The lack of European religious in the Filipinas Islands for filling
at least four-fifths of their curacies is incompatible with the
permanent preservation of that colony. It can be safely asserted that
the government of his Majesty has in this class of ministers the most
powerful force for maintaining that possession in attachment to his
sovereignty. Their virtuous and unworldly mode of life; their absolute
disinterestedness in regard to temporal matters, which is a marvelous
contrast to the greed and ambition of the European trader, the mestizo,
and the Chinese; their extraordinary sacrifices in living apart from
the society of their equals for nineteen, twenty, and [even] thirty
years in those almost uninhabited islands, which are unprovided with
the sort of nourishment suitable to their estate; their discretion and
patience in correcting and teaching the Indians; their resignation in
all kinds of adversity: everything, in short, contributes to make the
inhabitants of that land regard them as supernatural beings, and in
the light of this conception the fathers exercise over the Indians
a moral force more powerful than even that of the government. The
Indians live in entire moral separation from the Spaniards; they
have their own laws of tradition, their own opinions and customs,
entirely unknown to any one who is ignorant of their language or
has not continual intercourse with them. The European religious are
the only persons in the confidence of the government who by favor of
these circumstances, and with a practical and intimate knowledge of
the nature and inclinations of the natives there, can find a way into
their hearts, incline their wills to what is right, enlighten them,
and keep them peaceful and submissive; and without this larger armies
would be of no avail.
[The religious are the only persons who understand the condition
of their respective villages, and the alcaldes-mayor are usually
indolent and inefficient, relying on native interpreters, and caring
little for aught save their own profit; they depend on the religious
in all cases of difficulty, and the higher authorities are jealous of
this superiority of the religious. The government ought to maintain
as many religious as possible in the islands, and give them as much
political authority as is consistent with their ministry; five hundred
of them should be sent there, and the alcaldes-mayor should be obliged
to consult every month with their respective curas on the best means
of promoting the interests of the people, and the central government
can then act on reports of these conferences.]