Chapter XV: Other matters pertaining to the ecclesiastics of Manila (6)

This we believe is, in broad lines, the religious character of the Indians of Filipinas. Let us now see what has been said recently also in regard to this same point by another contemporaneous witness, with whom we almost entirely agree. Mr. Peyton, a Protestant bishop, said, when speaking of Catholicism in the Filipinas, at a meeting of the Protestant bishops of the Episcopal church held at St. Louis (United States), in the month of last October: "I found a magnificent church in every village. I was present at mass several times, and the churches were always full of natives--even when circumstances were unfavorable, because of the military occupation. There are almost no seats in those churches, while the services last--an hour, or an hour and a half. Never in my life have I observed more evident signs of profound devotion than in those there present. The men were kneeling, or prostrated before the altar; and the women were on their knees, or seated on the floor. No one went out of the church during the service, or talked to others. There is no spirit of sectarianism there. All have been instructed in the creed, in the formal prayers, in the ten commandments, and in the catechism. All have been baptized in infancy. [156] I do not know whether there exists in this country a village so pure, moral, and devout as is the Filipino village."

Granting the above, would freedom of worship be advisable for Filipinos?

Since, then, the religion in Filipinas, and consequently their morals, is so unanimous, would it be advisable to introduce freedom of worship into this country? If one understands by freedom of worship only actual religious toleration, by virtue of which no one can be obliged to profess Catholicism, and no one be persecuted for neglecting to be a Catholic, or that each one profess privately the religion that he pleases, that freedom has always existed in Filipinas; and no Filipino or foreigner was ever obliged to embrace the Catholic religion. But if one understands by freedom of worship the concession to all religions (for example, to those of Confucius, Mahomet, and to all the Protestant sects) of equal rights to open schools, erect churches, create parishes, and celebrate public processions and functions, as does the Catholic church, we believe that not only is this not advisable, but that it would be a fatal measure to any government which rules the destinies of Filipinas. If, in fact, this government should concede such freedom of worship, it would cause itself to be hated by the six and one-half millions of Filipino Catholics; for, even though such government should profess no worship, the Filipino people would consider it as responsible for all the consequences of such a measure; and therefore it would not be looked on favorably by these six and one-half millions of Catholics. These people are fully convinced that theirs is the only true religion, and the only one by which they can be saved. If any government should endeavor to despoil them of that religion--which is their most precious jewel, and the richest inheritance which they have received from their ancestors--even should it be no more than permitting the Protestant or heterodox propaganda publicly and openly, then they could not refrain from complaint; and from that might even come the disturbance of public order, or perhaps some politico-religious war, accompanied by all the cruelty and all the disasters which, as are well known, are generally brought on by such wars.

Two serious difficulties can be opposed against the rights of Catholicism in Filipinas. The first is in the Americans who are governing at present, and the second is in the Filipinos themselves. The Americans enjoy in America the most complete freedom of worship; why, then, should they not enjoy that same freedom when they go to Filipinas? We answer, that every inhabitant must conform to the laws of the country in which he lives. The Chinese enjoyed in China the most complete freedom to erect temples to Buddha or to Confucius; but for three centuries they have not enjoyed a like freedom in Manila, although no Chinese has been forced to become a Catholic. We go farther and say that no Chinese has had to boast of his religion in order to trade, become rich, and return to China. The same can be said of the English and Americans. If it is necessary for the good order and government of six and one-half millions of Catholics in Filipinas, besides those who are not Catholics (one and one-half millions, counting idolaters and Moros yet to be civilized), not to permit or encourage freedom of worship, the government which rules the destiny of these islands ought to legislate along those lines, since the laws ought to be adjusted to the needs of the majority of their inhabitants. The Americans themselves who shall take up their residence here ought to accommodate themselves to that law. No temporal or spiritual harm would result to them, for they could privately profess what their conscience dictated to them as the true religion. Thus the English do in Malta, where the Catholic religion is in force; and although the island is so small, there are two thousand Italian Catholic priests in it, who are more content to live under the English government than under the Italian.

The other difficulty against Catholicism in Filipinas springs from the Filipino insurgents themselves, who voted for freedom of worship and separation from the Spanish church in their congress of Malolos. [157] Why, then, has not that freedom of worship been granted to the Filipinos, if they themselves ask it? We reply that they also ask for independence. Will the Americans grant them the latter because of that fact? The majority of the Filipino insurgent chiefs were inclined to Masonry. They had bound themselves, for a long time past, to work for the expulsion of the friars; and, drunk with the wine of liberty, they asked for every kind of freedom, including that of religion. How many insurgents have abjured Catholicism? Their number does not exceed two dozen. The law of freedom of worship is unnecessary for them, since they profess no religion. The Filipino people--that is to say, the six and one-half millions of Catholics enrolled in the parish registers--do not ask or desire religious freedom, or separation from the Spanish church. They are content with their Catholicism, and desire nothing else; and they will not suffer their government to take from them their Catholic unity. We have heard this from qualified and accredited defenders of Filipino independence. They even deny that the vote at Malolos was the true expression of the will of that congress, which was also very far from being the entire and genuine representation of the Filipino people. The latter hold heresies, and all manner of religious disturbance, in horror. He who would introduce these into their homes would offer them an insult. Consequently, it is demonstrated that freedom of worship in Filipinas is not advisable, but adverse to the public peace.

If it is said finally, that there are some points of public interest which demand some reform, in what pertains to the religious estate of the Filipinas, we shall not be the ones to deny that. But the Church has the desire and the means to remedy these supposed or recognized evils. If, peradventure, it do not remedy them through ignorance, let anyone who is interested, and the government of the country first of all, bring them to its notice. On the other hand, this matter has no connection with religious freedom.

[From the same work (pp. 256, 257) is taken the following mention of the religious orders who recently established themselves in the Philippines:]

In all the dioceses the bishops looked after the founding of seminaries for the native clergy, not only because such were needed to aid in the administration of the sacraments in the large parishes created by the religious, but also for the occupation of some parishes which were reserved for them from very ancient times.

The fathers of the congregation of St. Vincent de Paul, the Capuchins, and the Benedictines, come to the islands

For the direction of some of these seminaries, the sons of St. Vincent de Paul came from Espana in 1862, together with the brothers of charity, who took charge of the attendance of the sick in the hospitals, and of the teaching of young women.

The Capuchin fathers also came to these islands in the year 1886, for the purpose of taking charge of the missions of both Carolinas and Palaos, a duty which they have fulfilled marvelously, and not without the sacrifice of all human ambitions--burying themselves forever in those solitudes of the Pacific ocean, for the love of the poor natives of the Carolinas.

Finally, in 1895, the Benedictine fathers, [158] of the monastery of Monserrat in Espana, landed in Manila for the first time, in order to take charge of some missions on the eastern coast of Mindanao.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DATA

The following document is obtained from a MS. in the Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla:

1. _Remonstrance of Augustinians._--"Simancas--Secular; Audiencia de Filipinas; cartas y espedientes del gobernador de Filipinas vistos en el Consejo; anos 1629 a 1640; est. 67, caj. 6, leg. 8."

The following document is obtained from a MS. in the Academia Real de la Historia, Madrid:

2. _Corcuera's campaign._--"Papeles de los Jesuitas, to 84, no. 27, 34."

The following documents in the appendix are taken from printed works, as follows:

3. _Laws regarding religious.--Recopilacion de las leyes de Indias_ (Madrid, 1841), lib. i, tit. xiv; also tit. xii, ley xxi; tit. xv, ley xxxiii; and tit. xx, ley xxiv.

4. _Jesuit missions in 1656._--Colin's _Labor evangelica_ (Madrid, 1663), pp. 811-820.

5. _Religious estate in Philippines._--San Antonio's _Chronicas_ (Manila, 1738), i, book i, pp. 172-175, 190-210, 214-216, 219, 220, 223-226.

6. _Religious condition of islands._--Delgado's _Historia general_ (Manila, 1892), pp. 140-158, 184-188.

7. _Ecclesiastical survey of Philippines._--Le Gentil's _Voyages dans les mers de l'Inde_ (Paris, 1781), pp. 170-191, 59-63.

8. _Character and influence of friars._--Mas's _Informe sobre el estado de las Islas Filipinas en 1842_ (Madrid, 1843), vol. ii.

9. _Ecclesiastical system in the Philippines._--Buzeta and Bravo's _Diccionario de las Islas Filipinas_ (Madrid, 1850), ii, pp. 271-275, 363-367.

10. _Character and influence of friars._--Jagor's _Reisen in den Philippinen_ (Berlin, 1873), pp. 94-100.

11. _Augustinian Recollects.--Provincia de San Nicolas de Tolentino de Agustinos descalzos_ (Manila, 1879).

12. _Present condition of religion.--Archipielago filipino_ (Washington, 1900), ii, pp. 256-267.

NOTES

[1] As Gregory died in 1623, the despatch of this letter must have been long delayed at Rome or en route.

[2] See chapter xlii of Medina's history of the Augustinian order, in VOL. XXIV of this series; also Diaz's _Conquistas_, pp. 384-386.

[3] This was the archdeacon Alonso Garcia de Leon.

[4] Pedro de Arce (himself an Augustinian), who twice filled vacancies in the archiepiscopal see of Manila.

[5] It is curious that Diaz does not mention this; but he states (_Conquistas_, p. 385) something omitted here--that Archbishop Garcia Serrano interfered in like manner with the judge-executor of 1629 in this case, Garcia de Leon. Diaz may have given wrong names and dates for the one incident.

[6] This was the new archdeacon, Andres Arias Xiron (Diaz's _Conquistas_, p. 385).

[7] Presumably Pedro de Ribadeneira, a Spaniard of Toledo; he was provincial of Castilla, and assistant to the general of the order. About 1635 he was sent by Felipe IV as his ambassador to the duke of Modena and the republic of Lucca; afterward he was named by the king bishop of Cotrone (the ancient Crotona), Italy, but declined this honor. He died on August 20, 1643; and left various writings.--Rev. T. C. Middleton, O.S.A.

[8] There is frequent mention in canon law of _alternativa_ decrees by the Holy See--a device in the interests of fairness, applied in the conferral of benefices and church offices, in order to do away with discords and displays of partisanship. Thereby in elections the preferments, etc., were to go to the opposite party, according at times, to very singular rules, applicable, for instance, according to the month wherein the said benefice fell vacant. The usage of the "alternation" was introduced in the time of Pope Martin V. (A.D. 1417-1431.)

The text of the present document concerns the extension of the _alternativa_ rules to the Augustinians in the Philippine Islands, by force of which the offices in the order (distributed in provincial chapters every four years) were to be conferred one term on religious born in Spain, and the next on religious born in the Indias. The latter were known as Creoles (_crioli_)--thus in the Constitutions of the order, of 1685, where reference is made to decrees of Gregory XV, dated November 29, 1621 (confirmed by Urban VIII in 1628), with regard to elections of the brethren in Mechoacan, in Mexico. As the _alternativa_ held in Mexico and South America--in fact, in Spanish colonies everywhere--these same papal decrees were presumably observed in all those colonies. Later, in Mexico, the statutes of the Augustinians required that in provincial chapters religious of Spanish blood should be chosen alternately with those of Indian, in the election of provincials, definitors, priors, and other officers; but this plan did not operate very satisfactorily.--Rev. T. C. Middleton, O.S.A.

[9] The name (Latin, _regio pontis_), of a ward in the city of Rome.

[10] So in MS., but an improbable name; more likely to be Pacheco.--Rev. T. C. Middleton, O.S.A.

[11] Diaz here says (_Conquistas_, p. 385): "The fathers from the provinces of Espana interposed an appeal from the fuerza [committed] by this act, saying that the said judge had not authority to postpone the matter, but only to execute [the decree]; and from this proceeded continual disputes until the time for the chapter-meeting."

[12] The prior general of the Augustinians in 1634, the date of this bull, was Jerome de Rigoliis, of Corneto, elected May 18, 1630; he died (out of office, however) seven years later, in June, 1637, at the age of seventy and upwards. In 1636 (May 10), his successor in the generalship, Hippolytus dei Monti, was elected.--Rev. T. C. Middleton, O.S.A.

[13] Castel Gandolpho, a beautiful place in the Alban Hills, was the summer resort of the supreme pontiffs.--Rev. T. C. Middleton, O.S.A.

[14] _i.e._, "should the petition be grounded on fact."

[15] _i.e._, "because the said fathers are not qualified in sufficient number," and "in the distribution of the said offices."

[16] In the manuscript that we follow the letter of March 31 is given second, while that of April 5 is given first; we have arranged them chronologically.

[17] Garo: probably the same as _garita_; a fortified outpost?

[18] The translation of this passage seems to be, "If God fights against a city, he who guards it watches in vain." The difficulty lies in "_a custodierit_," which we translate as "fights against."

[19] Sulu, the chief island of the group of that name, has an area of 333 square miles. It contains numerous mountains, some of them nearly 3,000 feet high; and their slopes are covered with magnificent forests. Of the ancient town of Sulu (the residence of the "sultan"), on the southern shore, hardly a trace remains; the present town of that name was built by the Spaniards in 1878, and is modern in style. See _U. S. Gazetteer of Philippines_, pp. 842-850.

[20] "Four groups having different customs may be distinguished among the inhabitants of the archipelago: the Guimbajanos, or inhabitants of the mountains, who are the indigenes; the Malay and Visayan slaves, whose descendants have intermarried; the Samales, an inferior race, though not slaves; the true Moros, who trace their origin from the Mohammedan invaders, and who dominate the other inhabitants." "Physically the Sulu natives are superior to the ordinary Malay type, and, according to Streeter, are a strange mixture of villainy and nobility." (_U. S. Gazetteer_, pp. 845, 846.)

[21] _Babui_, in their language, signifies "pig;" apparently they called the Spaniards "swine," as expressing the acme of contempt for their besiegers.

[22] "Thanks be to God who has given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

[23] Combes says (_Hist. Mindanao_, Retana's ed., col. 264) that this queen, named Tuambaloca, was a native of Basilan, and that she had acquired such ascendency over her husband that the government of Jolo was entirely in her hands. This statement explains the presence of the Basilan men in the Joloan stronghold.

[24] Kris, a dagger or poniard, the universal weapon of all the civilized inhabitants of the archipelago, and of a hundred different forms. Men of all ranks wear this weapon; and those of rank, when full dressed, wear two and even four. (Crawfurd's _Dict. Ind. Islands_, p.202.)

At the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, held last year (1904) at St. Louis, the Philippine exhibits contained Malay weapons, in great number and variety--krises, campilans, lances, etc.

[25] Francisco Martinez was born near Zaragoza, February 25, 1605, and at the age of seventeen entered the Jesuit order. Joining the Philippine mission, he labored mainly among the Moros, and died at Zamboanga on September 17, 1650.

Alejandro Lopez, a native of Aragon, was born in July, 1604, and at the age of nineteen went to Mexico, where he spent several years in commercial pursuits. On August 28, 1631, he entered the Jesuit novitiate at Manila; and, accompanying Corcuera in his campaigns, was long a missionary among the Moros, and at various times an envoy to their chiefs in behalf of the Spanish governors. It was on one of these embassies that Lopez met his death, being killed by the Moros, December 15, 1655. See Combes's _Hist. Mindanao_, which relates in full Lopez's missionary career; and sketch of his life in Murillo Velarde's _Hist. Philipinas_, fol. 94 _verso_, 235, 238-247. Cf. Montero y Vidal's _Hist. Filipinas_, i, pp. 296-298.

[26] This letter is unsigned; but the transcript of it made by Ventura del Arco places it with others ascribed to Barrios.

See detailed accounts of the expedition against Jolo (Sulu) in Combes's _Hist. Mindanao y Jolo_ (Retana and Pastells ed.), cols. 349-368; Diaz's _Conquistas_, pp. 388-401; Murillo Velarde's _Hist. Philipinas_, fol. 92, 93; and La Concepcion's _Hist. Philipinas_, v, pp. 334-351.

[27] See also the instructions given by Felipe II to Francisco de Tello, at Toledo, May 25, 1596, in our VOL. IX, pp. 250, 251.

[28] A note to this law in the _Recopilacion_ reads as follows: "This law was extended to all America for the same reason, by a royal decree dated Madrid, March 28, 1769; and the prelates are not allowed to expel members of the orders except for just cause, while those thus expelled are to be sent to Spain."

[29] This totals up three hundred and seventy-two, instead of the number given in the text--evidently a printer's error.

[30] Corcuera's endowment of these fellowships raised a great storm in the islands, especially among the Dominicans, who claimed that it was aimed at their college of Santo Tomas; while in Spain the king and his council were equally indignant because they had not been previously consulted in the matter, an indignation that was carefully fostered and increased by the Dominicans. The lawsuit in this case was bitter, and was conducted in the supreme Council of the Indias by Juan Grau y Monfalcon, procurator of the cabildo of the city of Manila; Father Baltasar de Lagunilla, procurator-general of the Society of Jesus, for the college of San Jose; and father Fray Mateo de Villa, procurator-general of the Dominican province of the Rosario, for the college of Santo Tomas. The case was prolific in documents from all three sources. The Dominicans remained masters of the field, and this case contributed to the downfall of Corcuera, who was finally superseded in 1644 by Diego de Fajardo, who had been appointed some years before, but might never have gone to the islands had it not been for the lawsuit over the fellowships. See Pastells's _Colin_, iii, pp. 763-781.

[31] Pedro de Brito was also a regidor of Manila, whose post was adjudged to him at public auction for one thousand four hundred pesos of common gold, with the third part of what was promised from the increase. He took possession of his post June 24, 1589. See Pastells's _Colin_, iii, p. 783.

[32] This was the protomartyr of the Society of Jesus in the Philippines, Juan de las Misas, who met death in the last part of November, 1624 (_not_ 1625). He was a fluent preacher in the Tagal tongue, and entered the Society in the Philippines. When returning from Tayabas to Marinduque he was met by some hostile Camucones and killed by a shot from an arquebus, after which he was beheaded, in fulfilment of a vow to Mahomet. See Pastells's _Colin_, iii, p. 791.

[33] This was the galleon "San Marcos." See Pastells's _Colin_, iii, p. 791.

[34] This was Juan del Carpio--a native of Riofrio in the kingdom of Leon--who had spent twenty years among the natives in the Philippines. See Pastells's _Colin_, iii, p. 792.

[35] Domingo Areso, a native of Caller, who was killed by an Indian, April 10, 1745, because the father had censured him for allowing his mother to die without the sacraments. See _ut supra_, pp. 792, 793.

[36] It was discovered by Father Francisco Combes on the heights of Boragueen, who reported the discovery to the alcalde-mayor of Leite, Silvestre de Rodas, at Dagame, November 18, 1661. See Pastells's _Colin_, iii, p. 793, note 1. See Jagor's _Reisen_, pp. 220-223, where he describes this locality (which lies south of Burauen, on the southern slope of the Manacagan range), and the process by which the sulphur is obtained.

[37] Thus characterized in _U. S. Gazetteer_ (p. 512): "Important point of approach from Pacific Ocean. High, and visible in clear weather 40 m., thus serving as excellent mark for working strait of San Bernardino."

[38] These were Fathers Miguel Ponce and Vicente Damian. The first was killed June 2, 1649; the second October 11, of the same year. The former was a native of Penarojo in Aragon; the latter, of Randazo in Sicily See Pastells's _Colin_, iii, p. 794, note 1.

[39] The Subanes or Subanon (meaning "river people"), are a heathen people of Malay extraction living in the peninsula of Sibuguey in West Mindanao. See Mason's translation of Blumentritt's _Native Tribes of Philippines_, in Smithsonian _Report_ for 1899, pp. 544, 545. See also Sawyer's _Inhabitants of the Philippines_, pp. 356-360 (though it must be borne in mind that Sawyer is not always entirely trustworthy).

[40] These were Fathers Francisco de Mendoza and Francisco Pagliola. The former was a native of Lisboa and was born in 1602 of a noble family. He was killed by the Moros in Malanao, May 7, 1642. He had entered the Society in Nueva Espana in 1621 and went to the Philippines, while still a novice. The latter was martyred January 29, 1648. He was a native of Nola in the kingdom of Naples, the date of his birth being May 10, 1610. He entered the Society February 6, 1637, at Naples. On arriving at the Philippines in 1643, he was assigned to Mindanao, where he labored in Iligan and the western part of the island, going later to the Subanos, who killed him. See Pastells's _Colin_, iii, pp. 800, 801; and Murillo Velarde's _Hist. Philipinas_, fols. 111 verso, and 154 verso and 155.

[41] Juan del Campo, who was killed by the Subanos January 25, 1650, was born in Villanueva de la Vera, in 1620. He went to Mexico in 1642, where he began to study theology, completing that study in Manila. See Pastells's _Colin_, iii, p. 801; and Murillo Velarde's _Hist. Philipinas_, fol. 178.

[42] The two martyrs of Buayen were Pedro Andres de Zamora, December 28, 1639, and Bartolome Sanchez, early in June, 1642. The former was born in Valencia, and in 1616 entered the Society in Aragon, and went to the Philippines in 1626. He was suspended from the Society in 1629, but was readmitted upon showing full signs of repentance. He was sent while still a novice to the missions at Buayen, where he labored faithfully and zealously until his death.

The latter was born in Murcia on St. Bartholomew's day, 1613. In his youthful years, while attending the Jesuit college, he became somewhat wild, but later reformed; and upon hearing of the martyrs of Japon in 1628, he was fired with zeal to emulate them, and entered the Society, being received on the ship that bore him to Nueva Espana. Although he had resolved to return to Spain in the same ship, because of the disconsolateness of his parents at his departure, he changed his mind, and finished his novitiate in Manila. Upon being ordained as a priest, he was sent to Mindanao and was killed by Manaquior while on his way with a naval relief expedition to Buayen, after having been eleven years in the Society. Sec Pastells's _Colin_, iii, p. 801; and Murillo Velarde's _Hist. Philipinas_, fols. 113 verso and 117 verso.

[43] These two fathers, Alejandro Lopez and Juan Montiel, were martyred December 13, 1655 (_not_ 1656). The latter was a native of Rijoles in Calabria. See Pastells's _Colin_, iii, pp. 801, 802; Murillo Velarde's _Hist. Philipinas_, fols. 233 verso-235 verso; and _ante_, p. 62, note 25.

[44] The author alludes to Father Domingo Vilancio, who died in 1634. He was a native of Leche in the kingdom of Naples. He labored among the natives of the Philippines for more than thirty years. See VOL. XXVI, p. 266; and Pastells's _Colin_, iii, p. 802.

[45] After sixty years of Spanish rule, Portugal revolted (December, 1640), threw off the Spanish yoke, and placed on its throne Joao IV--who, as duke of Braganza, was the most wealthy and influential of all the Portuguese noblemen; and he was regarded as the legitimate claimant of the throne. Spain made several attempts to recover this loss; but Portugal has ever since been independent.

[46] _i.e._, Great Sanguil. The auditor Francisco de Montemayor y Mansilla says that Sanguil is twelve leguas from Siao and ten from Mindanao, and has a circumference of six or seven leguas. "Four chiefs rule this island, namely, those of Siao (in the villages called Tabaco), Maganitos, Tabucan, and Calonga. The latter had two villages, Calonga and Tarruma, where there was formerly a presidio with ten or twelve Spanish soldiers, solely for the defense of those two Christian villages from the invasions of the Moros of the same island. The village of Tarruma after the dismantling of our forts, passed into the control of the Dutch; and there are now, according to reports, some Dutch there, and a dominie who preaches to them. The other village, Calonga, which is governed by a father-in-law of the king of Siao, still perseveres in the Catholic faith and the friendship of the Spaniards. It is visited, although with dangers and difficulties, by the fathers of the Society of Jesus who live in Siao, when they go to visit the Christian villages owned by that king in the island of Sanguil." See Pastells's _Colin_, iii, p. 814.

[47] The same auditor (see note, above) says that the Talaos "are four islands lying in the same district as those of Sanguil and Siao. The country is poor, the people barbarous and naked, and the islands abound in cocoas and vegetables, some little rice (on which they live), and some roots (with which they pay their tribute). Two islands and part of another are vassals of the king of Tabucan; the fourth island and part of that which pays tribute to the king of Tabucan are vassals of the king of Siao. They have their own petty chief, who was baptized in Manila; and there are now eight hundred baptized families there." See Pastells's _Colin_, iii, p. 814.

[48] When Father Colin wrote, the Dutch had already discovered, explored, and delineated in their maps with sufficient accuracy, the coasts of New Guinea and New Holland, or Australia and New Zealand. See Pastells's _Colin_, iii, p. 816.

[49] Alonso de Castro was born at Lisbon. Sommervogel (_Bibliotheque_) says that he labored for nine years in the missions of Terrenate, and that he was martyred January 1, 1558.

[50] _i.e._, "in both courts," meaning the outer court of ecclesiastical justice, and the inner court of conscience. See VOL. VIII, p. 278.

[51] For further historical and descriptive information regarding the cathedral of Manila (especially the present structure, completed in 1879), see Fonseca's _Resena cronologica de la catedral de Manila_ (Manila, 1880).

[52] _Marginal note_: "In the year 1571 the first Inquisition was established in Mexico, and its first inquisitor was Don Pedro Moya de Contreras, afterward visitor, archbishop of Mexico, and its viceroy; and later president of the royal Council of the Indias. See Torquemada, in _La monarchia indiana_, book 5, chapter 24."

[53] That decree organized the tribunals of the Crusade, and made provision for their conduct and for the care of the revenues from the bulls. Various laws on this subject are found in _Recopilacion leyes de Indias_, lib. i, tit. xx; one of these may be found _ante_, pp. 76, 77.

[54] Among the media employed by the Holy See in the restoration of one's conscience to its good estate, are the bulls of composition. In the case of persons in possession of ill-gotten goods, as prebendaries who have forfeited their canonical allotments, or trustees who have maladministered estates, and the like, an arrangement (Latin, _compositio_) is sometimes made--only, however, when the rightful owners or heirs of the property in question are unknown (_si domins sint ignoti_), whereby the said "unjust steward" is allowed to keep for himself a moiety of what does not belong to him, on condition that the rest be handed over for the maintenance of church services, or institutions of charity, as hospitals, asylums, and the like. See Ferraris's _Bibliotheca_, art. "Bulla Cruciatae."--Rev. T. C. Middleton, O.S.A.

The bulls for the dead were placed on the heads of the dying, or in the hands of the dead--purchased by their friends or relatives in order to rescue then souls from purgatory. Those _de lacticinios_ (literally, "for milk-porridges") permitted to ecclesiastics the use of certain foods at times when these were forbidden by church law. The bulls of the Crusade were valid as dispensations only one year in Spain; but according to Solorzano they were extended to two years in the colonies, on account of the long time required for them to teach those distant places. See Bancroft's _Hist. Mexico_, iii, p. 605. After the victory of Lepanto, Gregory XIII resumed the issue of these indulgences, and extended them to twelve years; and since then his bull has been renewed every twelve years, (E. H. Vollet, in _Grande Encyclopedie_, Paris, Lamirault et Cie.), xiii, p. 453.

[55] Apparently the "farming out" of this revenue, by the crown, to private persons. A law of May 30, 1640, enacted that all the expenses connected with the bulls of the Crusade should be paid from its proceeds, the remainder being paid to the crown (_Recopilacion_, lib. i, tit. xx, ley xvi).

[56] Tournon was the papal legate sent to China for the settlement of the famous controversy regarding the "Chinese rites," which had lasted some seventy years. The missions to China were entirely in the hands of the Jesuits until 1631, when Dominicans entered that country, and Franciscans in 1633. The new missionaries soon began to accuse the Jesuits of undue complaisance and conformity with heathen customs, and made complaint against them at Rome. For a time the Holy See permitted the practice of the Chinese rites, but frequent contentions arose on this subject between the Jesuits and the other orders, which were not definitely settled by Rome for many years. Finally, Clement XI sent Tournon (1703) to investigate the matter thoroughly, who condemned the rites in question as idolatrous and was therefore imprisoned by the Chinese emperor. He died in this captivity (1710), but his decision was accepted by the pope, and all Catholic missionaries to China were required to take an oath that they would resist those rites to the utmost. See full account of this controversy, with citations of authorities, in Addis and Arnold's _Catholic Dictionary_ (Meagher's revision), pp. 926-928. For accounts of Tournon's stay at Manila, and the dissatisfaction which he aroused there, see La Concepcion's _Hist. Philipinas_, viii, pp. 306-324; and Zuniga's _Hist. Philipinas_ (Sampaloc, 1803), pp. 411-416.

[57] Sidoti (or Sidotti) was an Italian priest who came to Manila with Tournon, intending to enter the forbidden land of Japan. In 1709, he succeeded in doing this, by persuading the captain of a Spanish vessel to land him on the Japanese coast; Zuniga says (_Hist. Philipinas_, pp. 420, 421) that nothing more had ever been learned regarding him. La Concepcion, however, writing somewhat earlier, says (_Hist. Philipinas_, vi, p. 82) that in 1716 news of Sidoti's imprisonment and death arrived at Canton--the latter being attributed to his continual fasts and austerities. But Griffis relates (_Mikado's Empire_, pp. 262, 263) so much as may now be known about Sidoti's fate, derived from a book--_Sei Yo Ki Bun_ ("Annals of Western Nations")--written by the Japanese scholar who examined the priest, which gives the facts of the case, and the judicial proceedings therein. Sidoti "was kept a prisoner, living for several years after his arrival, in Yedo (Tokio), and probably died a natural death."

[58] See La Concepcion's detailed account (_Hist. Philipinas_, viii, pp. 315-338) of the founding of this college.

[59] This was only _ad interim_, during the absence of Bishop Salazar in Spain, from 1591 to Salvatierra's death early in 1595. He had come tu Manila with Salazar, whose provisor he long was; he also ministered to the Indians, and went to Maluco as chaplain with a Spanish expedition. See _Resena biografica_, i, pp. 50-52.

[60] In the margin at this point occurs the following: "A total of 105,503 souls."

[61] This law (which is contained in the book entitled, "Concerning the universities, and general and private studies in the Indias") is as follows: "Permission is conceded for the cities of Santo Domingo in the island of Espanola, Santa Fe in the new kingdom of Granada, Santiago de Guatemala, Santiago de Chile, and Manila in the Filipinas Islands, to have halls for study, and universities where courses may be pursued and degrees given, for the time that has appeared advisable. For that we have obtained briefs and bulls from the holy apostolic see, and we have conceded those universities certain privileges and preeminences. We order that what has been ordained for the said halls of study and universities be kept, obeyed, and executed, without violating it in any manner. Those universities which shall be limited in time, shall present themselves before our royal Council of the Indias to petition for an extension of time, where the advisable measures will be taken. If no extension is granted, the teaching of those studies shall cease and end; for so is our will." A note to this law in the _Recopilacion_ reads in part as follows: "It must be borne in mind that the universities, seminaries, conciliars, and other schools of learning erected by public authority in the Indias were declared to be under the royal patronage by a circular letter of June 11, 1792."

[62] See this law in VOL. XX, pp. 260, 261.

[63] Notwithstanding that San Antonio states that the brothers of the hospital Order of St. John of God arrived in Manila at this comparatively late date, they had been often asked for by both the ecclesiastical estates. The following letter from the bishop of Nueva Segovia is such a request. The original of this letter is in Archivo general de Indias, with the pressmark: "Simancas; ecclesiastico; Audiencia de Filipinas; cartas y expedientes de los obispos sufraganeos de Manila, a saber, Nueva Segovia, Nueva Caceres, Santisimo Nombre de Jesus o Cebu; anos de 1597 a 1698; est. 68, caj. 1, leg. 34." It would appear from the endorsement on this letter that some brothers were sent at this early date; although this instruction probably remained a dead letter. (Cf. VOL. XVIII of this series, p. 114, dated 1618.)

"Sire:

"Your Majesty has a royal hospital here, which is one of the most necessary and useful things in this land for the health and treatment of the poor soldiers and of the other people who serve your Majesty. Although its income is but scanty, if it had some one to distribute it efficiently, and to care for it properly, there would be sufficient aid from the many alms given by the inhabitants who can do something. It is most necessary for its good government and maintenance for your Majesty to send four or five brothers from the order called [St.] John of God, who should have authority from your Majesty and from his Holiness to be able to receive others; for now the matter is ready, and all that is necessary. Those brothers could come with the religious whom your Majesty is sending--either Franciscans or Dominicans--or your Majesty could have them sent from the good brothers who are established in Nueva Espana. The latter would economize the expense, and the journey would be quicker and more certain. May our Lord preserve your Majesty long years, for the welfare of His church. Manila, July 7, 1606. I kiss your Majesty's royal hands,

Fray Diego, bishop of Nueva Segobia."

[_Endorsed_: "Manila, July 7, 1606. Number 518. From the bishop of Nueva Segovia. September 24, 1607." "Have the four brothers whom he mentions sent; have the matter entrusted to Don Francisco de Tejada, so that he may arrange this with the chief brother of Anton Martin." "A copy was sent to Don Francisco."]

A decree of Felipe IV, dated Madrid, November 30, 1630, thus regulates the foundation of these religious in the Indias:

"The viceroys, presidents, and auditors of the royal audiencias shall not allow any of the religious of St. John of God to live or reside in the Indias, who shall have gone thither without our permission; or to found convents, give habits to any persons, or allow them to profess. Those who may be living in the provinces of their districts, or shall go thither later with our permission, shall not take upon themselves the care of the hospitals, either of Indians or of Spaniards, or the management of their incomes and alms, unless by first binding themselves to give reports and allow inspections in this respect by the ecclesiastical, or secular judges who can and ought to make them. And they shall not be exempt from that by saying that they have a bull from the apostolic see to be religious, and that they are ordained with holy orders, and that therefore they are to be subordinate only to their regular prelate. Neither shall they be exempt from the inspection for any other excuse that they may bring forward."--See _Recopilacion de leyes_, lib. i, tit. xiv, ley xxiv.

[64] In the margin at this point: "Total number of souls, 68,334."

[65] In the margin at this point: "Total number of persons, 42,178."

[66] In the margin at this point: "Total number of souls, 4,000."

[67] In the margin at this point: "Total number of souls, 70,961."

[68] The number of christianized natives is stated, on Murillo Velarde's map, as 900,000. Cf. the statement by Le Gentil (p. 209 _post_), of the number in 1735--so in his printed text, but perhaps a typographical error for 1755.

[69] A full account of the Jesuit college and university is furnished by Murillo Velarde in _Hist. Philipinas_, fol. 125, 140, 168-171.

[70] _Beaterio:_ a house inhabited by devout women.

[71] Evidently then the appellation of that part of the archipelago now included under the term "province of Paragua," which includes not only the Calamianes Islands, but those of the Cuyos group, and part of the island of Palawan (or Paragua).

[72] Literally, "holy table," equivalent to the modern "board of directors;" a reference to the Confraternity of La Misericordia, which, as we have seen in former documents, was the main charitable agency of Manila.

[73] Reference is here made to chapter xviii, book i, of Delgado's _Historia_; following is his statement (from pp. 60-62) of the depopulation of Cebu, and its causes: "Near the middle of the southern coast of the island was established the city and original colony of the Spaniards; but today it has become so depopulated that it has hardly enough citizens to fill the offices that pertain to a city, as are those of regidors and alcaldes-in-ordinary; and _not_ seldom has it occurred that some Spaniards must be conveyed thither to supply the lack of people, going in place of these who died.... At present, the city is reduced to the church and convent of the Santo Nino, the church and residence of the Society of Jesus (a building which, although small, is very regular and well planned), and, midway between them, the cathedral--which is very inferior to those two churches, since it consists only of a large apartment thatched with palm-leaves. (The foundations were laid, however, for another and more suitable building, in the time when the diocese was governed by the illustrious bishop Doctor Don Manuel Antonio de Ocio y Ocampo [who entered that office in 1733]; but his death prevented him from completing the work, and it has remained in that condition ever since.) The royal building is well arranged and sufficiently capacious, serving as palace for the commander of the Pintados fleets; he is also warder of a good stone fortress (triangular in shape) and commander of the port, and at the same time alcalde and chief magistrate of the entire province--which includes the islands of Cebu, Bohol, Siquijor, and a great part of the coast of Mindanao, with other smaller and adjacent islands.

"The cause for the city's being depopulated, at present, of Spanish inhabitants is nothing else than the cupidity of some persons who came from Manila to the government of the province with appointments as alcaldes, whose greed did not allow any partnership, in spite of the oath that they take not to carry on trade, either in person or through another person, within the limits of their jurisdiction. These are indeed lands where no one can live without barter or trading; for not one of the Spaniards applies himself to cultivating the soil, nor do they have fixed incomes from the country with which to meet their obligations. Moreover, they have to buy whatever they need, with either commodities or money; accordingly, if the alcaldes-mayor forbid the inhabitants (as they do) from going out through the province to buy what they need, the latter find themselves in Cebu in the condition of one who is shut up in a prison, where no one can search for or find him. If vessels arrive to sell their merchandise the alcalde-mayor, near whose house they anchor, is the one who first avails himself of everything--either for his own use, or to sell the goods again--leaving for the rest of the people only what is of no use to himself. If any one has energy enough to press forward to purchase what he needs, he is immediately threatened with imprisonment, seizure of his goods, flogging, and the loss of everything from which any profit was expected--as I have many times seen, because I lived several years in that country, where only recourse to God is near, or to superiors who are very far away. This is the reason why the Spanish residents have withdrawn from Cebu, to avoid continual quarrels and annoyances--going to Manila, where they can live with greater peace and quietness, although not so profitably, on account of the choice commodities which they could obtain in the Visayan provinces for the increase of their wealth. The only ones who remain and bear the heavy yoke are the mestizos and Sangleys, who always have to share with the alcalde what they seek out with their toil and hardship, if they wish to live without unrest and fear. Sometimes, but rarely, the alcaldes share with these people that which might bring them some profit; but usually they furnish the commodities which they bring from Manila, at the very highest prices, receiving in exchange those of the provinces at the lowest and most paltry rates."

[74] Delgado has evidently borrowed much of his account from San Antonio; but in this case he inserts _no_, without any apparent justification. San Antonio says, _y oblige a culpa mortal su observacia_ (_ante_, p. 128); and Delgado, _cuya observancia no obliga a culpa moral_ (the last word apparently a misprint for _mortal_).

[75] The two decrees here mentioned are, in the printed text of Delgado, respectively 1692 and 1602--some of the numerous errors which render that text untrustworthy as to dates.

[76] Teacher of philosophy and belles lettres in a cathedral school.

[77] The whole and half prebendaries are those called _racioneros_ and _medios racioneros_ in Spanish cathedrals.

[78] A Spanish silver coin of eight reals, which dates from the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella. It is practically the same as the peso, or "piece of eight."

[79] Referring to the arrest (October 9, 1668) of Governor Diegode Salcedo. Le Gentil is incorrect in saying that a Dominican was responsible for this act; the commissary who arrested the governor was the Augustinian Fray Jose de Paternina, who held that office from 1664 till 1672, when he was summoned to Mexico by the tribunal of the Inquisition, and died on the voyage thither.

[80] Referring to the nuns of St. Clare, affiliated with the Franciscan order as a tertiary branch.

[81] Don Juan de Casens, who commanded the fragata "Santa Rosa."

[82] See Murillo Velarde's description (_Hist. Philipinas_, fol. 198) of the Jesuit residence and college. It was planned by Father Juan Antonio Campion, and furnished commodious lodgings for fifty residents, besides the necessary offices; but part of the main building was afterward overthrown by earthquakes. In Murillo Velarde's time, the college had become "an aggregation of buildings, added to the original edifice from time to time, forming a mass as bulky as architecturally irregular.... The library has no equal in the islands, in either the number or the select quality of the books, which include all branches of learning. In several of the apartments also are very respectable libraries.... In the printing-office are several presses, and various styles of type of different sizes; and there works are produced as accurate, well engraved, and neat as in Espana--and sometimes with errors that are less stupid and more endurable. The gallery (in which there is a truck [_trucos_, a game resembling billiards] table for the holidays) is a beautiful apartment, long, wide, and spacious; and so elevated that it overlooks on one side the city, and on the other the great bay of Manila. From it may be seen all the galleons, pataches, galliots, champans, and every other kind of vessels, which leave or enter the port, from America, China, Coromandel, Batavia, and other Oriental kingdoms, and from the provinces of these islands. It is adorned (as also are the corridors) with paintings, maps, landscapes, and other things curious and pleasant to the sight.... There is a school, for teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic to the boys from without.... In the orchard is a house, with its offices, for the Indian house-servants, and a church; they have their chapel, very fully equipped, in which they practice various devotions and receive the sacraments.... In charge of this, a sort of seminary, is a student brother; and in it the Indians learn the doctrine, virtue, good habits, the holy fear of God, civilized ways, polite manners, letters, and other accomplishments, according to their ability. The principal patio of the college is a right-angled quadrilateral; in it there is a garden bordered with rose-trees, which bear roses all the year round, with other flowers, and medicinal herbs. There are other gardens and orchards, and seven deep wells of running water (and some of it is very good) for drinking purposes. In the library is a round table made in one piece, almost forty common palmos in circumference--an adornment worthy of the king's own library."

[83] Cf. the enthusiastic description by Murillo Velarde (_Hist. Philipinas_, fol. 195 v.-198) of this "magnificent temple." He says that its dimensions were 204 x 90 feet; and that it was surmounted by two towers, inclosing the facade--for which he apologizes, as loaded with inappropriate ornamentation; but it is, nevertheless, "a shell worthy of the pearl which it encloses." It was planned by Father Juan Antonio Campion (who died in 1651), and was built of stone obtained from "the vicinity of Antipolo;" this doubtless refers to the marble-quarries of Montalban and Binangonan, in Rizal (formerly Manila) province. This stone was of so excellent quality and texture that it remained, after more than a hundred years, uninjured by rain, sun, or air; and the walls were so solidly built, and the wooden timbers within so durable, that in all that time it had not been necessary to make any repairs in the framework, nor had any injury been done to the building by earthquakes or storms. The main altar was made of a single stone. The building cost 150,000 pesos; it was not consecrated until 1727. Murillo Velarde adds: "I have known men of fine taste, who had great knowledge of architecture, and who had seen the most beautiful of the famous buildings of Europe, to be overcome, as it were, with admiration in this church."

[84] Jose Francisco de Ovando y Solis, marques de Ovando, who was governor of the islands during 1750-54. Le Gentil here alludes to what he has previously stated (_Voyages_, ii, p. 164) regarding Ovando: "He made great improvements in the Acapulco galleon; for before his time the Manilans shipped their supply of water [for the voyage] in leathern bottles or in jars which they suspended in the rigging; the water often gave out, and they were compelled to have recourse to that supplied by the rain. The Marques de Ovando had water-casks made, and ordered that enough of these be placed aboard to supply water for the entire voyage; he framed muster-rolls, and placed all the men on allowance. In short, the Acapulco navigation was placed on the same footing as that of Europe."

[85] Zuniga says (_Estadismo_, Retana's ed., i, p. 230): "The noted beaterio [_i.e._, a house in which reside devout women] of Santa Catalina ... founded by Dona Antonia Ezguerra in the year 1695; and General Escano increased its revenues so that fifteen beatas and some servants could be maintained in it. The beatas must be Spanish women, assist in the choir, and take a vow of chastity." Evidently these beatas were much like the Beguines (founded in Belgium in 1184, and still in existence).

[86] Regarding the Franciscan order and its branches, see VOL. XX, p. 91. The Capuchins were originally Observantine Franciscans, and date from 1526, when their founder, Matteo di Bassi, of Urbino, Italy, obtained papal consent to live, with his companions, a hermit life, wear a habit with long pointed cowl (_capuche_, whence their name), and preach the gospel in all lands. At first they were subject to the general of the conventual Franciscans, not obtaining exemption from this obedience until 1617. Early in the eighteenth century the Capuchins numbered 25,000 friars, with 1,600 convents, besides their missions in Brazil and Africa; but the French Revolution and other political disturbances caused the suppression of many of their houses. At present, they are most numerous in Austria and Switzerland.

[87] _i.e._, "the disease of Lazarus," referring to the beggar at the rich man's gate, in the parable (Luke xvi, v. 20), evidently a leper. This disease was regarded, in the absence of scientific knowledge of its nature, as a direct visitation or punishment from the deity. It will be remembered that many lepers who were Christians had been sent from Japan to Manila.

[88] The following law is taken from _Recopilacion leyes de Indias_ (lib. 1, tit. vii, ley vii): "We charge the archbishops and bishops of our Indias that they ordain mestizos as priests in their districts, if in such persons are united the competency and necessary qualifications for the priestly order; but such ordination must be preceded by careful investigation, and information from the prelates as to the candidate's life and habits, and after finding that he is well instructed, intelligent, capable, and born from a lawful marriage. And if any mestizo women choose to become religious, and take the habit and veil in the monasteries of nuns, they [_i.e._, the archbishops and bishops] shall ordain that such women be admitted to the monasteries and to religious profession, after obtaining the same information [as above] regarding their lives and habits." [Felipe II--San Lorenzo, August 31 and September 28, 1588.]

[89] Referring to the noted prelate Basilio Sancho de Santa Justa y Rufina. He died in December 1787.

[90] This was Jose Raon (see VOL. XVII, p. 298).

[91] "Pasquin (at Rome) is a statue at the foot of which are fastened placards--sometimes defamatory, sometimes ironical, relative to affairs of the time."--Le Gentil.

The word "pasquin" (pasquino) is derived from the name of a tailor, who was famous at the end of the fifteenth century for his lampoons. The group of statuary called Pasquino (now badly mutilated) represents Menelaus with the body of Patroclus, looking round for succor in the tumult of battle. The square in which this group stands is also called Piazza del Pasquino.