of Singapore, made the following declaration at a public
missionary meeting: "In the Philippine Islands the Spaniards have
converted several millions of people to the Roman Catholic faith,
and an immense improvement in their social condition has been
the consequence." Mr. MacMacking confesses that the suppression
of the Jesuits, who were banished from the Philippines in 1768,
"was attended with the worst effects to the trade and agriculture of
the islands." He adds that "religious processions are as frequently
passing through the streets as they are in the Roman Catholic countries
of Europe." He testifies that "the Church has long proved to be, on
the whole, by much the most cheap and efficacious instrument of good
government and order--even the common people learn reading by its aid,
so much at least as to enable them to read their prayer-books and
other religious manuals. There are very few Indians who are unable
to read, and I have always observed that the Manila men serving on
board ships and forming their crew have been much oftener able to
subscribe their names to the ship's articles than the British seamen
on board the same vessels could do." Prosessor Ferdinand Blumentritt,
a German Protestant, who is universally acknowledged to be the most
competent authority on all that regards the Philippines, spoke most
highly of the missionary and scientific work of the Religious Orders
there, at a meeting of the Vienna Geographical Society in 1896. The
weight of testimony from such a source all must acknowledge; it is
indeed a pleasure to present the German scientist's remarks to the
consideration of fair-minded readers.
"I wish to add some remarks," said Blumentritt, "about the
Philippines, as here the Catholic missionaries are usually active
not only in the spread of Christianity and its civilization,
but also in the geographical and ethnographical exploration of the
archipelago. Unfortunately the reports of the missions of the various
Orders are not equally accessible, e.g., we have very little account of
the Augustinian missions, which are located principally in the lands
of the Igorrotes (Northwest Luzon) and on the Island of Negros, among
the Budkidnon savages. The only important publication upon Augustinian
missions which I have been able to see is the Memoria acerea de las
Missiones de los P. P. Augustinos Calzados, Madrid, 1892. According
to this the Calced Augustinians in 1892 had in the province of Abra,
among the Tinguians, who inhabit it, eight missions with 25,100 souls;
in that of Lepanto, two missions with 2,200 souls (Igorrotes); in that
of Bengnet, also two missions, with 849 souls (Igorrotes)--total,
28,149 souls, as against 5,302 in 1829. Between 1874 and 1885 the
number of savages and heathens converted to Christianity was 1,356;
from 1885 to 1888 there were 549. In 1892 the erection of 15 new
missions was projected in the provinces of Tiagan, Bontok, Amburayan,
and Quiangan.
"The Discalced Augustinians, called in the Philippines 'Recoletos,'
have missions in the Island of Palawan (or Paragua) and in the group
of the Calamianes. Of these missioners, Father Cipriano Navarro has
especially distinguished himself by his ethnographical researches;
and we owe to him exhaustive reports concerning the Tinitians,
Togbanuas, Tandolans, and Bulalacaunos, among whom Christianity is
making steady progress.
"The Franciscans have missions in the peninsula of Camarines, in
Luzon, and in every large island on the Pacific coast. Ethnography
and philology are much indebted to their labors. I need only refer
to the works published by myself in the proceedings of our Society,
the vocabulary of the Negrito dialect of Baler by Father Fernandez,
and the accounts of the Bikols, Dumagats, and Atas, by Father Castano.
"We possess fuller accounts of the Dominicans, who are occupied in
converting to Christianity the Alimis, Apayaos, Aripas, Buayas,
Bumanguis, Bungians, Calauas, Calingas, Catalangans, Dadayags,
Gaddans, Ibibalons, Ibilaos, and Ilongotes, Ipiutys, Isinays, Mayoyaos,
Guiangans, and other Ifuagao races. In the missionary review, Correo
Sino-Anamito, we find numerous descriptions of popular manners
and customs. Some of these, particularly those written by Fathers
Villaverde, Buenaventura, Campa, Malumbres, Ruis, and Ferrando, I have
already in part made more generally known in these proceedings. The
review also publishes occasional sketches, and especially such as
throw light on the river-system of North Luzon, the valley of the Rio
Grande de Cagayan. The results of their strictly missionary labors
are very fruitful.
"But however successful the evangelical and scientific activity
of the missionaries of the above Orders, they are far surpassed by
what the Jesuits have done in the island of Mindanaoin, in half a
generation, for the spread of Christianity and civilization, as well
as for the geographical exploration of the second largest island of
the Archipelago. When they arrived they found a Christian population
only on the east and north coasts, and in a few isolated spots on
the other coast regions, such as Zamboanga, Pollok, Cottabatto Davao,
and Pundaguitan; and these were mostly Bisayos, with a few Bukidnons,
Mandayas, Manabos, and Subanos. In the interior the Spanish Christian
settlements along the Macajalas Bay reached only as far as the upper
course of the Rio Tagoloan; on the Agusan, from the lake region
at Linao to its mouth near Butuan, only two villages, Bunauan and
Talacogon. All that was then known of the interior of Mindanao was
the Lanao Lake, the lower course of the Pulangin or Rio Grande from
its mouth to Lahabay, and the lake region belonging to the river
of Ligauasan or Buluan. Of the tribes over and above the Bisayas
(Christians) and Moros (Mohammedans), only the Mandayas, Manobos,
Subanos, and Budkidnon (or 'Monteses' of the Spaniards) were known
by little more than name, but scarcely mentioned in contemporary
literature. Of the rest, except the Tirurayes, scarce the name was
known. Of the Atas, Tagabawas, Dulangans, Tagabelis, etc., even the
names were unknown.
"How changed since then! The network of rivers in the great island
is now very well known; whilst the legendary lake in the centre
of the island, whence the Rio Grande was said to flow, and from
which the whole island was supposed to derive its name, has now
happily disappeared from our maps. In numerous sketches and maps
the missionaries have recorded the results of their geographical
explorations and discoveries. The manners and customs of the heathen
tribes have been fully described by the Jesuits. It has, therefore,
always been for me the greatest pleasure to communicate the results
of the researches of these Philippine missionaries to wider scientific
circles.
"The Jesuits can also point to very great results in their evangelical
labors. Most of the heathen tribes are now entirely or in part
converted to Christianity, or have at least settled round their
missions. Even a tribe so obstinately refractory to civilization,
owing to their unsettled and wandering life, as the Mamanuas (who
belong to the Negritos) can already point to Christian villages. But
the greatest success of the Jesuits has been in bringing a considerable
number of the Moros on the Gulf of Davao to embrace Christianity. When
it is remembered how rare a thing it is to induce a Mohammedan to be
baptized, it must be especially noted that here not a few isolated
Moros living among Christians have abjured Islam, but that the Moros
converted to Christianity are so numerous that, as they can no longer
live among their former co-religionists, they have been allowed to
build their separate villages in the region of the Rio Davao. In 1895
the status of the Jesuit missions was as follows: 213,065 souls,
17,608 baptisms of children of Christian parents, 2,973 marriages,
7,215 funerals, 8,238 baptisms of converted heathen.
"In the article 'Die Katholischen Missionen,' Oscar Hecht gives
the number of Christians in the Philippines as 3,500,000. This is
incorrect. The flocks of the different Orders were as follows:--
Calced Augustinians (1892) 2,082,131
Discalced Augustinians (1892) 1,175,156
Franciscans (1892) 1,010,753
Dominicans (1892) 699,851
Jesuits (1895) 213,065
Secular Clergy (1892) 967,294
---------
Total, 6,148,250
It is difficult to estimate the number of heathens and Mohammedans;
they cannot be under 500,000, nor can they exceed a million."
Any account of the work of the Religious Orders in the islands would
be certainly incomplete if particular mention of their efforts in
behalf of education were omitted. These efforts were systematically
carried out until interrupted by the recent rebellion. The briefest
and most summary mention of what each of the Orders has done, however,
is all that may be attempted within the necessary narrow limits of
this volumes.
1. The Dominicans are in charge of the University of Manila, which
was founded and confided to their care about two centuries ago. It has
been generally attended by between two and three thousand natives, who
thus receive the benefits of a professional and liberal education. A
correspondent of the Daily Telegraph (London) tells his English
readers that as "the education of the people has been exclusively in
their (the religious') hands, it is enough to say that practically
it does not exist." The following account of the studies pursued in
the University, taken from the official report of the year 1893-1894,
is a sufficient answer to this unworthy remark.
COURSE OF STUDIES.
The Faculty of Theology and Canon Law has the following courses
of lectures:--
1. A course of Ontology, Cosmology, and Natural Religion.
2. The Controversial Course.
3. Dogmatic Theology.
4. Moral Theology and Sacred Eloquence.
5. Sacred Scripture.
6. Canon Law.
7. Ecclesiastical Procedure and Discipline, especially as
used in Churches in the East.
8. Ecclesiastical History.
The eight lecturers in this faculty were Dominicans. There were
thirty students.
FACULTY OF JURISPRUDENCE.
1. Metaphysics.
2. Spanish Literature.
3. Constitutional History of Spain and Natural Law.
4. Canon Law.
5. Political Economy.
6. Ecclesiastical Discipline.
There were six Dominican and nine other professors teaching in this
faculty. The students numbered 405.
FACULTY OF LAW.
In this faculty one Dominican and eleven other professors
lectured. There were 60 students.
FACULTY OF MEDICINE.
1. Physics.
2. Chemistry.
3. Mineralogy and Botany.
Three Dominican and thirteen other professors lectured in this
faculty. There were 277 students.
FACULTY OF PHARMACY.
There were 89 students. In the schools of practical pharmacy there
were 216 students. Three Dominicans, who lectured on Chemistry,
Zooelogy, Mineralogy, and Botany, and seven other professors taught
in this faculty.
This is the higher education which has been given to the natives
for more than two centuries. Is it not something to admire? Can
England point back to anything equal to it in the history of her own
colonies? Did England in the last century do anything for the material
or spiritual advancement of the North American Indians? Did the United
States do anything for them till within recent years? Both governments
folded their arms while the Indians were being driven before the face
of the white settlers; and during the two centuries that the policy of
extinction was being carried out on the North American continent the
Spanish missionaries were giving the natives of the Philippines all the
benefits of higher education. The contrast is instructive, and places
Spain on a far higher plane as a colonizer than her quondam rival.
Besides imparting higher education in the University, the Dominicans
gave secondary education in two colleges in Manila, to some hundreds
of scholars, one principally devoted to a classical education,
and the other suited to those intending to engage in a mercantile
career. Besides these they had colleges in the towns of Cebu, Jaro,
Nueva, Caceres, Dagupan, and Vigan.
2. The Jesuits. "The labors of the Jesuits," says the Messenger of
the Sacred Heart (New York), are chiefly confined to the Island of
Mindanao. They direct, however, a flourishing college at Manila,
and are in charge of an observatory, which, for the perfection of an
outfit and the importance of its observations, ranks foremost among
institutions of its kind. This famous observatory was founded by the
Spanish Jesuits in 1865, and was at first connected with their college
at Manila. It was directed until 1896 by the well-known astronomer and
meteorologist, Father Frederick Faura. By its successful prediction
of typhoons, so common and destructive in the Philippines, the
observatory soon won for itself an enviable reputation throughout
the archipelago. Up to the year 1882, no fewer than fourteen of
these dangerous tornadoes had been predicted. In consideration
of such valuable services, the observatory was, in April, 1884,
raised to the rank of a Government institution, under the title of
"Meteorological Observatory of Manila," and was transferred to its
present commodious quarters outside the city, with which it has
telegraphic and telephonic connections.
"The observatory comprises four departments,--the meteorological,
seismological, magnetic, and astronomical. Each department has its
special director, and a general director is at the head of the whole
establishment. The meteorological section, provided with the very
best instruments, is the most important of the four, on account of
its practical usefulness to shipping interests. It is in regular
communication with more than a hundred observatories in all parts of
the world. Twice every day it receives by cable the meteorological
observations made at the stations of Nagasaki, Tokio, Kabe (Japan),
Shanghai, Amoy, Hong Kong (China), Haiphong (Tonkin), the Island
of Formosa, and elsewhere along the coast. Hence the forecasting of
typhoons and cyclones is greatly facilitated, and enjoys the confidence
of all those that sail the Chinese seas. Many of the instruments used
at the observatory are due to the inventive genius of Father Faura,
who was also the first to announce typhoons with certainty, and to
discover the laws which regulate their formation and path. He is the
inventor of a peculiar kind of barometer, which enables any sailor,
even if he knows nothing whatever about meteorology, to foresee the
approach of storms, and to guard against them.
"Next in importance to the meteorological department is the
seismological or earthquake section of the observatory, which is
rendering great services to a region so much exposed to earthquakes
as the Philippines are. This section is likewise equipped with a
remarkably fine apparatus, many of the instruments having been built
or improved by Father Faura. For many years Father Miguel Saderra
Maso has been in charge of this section, which he has made famous
by his learned work, "Seismology in the Philippines," published in
1895. Father Cirera's work, "Terrestrial Magnetism in the Philippines,"
is also well known in the learned world.
"The splendid achievements of the Manila observatory found their
due meed of appreciation and praise in the congress of scientists at
the World's Fair, where the institution was represented by Fathers
Algerie and Faura, who came at that time to this country, and spent
some months at Georgetown College.
"Father Faura died in January, 1897. His death was that of a martyr of
charity. During his sickness, Ryzal (or Ryall), one of the insurgent
leaders, had been captured, and condemned to be shot within twenty-four
hours. The prisoner was placed in the Chapel of the Passion, and
was offered the spiritual ministration of the Jesuit Fathers. But
he peremptorily refused to see a priest on the plea that he was a
Protestant. Several of the fathers had already been repelled, when
Father Faura, who had formerly been Ryzal's professor at Manila, rising
from his bed of sickness, made a last effort to convert the unfortunate
man. Though at first repelled like the rest, he was at last admitted
by Ryzal; and after arguing and pleading with him for a long time,
he had the happiness of bringing him to repentance, and restoring him
to the Catholic Church. The condemned man made a sincere confession,
heard Mass, received Holy Communion, begged pardon for his errors,
and exhorted others to renounce all connection with Freemasonry. His
conversion was entire, and his death that of a fervent Christian. The
effort to bring about this conversion, however, cost Father Faura his
own life. Worn out and prostrated by the interview, he was led back
to his bed to die. The conversion of his former pupil was the last
apostolic act of Father Faura, and the crowning of a life of great
usefulness in the service of religion and of science."
The sons of St. Ignatius also direct the Municipal Academy of which
English correspondents have spoken in terms of high praise.
3. At Vigan also is the Augustinian Seminary and College, under
the direction of the fathers, seven of whom are teachers. Here
209 students were taught the following branches (as set down in the
report): viz., Dogmatic Theology, Moral Theology, Metaphysics, Logic,
Ethics, Physics, Chemistry, Geography, Poetry, Rhetoric, Trigonometry,
Geometry, Algebra, Arithmetic, Analysis, and translation of Latin,
Greek, French, Church History, Natural History, Universal History,
History of Spain, History of the Philippines, Christian Doctrine.
The Augustinians also conducted a splendid orphanage and industrial
school at Tambohn, about a league from Manila. In this establishment
145 boys were taught the following trades (Report for 1897-1898):
Compositors, 13; press-work, 12; bookbinders, 30; gilders, 3;
candle-makers, 43; together with forty-four others too young to
be trained.
4. Neither was the education of the female sex neglected. Among other
establishments of a like nature, there was an orphan asylum for girls
at Mandaloya on the Tasig, conducted by Augustinian nuns, twenty-two
in number. Last year it contained 122 pupils, who were receiving
instruction in music, the piano, painting, drawing, embroidery,
artificial flower-making, dressmaking, hair-dressing, lacemaking,
laundry work, and sewing.
5. The Franciscans had colleges as well, and besides doing their
share in the work of education, devoted their time and services to
the hospitals of the Archipelago, the principal of which are, the
Royal Hospital of St. Lazarus at Manila, the Infirmary of St. Ann in
the province of Laguna, and that of Vasa in the province of Camarines.
Scattered through the various islands are the posts or residences,
where the fathers of the various Orders devote themselves to the
"nuevos Christianos," as they are called, or latter-day converts
from Paganism. This zealous work of conversion has never ceased
from the time of the conquest, and the Christian population has been
steadily on the increase till our own times. The recent traveller,
[1] whom we quoted at the beginning, came in contact a good deal with
the Dominicans during his stay in the Philippines, visiting several
of their outlying stations, and receiving everywhere the greatest
kindness and hospitality from them. He says: "Everywhere you enter the
monastery as though it was your own, eat and drink unstintedly, and
sleep, and depart with thanks and a cordial God-speed from the fathers,
and naught to pay for the entertainment." Alas! the good fathers did
not know the viper they were nursing. Pity they could not recognize in
the smiling Englishman who so readily accepted their hospitality, and
"paid naught for the entertainment," the man who would speak of them
as dirty monks, who would consider it worthy of sneering record that
they did not shave when on board ship, and who, though not able to
discover any evil himself, would repeat gross calumnies about them,
got from hearsay. What he saw with his own eyes belies his wicked
innuendos. He says: "It was plain that they cared naught for the
fretting of the world. In many a dismal place, even in the remotest
spots, I found the clusters of monastic exiles perfectly happy--the
outer world dead, or too far away--craving for no other fate. They
are enchanted to welcome and give you of their best; will even, if
struggling overland, lend a vehicle or a ridinghorse to convey you to
the next convent on the way. Cheery, kindly, simple people, practical
sermons on 'Content.' The monks of Ramblon, a dozen or so all told,
were delighted to show us all that was to be seen. A homely little
church was duly exhibited, built of a local wood, which cuts into
planks of extreme width, adorned with a grain which is brought out
with wax and oil. The columns were of solid ebony, the floor of four
marbles, white, gray, black, and brown. All these were the products
of this little island." A fair-minded man would have duly attributed
their joy of mind and kindness to strangers to religious feeling,--to
the love of God, for whose sake these Spanish missionaries had given up
father and mother, friends and worldly prospects, to spend their lives,
year in and year out, without hope of earthly reward, in these spots,
dismal enough to the ordinary tourist, but to them bright and cheery,
as they were the posts alloted to them by Divine Providence for the
extension of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.
"The provincial stations," he says in another place, "are in reality
governed by the priests." How could it be otherwise? With a government
notoriously weak and inefficient, with lay officials notoriously
corrupt, unwilling to exile themselves in these parts remote from
civilization, unwilling to condescend to learn the many various
dialects in use in the Archipelago, no wonder that the missionary
living in the midst of the people to whom he had devoted his life,
and who looked up to him as a father, exercised a sort of parental
authority over them. This was done both in the interest of the civil
government and of the natives themselves. The governors utilized the
authority of the missionaries as long as it suited their purpose;
when, on the other hand, the missionaries had to oppose extortion and
unjust treatment, the officials started the cry that the missionaries
were ruling the Archipelago. About those gentlemen Thomas Comin wrote
in 1810:
"In order to be a chief of a province in these islands no training,
or knowledge, or special service is necessary. It is quite a
common thing to see a barber, a Governor's lackey, a sailor, or a
deserter suddenly transformed into an Alcalde, Administrator, and
Captain of the Forces of a populous province, with no counsellor
but his rude understanding, and no guide but his passions."
Here are some edifying facts concerning Spanish officials in the
Philippines. In five years Governor-General Manuel de Arandia amassed
a quarter of a million dollars; a successor of Arandia, within the
last few years, is reported to have made $700,000 in a single year;
while another is commonly said to have placed millions to his credit
during a short term of office. Men talk openly in Manila of bribing
judges to put cases off and off. Little wonder, then, that, with
such a state of rottenness, bribery, and corruption obtaining, the
missionaries on the remote stations have, in the interests of the
people, looked after their worldly affairs.
The missionary zeal of the Jesuits carried them even to Mindanao, an
island so inaccessible by reason of its mountains and volcanoes, its
impenetrable jungle, its unnavigable rivers infested with alligators
and pirates, its fierce and savage inhabitants always at war with one
another, that the Spanish Government exercised only nominal sovereignty
over it, and was not ever able even to get its interior surveyed. When
the Jesuits came there some years ago they found a Christian population
only on the east and north coasts, and in a few isolated spots of
the other coast regions. Of the interior tribes many were known only
by name. Owing to the zeal of these fathers, not only in missionary
enterprise, but also in geographical and ethnographical exploration,
the network of rivers in the great island is now very well known, the
fathers having recorded the results of their explorations in numerous
sketches and maps. They have also fully described the manners and
customs of the heathen tribes. As an instance of the savagery of the
Mindanayas, for the most part fanatical Moros or Mohammedans, it may
be mentioned that head-hunting seemed till lately to be the great
object of their existence. The man who had chopped off sixty heads
was entitled to wear a scarlet turban for the rest of his mortal life,
and scarlet turbans are still far from uncommon among them. As there
was an inordinate desire among the doughty and dusky warriors to wear
these turbans, it follows that the population was being gradually
but surely thinned out. Yet even here, on the sea-coast of Mindanao,
the Jesuits established their stations, living in the midst of their
small flocks, with their lives in their hands, in close proximity to
pirates, savage alligators, and still more savage scarlet turbans.
The correspondent of the Daily Telegraph blames the missionaries for
not teaching the elements of the Christian doctrine in Spanish to the
natives, contrary, as he says, to an express law, of which they have
been continually reminded by the Governor.
The reason, to which he ascribes their conduct is, that they are afraid
that if the people were able to read Spanish books and newspapers they
might come to know too much. Any argument, however absurd it may be,
is evidently good enough, in the eyes of these writers, for use against
priests. They are well enough acquainted with the ways of the Spanish
officialdom to know that that law is a piece of blatant stupidity,
devised by Spanish officials too arrogant or lazy or indifferent to
learn the native languages themselves. Picture to yourself, if you can,
the missionaries scattered over that vast archipelago, among a people
comprising several millions, and speaking thirty different languages
and dialects, attempting to teach the catechism in Spanish to their
flocks. The supposition becomes still more absurd when we reflect
that the Spanish element in the colony does not exceed eight or nine
thousand gathered in and about Manila and a few other large towns. The
missionaries devote themselves so thoroughly to their flocks, and
identify themselves so completely with them, that instead of being
able to teach them Spanish they are in danger, in some instances, of
forgetting it themselves. Wingfield came across a Dominican missionary
who apologized for his bad Spanish, on the ground that having lived
continuously for eighteen years with the natives, speaking Visaya the
whole time, he had almost forgotten his own tongue. Our experience in
Ireland, even at the present time, is that in Irish-speaking districts,
those children who are taught their catechism in the native tongue,
though they may know English, have a far firmer grasp of the Christian
doctrine than those who have been taught it in English. This fact alone
shows the patent absurdity of the law quoted with such assurance by
the correspondent of the Daily Telegraph.