In which are shown the alms that were distributed for masses among
the sacred religious orders, to the poor of the prisons, the widows,
and orphans, in dowries, food, and clothing of the daughters of the
brotherhood, etc., from the first years of its foundation until the
years of the great earthquakes of 645 and later until that of 60; in
which are included other sums which had been paid from the treasury
for the expenses of the building of the church and college of Santa
Isabel and other pious purposes.
At the time when this venerable brotherhood was founded with the
solemnity and attending circumstances that are mentioned in chapter ii,
for its better management and government, various chapters of rules
were formed. One of them was that all the brothers in the wills that
they signed were obliged to leave some alms to the brotherhood. With
such a beginning which gave prestige to the works of this house,
the brothers tried to have their wills ready before they started
for the undertakings or conquests that were undertaken during that
period. Hence resulted the foundations of various works, whose capitals
were invested in annuities with most secure bonds and from their rent
a great part of the alms which this house distributes, thus giving
fulfilment to their pious purposes. Besides this, they also ordered
in their wills other sums to be distributed at the discretion of the
board, and they were applied as a relief for the necessities of the
poor, for this brotherhood in the administration of the many works
under its charge has not pretended to extract other fruit than that
of serving God by relieving and succoring the miseries and hardships
of its neighbor, exercising itself continually in the fulfilment of
works of charity.
From the first years of foundation until that of 1650, it appears that
in the pious assignment of alms for the missions of Japon, in masses
which have been said by the sacred orders, in the church of the Santa
Misericordia, in alms for the religious communities, in repairs of
their convents, in relief for poor widows, in dowries for the girls
of the schools and other poor girls of the community, in their food
and clothing, and in other things, this venerable brotherhood has
distributed and spent 107,125 pesos, 4 tomins, 3 granos, which have
been earned and produced by the capitals of the funds invested at
interest. I surely believe that this house is one of the precious
stones which most beautify the crown of the king, our sovereign. But,
in every way, the paragraph which follows is of more value.
In these times and, those extending to the year 660, in which the
sums of pesos which entered into this house were very great, due to
the liberality of illustrious benefactors (among the least not being
those assigned by the governors of these islands, Don Luis Perez
das Mariñas, Don Francisco Tello, Don Juan de Silva, Don Sebastian
Hurtado de Corcuera, and Don Sabiniano Manrrique de Lara), the sum
of 356,363 pesos, 3 tomins, which the book of the treasurer for those
years gives as data, was reached. In that time there were many wills
which were fulfilled by this venerable brotherhood; and there were
not few bequests and alms which were given to it, especially by the
will of the alguacil-mayor, Don Bartholome Thenorio, who left special
memories in this house, the last being a principal of twenty thousand
pesos which still remain while the interest therefrom from the year
702 until the present time is more than twenty-five thousand.