Chapter VI: Appendix: Education in the Philippines (2)

"The King. President and auditors of my royal Audiencia of the Philipinas Islands, which is established in the city of Manila: In a letter dated July twelve, of the year one thousand seven hundred and sixty-nine, you informed me, with testimony, that having noted that the four Piarist religious whom the present right reverend archbishop of that metropolitan church took in his company, did not present the licenses which they carried in order that they might go to those islands, and that they were entering various posts outside the assistancy in the said archbishop's house; and in consideration of the fact that they had no other house in those islands, and that there was no distinction among them which could prove that they had a prelate: you deemed it advisable to proceed to the observation of the laws in such cases. You petitioned, by means of political and judicial measures, that the purpose of those religious be investigated, and the amphibological replies of the above-mentioned archbishop could not quiet your anxiety, but the rather increased it, so that you proceeded to the remonstrances which you made to the governor, in regard to his having delivered the royal college of San Joséph, which was under the charge of the expelled regulars of the Society, to Father Martin de San Antonio, abbot of the Piarist fathers, and the reported rector of the seminary of the archbishop, so that those who intended to become ordained might live therein, and be instructed in ethics, also under the direction of the said Father Martin. You declared that from your remonstrances to the above-mentioned governor, could be recognized the wrongs which resulted from that measure, which was quite contrary to what was ordered in the instructions for the banishment of the above-mentioned regulars of the Society, and contrary to the right which those then living in the college had legally acquired of maintaining themselves therein, as well as those who should succeed them in the future, without it being possible to make a pretext of any innovation because of the lack of teachers. For there would be no lack of seculars to substitute for the present, and in time, persons worthy to maintain this praiseworthy foundation could be trained. Finally, not having any information regarding the reasons that moved the governor to this (apparently) strange resolution, you were unable to conform to it or pass it by without taking any notice of it, and alone having observed your first obligation, namely, to report to me what you were discussing as advisable to my royal service and the welfare of my vassals, you represented what had occurred, so that after having examined the matter, I might deign to determine what is most fitting to my royal pleasure. The abovesaid was examined in my Council of the Indias, together with what was reported by Don Pedro Calderon Enriquez, togated lawyer of the said my Council, regarding it, of the antecedents of the matter, and of what was reported at the same time in regard to it, with their respective testimonies, by the former governor and captain-general of those islands, Don Joseph Raon, and the above-mentioned archbishop, in letters from March twelve to July twenty-nine of the above-cited year one thousand seven hundred and sixty-nine, my fiscal made his statement; and consulted with me in regard to it on September thirteen of last year, with consideration of the indiscretion with which the above-mentioned governor, Don Joseph Raon, transgressed by placing the royal college of San Joséph of that city under the direction of Father Martín de San Antonio, the abbot of the Piarists, thus rendering it necessary for those who obtained their becas to leave the college, and abandon them, and the manner in which you opposed the previously-noted spoliation, as a matter contrary to my royal intentions and the product of most grave wrongs and pernicious consequences, as is shown in the fact that the above-mentioned college was founded for the purpose of teaching therein grammar, philosophy, and theology to the children of the principal Spanish persons and subjects of that city. Twenty becas were created therein for a like number of collegiates, and the teaching of the same and their direction was given to the expelled regulars of the Society. The king, my father deigned to receive it under his sovereign protection, May three, of the year one thousand seven hundred and twenty-two, and decorate it with the title of 'Royal ad honorem,' provided that it should have no other patrons, and under the express condition that it never should have such, or be able to cause any burden or embarrassment to my royal exchequer. The above-mentioned order of the Society did not have therein other right than the above-mentioned direction and government. Consequently, since the royal decree of July nine, one thousand six hundred and sixty-nine, which was inserted in the decree of April five of the above-mentioned year one thousand seven hundred and seventy, by which the collection of the measures in regard to the seizure of the temporalities of the said expelled regulars was sent to those my dominions of America, ordered that there be no innovation in the colleges or secular houses whose direction and instruction were entrusted to them, as is proved by section thirty of the first decree, the collegiates of the college of San Joséph could not be despoiled of their becas in order to expel them from the college, nor could the Trent seminary be removed to the above-mentioned house, without directly violating the orders of the above-mentioned decrees. To the abovesaid is added that the above-mentioned four Piarist religious went to those islands with no other purpose than to act as attendants of the above-mentioned archbishop, whence is inferred the just motive which you had in advising the said prelate to keep them in his company; in expressing wonder that one of them should be entrusted with the direction of the above-mentioned royal college of San Joseph; in advising Governor Don Joseph Raon of the illegality of the abovesaid act, and of the fatal results which were accessory to that of the expulsion of those who had obtained their becas; and in resolving that my royal mind be instructed in regard to the abovesaid measures so that I might deign to take those measures which should appear most desirable to me for their remedy. Consequently, not only is there not found in your operations the slightest motive that justifies the complaint which the above-mentioned archbishop has brought forward in his said letter, but, on the contrary, it is to be noted that you did no other thing in whatever you performed, than to comply with the mandates of the laws. The said governor and the above-mentioned prelate, not being able to ignore the fact of the existence of the above-mentioned college, and of the solemnity with which it had been founded, it became very worthy of attention that in their reports they were silent in regard to this foundation, both commendable and made by the above-mentioned king, my father, and with his royal name, and transgressed in founding a new college seminary with Indian collegiates, without authority or obligation to do so. That is still more aggravated by the fact of the spoliation of the Spanish collegiates of their possession of the said college of San Joseph by erecting in it what they call a seminary for Indians, since for these and the Sangley mestizos there is the above-mentioned college of San Juan de Letran, and the conciliar seminary was already founded. By such violent spoliation, not only were the collegiates outraged, but also the inhabitants of that city exasperated, so that with such acts of despotism they hate to live there, and the islands are being depopulated of Spaniards, as is happening. Under these circumstances and inasmuch as the above-mentioned college of San Joseph has nothing in common with the expelled regulars, as the latter had only the administration and direction of the college, and this having ceased with their expulsion, the above-mentioned governor ought to appoint a secular of good morals from those who shall have been collegiates in the said college, as such will be already instructed as to its government, as rector and administrator, with obligation of rendering a yearly report. He must not allow the archbishop to meddle with anything pertaining to the said college, as it is under my royal protection, and, consequently, wholly independent of the ecclesiastical ordinary, as are the other pious foundations mentioned by the Council of Trent. The governor ought not to permit the archbishop to meddle in anything concerning the seminary, as there is also a royal foundation, namely, that of San Phelipe, which appears to have been incorporated after the above-mentioned San Joseph; and the good relations that the governor claims to have with the archbishop can not serve to relieve the former of blame, for he ought to have good relations with him within suitable limits, and not with total abandonment of the rights which are entrusted to him. I have resolved, by virtue of what is contrary to my royal intentions, as is the above-mentioned spoliation and expulsion, not to pay any heed to the complaint of the said prelate; to approve whatever you have done in the particular under discussion; to order and command the present governor and captain-general of those islands, and to charge the said archbishop (as is done by despatches of this date) that they shall in the future leave things in the condition and state in which they existed before the above-mentioned innovations were made, and that the collegiates must go to take their studies to the university of Santo Tomás of that city; and to inform you thereof (as I do) for your intelligence. Thus is my will. Given in El Pardo, March twenty-one, one thousand seven hundred and seventy-one.

I the King

"By order of our king:

Pedro Garcia Mayoral" [53]

The royal decree sent to the archbishop on the same date, [54] is couched in similar terms to the above decree, and disapproves the action of the archbishop in regard to making an ecclesiastical seminary out of the college of San José. The decree in its opening clauses, notes that the archbishop had sent various documents and reports to the king with his letter of March 12, 1769, which state what had been done in regard to the college of San José, and the occupations of the four Piarists who had accompanied the archbishop to the Philippines.

In 1777, Doctor Ignacio de Salazar, magistral of the Manila cathedral, was chosen rector and administrator of the college. From that date until 1879, the position of rector and administrator of the college was always confirmed by the governors-general to the dean or other dignitary of the Manila cathedral. Accounts of the administration of the college were to be rendered every three years, or annually. The management of the college was not successful, and the administration of the properties was negligent and possibly corrupt during some years. The field of secondary education which it had attempted to fill came to be occupied by newer and more successful institutions, such as the Ateneo Municipal and the college of San Juan de Letran. [55]

From the books of the university of Santo Tomás, it seems that a few years after the expulsion of the Jesuits, if not immediately, instruction on philosophy and the natural sciences was resumed, and that two professors were appointed for that purpose, and that in 1795 the government of the islands recommended the abolition of such instruction, applying the revenues therefrom to the payment of the fees of the institutes and law courses, which recommendation was not carried out on account of an unfavorable report of the faculty of the university. Only grammar and philosophy were taught until 1866, and pupils were required to pass an examination in the university of Santo Tomás before two professors appointed for the purpose, in order to legalize their courses. The first four years of secondary instruction were established at this period. [56]

Between the years 1860 and 1870, the question of the conversion of the college into a professional school of some sort--arts, agriculture, or medicine--was much discussed, particularly its conversion into a school of medicine and pharmacy. Finally, in 1867, a board consisting of the rectors of the university, Ateneo Municipal, and college of San José, and one representative each of the professions of medicine and pharmacy, was convened by royal order, and charged with the duty of ascertaining the origin and object of the college of San José, its revenues and pious charges, and the best manner of installing therein classes of medicine and pharmacy. The report of the committee was to the effect that such studies could be admitted. The rector and administrator of the college in 1869 was of the same opinion, and the rector of the university of Santo Tomás also considered such a thing legal. November 6, 1870, the Spanish government adopted the decrees concerning education in the Philippines, known as the Moret decrees, [57] by which the attempt was made to secularize most of the institutions of learning. Among other provisions in these decrees was one directing that the college of San José, the college of San Juan de Letran, and the Ateneo Municipal, as well as the naval academy and the drawing and painting academy should be united in one academy for secondary and entirely secular education to be known as the Philippine Institute, to be subject to the ultimate control of a Superior Board of Education which was civil and secular in its character. These decrees were never enforced, for they were vigorously opposed by those in charge of the above institutions. [58]

In 1875, a royal provision established the faculty of medicine and pharmacy in the college. [59] This decree, issued October 29, 1875, reorganized the university of Santo Tomás. Article 2 of the decree prescribed "that in this university shall be given the necessary studies for the following: jurisprudence, canon, medicine, pharmacy, and notary;" and article 12, that, "the branches of medicine and pharmacy, although constituting an integral part of the university, shall be taught in the college of San José, whose revenues, with the deductions of the amounts for pious charges, will be devoted to the expenses of these branches. [60] The five-sixths part of the fees from the registration of these subjects, and half of the fees for degrees, titles, and certificates of the pupils, will also pertain to the college mentioned. The rest will pertain to the general expenses of the university." The governor was to name a director, upon the recommendation of the rector, for the college, and he was to have charge of the revenues. September 5, 1877, a commission appointed to consider various matters of the college of San José, recommended that the university of Santo Tomás take immediate charge of all the property of the college, and that regulations be drawn up for the management of the same. On September 28, of the same year, the governor-general decreed that an administrative commission consisting of the rector of the university and the professor of pharmacy should take charge of the college, and they were given complete authority to carry out the reorganization of the college decreed in 1875. The report of the commission submitted July 26, 1878, recommended that the office of director-administrator be made two separate offices, the office of director to be filled by the rector of the university of Santo Tomás, as director ex-officio, and that of administrator to be appointed by the governor-general upon the recommendation of the rector of the university of three names to be taken from the professions of medicine and pharmacy. This report was approved August 1 by a decree of the governor-general, which was in turn approved by royal order of March 24, 1880. The decree of August 1, 1878, charged the rector of the university to prepare regulations concerning the control and management of the college; and it appears that such regulations were issued by the governor-general, October 15, 1879, title 2 of which gives to the rector of the university, as ex-officio director, the control of properties and finances of the college. It is said that articles 6-10 of the decree of 1875, which directed that competitive examinations be held either at Manila or Madrid for the filling of vacant professorships, have not been observed, such vacancies having been filled by the governor-general on the recommendation of the rector. The administration of the college properties was kept separate from those of the university, although the accounts were both under the same direction of the rector of the university. The scholarships or fellowships of the college, before twenty in number, were reduced after 1875 to three and transferred to another institution. The income in normal times was about twenty thousand pesos, the foundation seemingly being about one-half million in gold. [61]

With the signing of the treaty of Paris, December 10, 1898, the American government found itself face to face with a delicate and difficult problem, namely, that of the settlement of the properties of the friars. Of this problem, the question of the ultimate disposal of the college of San José was properly a part, since it was under the direction of the Dominican university of Santo Tomás, it having become, as we have seen above, the medical and pharmaceutical adjunct of the university. The question to be solved in this case narrowed down to whether the college of San José was primarily a government or an ecclesiastical pious foundation [obra pia], and hence, whether it could be legally administered by the government or the Church. In 1899, General Otis forbade the rector of the university of Santo Tomás to continue to maintain a school of medicine and pharmacy in the buildings of the college of San José, and to use its name and income for that purpose--an order made at the instance of the president and directors of the Philippine Medical Association. Shortly after their arrival the commissioners were consulted by General McArthur, as to the proper course for him to take on the petition of the rector of the university asking him to rescind the order. As the issue involved the question of the control of Church property, the commission deemed it its duty to investigate it and to bring it to a legal settlement. [62]

The matter was therefore argued before the Commission, pro and con, from time to time between July and October, 1900, and the conclusions announced January 5, 1901. The ecclesiastical authorities took the position that the college is "truly an obra pia, that its trusteeship has always been vested in the Church, as represented by its legal agents either through the Society of Jesus, the kings of Spain as ecclesiastical patron, the clergy of the cathedral, or the university of Santo Tomás, under the direction of the archbishop." The ecclesiastical argument is that the college "is essentially a religious foundation and therefore the United States have not the right to claim it as public property nor to intervene in its management, since they cannot succeed to the Spanish ecclesiastical patronage, they having proclaimed the separation of Church and State." It is impossible also for the state to secularize the institution, an act which would be paramount to confiscation. [63] Archbishop Nozaleda argues also that the college "is an ecclesiastical obra pia, founded by Esteban Rodriguez de Figueroa, with all the canonical and civil formalities demanded by the legislation in force at that time for such foundation." [64] Again, he says: "The college of San José is an ecclesiastical obra pia, and as such belongs to the patrimony of the Church." An ecclesiastical obra pia he defines as "any foundation made through motives of religious piety, or with the purpose of exercising Christian charity, with the approbation and authorization of the bishop." [65] Against this Dr. T. H. Pardo de Tavera and others argued before the Philippine Commission that the college of San José was primarily of royal foundation; [66] Felipe G. Calderon, a Filipino advocate, and the chief adversary of the ecclesiastics, in his pamphlets, also argued that the college of San José is official in its origin: [67] their conclusions being that the civil government has power to intervene in the management of the college. [68] The commission, being careful not to intimate any opinion that "should be used by either side in the case to be argued and decided as authority in that tribunal [i.e., the Philippine Supreme Court]," expressed "no other definitive opinion than that the petitioners [i.e., Pardo de Tavera, et al.] have presented a case of sufficient dignity and seriousness to warrant its full consideration by a court of justice." In the words of the commissioners: "In order to decide the merits of this case, we should probably have to consider and settle a nice question of canonical law, and investigate and discuss the historical and legal relations of the crown of Spain to the head of the Catholic Church. Neither of these questions do we feel competent now to decide with the materials which are before us and with the time at our disposal nor do we need to do so. We are not a court. We are only a legislative body. It is our expressly delegated function in just such cases as this to provide a means for the peaceful and just decision of the issues arising. Had we been able to decide clearly and emphatically that the petitioners had no rights here and that their claims were so flimsy as not to merit the assistance of the legislature in bringing them to adjudication in a court of justice, we might have properly dismissed the petition and taken no action thereon; but we are of opinion, all of us, that the contentions of the petitioners present serious and difficult questions of law, sufficiently doubtful to require that they should be decided by a learned and impartial court of competent jurisdiction, and that it is our duty to make legislative provision for testing the question. If it be true that the United States is either itself the trustee to administer these funds, or occupies the relation of parens patriæ to them, it becomes its duty to provide for their administration by a proper directory, whose first function will be to assert, in the name and authority of the United States, their right to administer the funds of the college against the adverse claims of the person now in charge, who claims to hold under and by virtue of the control over the funds by the Catholic Church; and this legislative action we now propose to take, not thereby intimating an opinion upon the merits of the case, but merely by this means setting in motion the proper machinery for the ultimate decision by a competent tribunal." The Commission set aside $5,000 in United States money for the payment of the expenses of getting evidence, preparing the record, printing the briefs, and as fees for professional services; and that the case was to be heard before the Philippine Supreme Court, the United States being practically a party in the litigation. Further provision was made in case appeals from that court were to be made to the Supreme Court of the United States, for Congress to so provide in this case. As to the injunctive order of General Otis against the opening of the college, by the rector of the university, it was recommended to the military governor that it be rescinded. The persons appointed to conduct the litigation and to take charge of the college and its estates, should the decision and a decree of the court be in their favor, were as follows: Dr. T. H. Pardo de Tavera; Dr. Charles R. Greenleaf, Leon M. Guerrero, Dr. Manuel Gomez Martinez, and Dr. Frank S. Bourns. The concluding remarks of the Commission are the following: "There has been much popular and political interest in the controversy in which we have now stated our conclusions. The questions considered, however, have not had any political color at all. They have been purely questions of law and proper legal procedure, and so will they be in the court to which they are now sent. The decision of the right to control San José college cannot legitimately be affected by the political feeling which one may have for or against the friars. It is unfortunate that the public should clothe the settlement of an issue purely legal with political significance when it ought not to have and does not have one. But, however this may be, those charged with settling it can pursue only one path, and that is the path of legal right as they see it." [69] Congress provided for appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States on July 1, 1902, under the general terms of Section 10 of the so-called "Philippine Government Act." A decision in the case had not been handed down in Manila up to the close of September, 1906. [70]

THE COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY OF SANTO TOMAS

I

ERECTION INTO A UNIVERSITY

[The first portion of this division of the appendix is a translation of chapter xxxvi, of book i of Santa Cruz's Historia, where it occupies pp. 168-172.] [71]

Of the honorable apostolic and royal erection of the University of Santo Tomás of Manila

Another and very serious matter was transacted by that religious father, namely, the erection into a university of the college of Santo Tomás of Manila. That event is as follows. While that venerable father, Fray Juan Bautista de Morales, was in Roma during the years 1643 and 1644, negotiating matters touching the province, as its procurator, and the matters of China, father Fray Mateo de la Villa, who was also procurator of the province in that capital, wrote him from Madrid asking him to petition from his Holiness, Urban Eighth, who was then head of the Church, for the erection and foundation as a university in said college of Santo Tomás of Manila. He had gained for that purpose a favorable letter from his Majesty, Filipo Fourth the Great, our king and sovereign, in which his Holiness was asked to deign to concede his apostolic bull for that purpose. Father Fray Juan made his efforts, but by reason of all the matters and accidents which happened at that time, it was not accomplished. Consequently, he went to España without negotiating it that said year of 44. In that year, on the last day of July, the pontiff Urban Eighth, passed to the better life. Innocent Tenth having been elected September 15 of the same year, another letter was obtained from the king, our sovereign Filipo Fourth, for his Holiness. Since father Fray Victorio Riccio, a Florentine who had come [to España] in order to go to this province, was in Madrid, and was a very suitable person since he was an Italian, to be entrusted with that and other matters which were left pending in Roma by father Fray Juan, it was thought best to send him thither. He accomplished that as well as the other things, which have been continued in the service of the order and of this province. He is a great missionary of China, of whom this history will tell at the proper time the many things that there are to tell, for at present he is prior of the convent of Santo Domingo in Manila. The letter of his Majesty to the supreme pontiff Innocent is as follows:

[This letter will be found in VOL. XXXV, pp. 199, 200. The letter to the count of Ciruela, which is not given by Santa Cruz, will be found in the same volume, pp. 201-203.]

The said father Fray Victorio went to Roma with that letter, and although it reached the hands of his Holiness, yet he could not obtain that haste which he desired, for the ambassador was in disgrace with the pope because of some trouble which he had had with certain Portuguese which cost blood and deaths. His Holiness was very angry at that trouble, and it was necessary for the ambassador to leave Roma. But the father, not losing courage, as he had many powerful friends in that capital, as he had been raised there and had started for Filipinas from Minerva, exerted himself and obtained the opportunity to pay his respects to his Holiness and to lay his proposition before him, to which the pontiff answered in formal words: "In the time of our predecessor the same instance was made by the king of España, but it was not granted. How now do they return to insist again?" And it was so that the first letter of his Majesty was brought, and that benefit which was striven for was not obtained on account of the occupations and for other reasons which his Holiness must have had (in which the great providence of God in the government of the holy oracles of His vicars is to be noted, since a pontiff worthy of adoration had so singular an idea of Filipinas and of the university which was requested there) although the father left disconsolate. But by direction of a cardinal, his fellow countryman the father again renewed his courage, and, after waiting several months, again paid his respects to his Holiness, and gave him a memorial of his desire. His Holiness caused it to be received by his secretary, and the next day it was taken to the signatura, [72] and a decree was made that in regard to the erection of this university, a committee [congregacion] of four cardinals and four prelates named there should be formed. The president of it was the most eminent Cardinal Saqueti, the father's countryman who had aided him from the beginning. The said prelates informed, then, and visited by the father, and being informed of the advisability of what was asked, it was concluded in the said committee that it was fitting to concede that favor to the king of España. Therefore, his Holiness despatched his apostolic bull in regard to this erection, that bull being as follows:

[This bull [73] will be found in VOL. XXXV, pp. 203-208.]

This brief was presented to the royal Council of the Indias, and the gentlemen of that council having read it, ordered a testimony of its presentation to be given July 28, 1646. That was attested on the thirty-first of the same month by Diego Lopez de Leytona y Mendoza, chief official of the papers of grace, government, and war, of the secretary's office of the royal Council of the Indias for the district of Nueva España. The fact that he was also the chief official of the said royal Council, and that credit must be given to him, was testified by the royal notaries, Diego Carreño Aldrete, and Antonio Gomez, on the said thirty-first of July of the said year. Likewise, the said brief was presented, and the testimony of its presentation, in the royal Council of the Indias before the members of the royal Audiencia of this city of Manila. They having read it, determined that the party of the university of Santo Tomás could make use of the said brief. Consequently, they so voted by an act on the eighth of July, 1648, of which testimony was given on the said day by Captain Diego Nuñez Crespo, assembly clerk of the said royal Audiencia of Manila. Likewise, the said brief was presented before the dean and cabildo of this holy metropolitan church of Manila with the said presentations of the royal Council and Audiencia. The said gentlemen considered it as presented, and allowed the college of Santo Tomás to make use of it, and its rector, now or in the future, in the form and manner which is contained in the said bull. The clerk of the cabildo, Fernando de Caravajal, attested that on the same day on which the said act was voted, namely, July 14, 1648. This university having been inaugurated, then, and erected with so great honor into a pontifical and royal institution, its rector and first chancellor, namely, father Fray Martin Real de la Cruz, by virtue of his apostolic authority, made the necessary statutes, following in them all the custom and practice of the royal university of Mexico (of which from its beginning it has esteemed itself as the close daughter, and in which it has found the just functions of a noble mother with the exchange of letters and favors which the latter has given to it). Thus the said father rector ordained them, August 28, 1648, and they are observed inviolably and are like those of the said their royal and always noble mother, which were determined after the style and form of the most celebrated university of Salamanca.

In 1651 this university and its rector wrote to the said university of Mexico giving an account of its erection, stating that in it was born their obligation of attentive respect as daughter of that royal university, since the king our sovereign had given that university to it as mother and mistress. Consequently, it yielded and dedicated itself to that university and in regard to this the father concluded his letter with all due consideration and affection. In the year of 53, that most noble and ever famous university wrote this our university the following letter, which was written in full cloister.

Very illustrious Sirs:

This royal university of Mexico was greatly favored by the letter of your Lordship the past year of 51, in which was expressed the appreciation and estimation which is right and which is fitting for so illustrious a cloister, and with the greatest pleasure received your adoption; which if it is the teaching of the Holy Spirit (Proverbs xvii), Gloria filiorum patres eorum, immediately before it had said: Corona senum filii filiorum. [74] Consequently, it will consider that royal university as its crown and glory, and as such will venerate it forever. It will give his Majesty (whom may God preserve) thanks for the favors which he concedes to your Lordship by his decree of the rights to enjoy the privileges which are enjoyed in this royal university. What may be necessary for it, in so far as documents and papers are concerned, and for the pretension of your Lordship, will be delivered to the reverend father master, Fray Francisco de la Trinidad, so that we may carry them and present them to his Majesty in his royal Council of the Indias. In all the other things which may offer themselves for the service of your Lordship for its greater luster and increase, this royal university and its entire cloister will assist it with all promptness. May God preserve your Lordship in all happiness, etc. Mexico, February 7, 1653.

Master Fray Juan de Ayrolo y Flores, rector.

After his signature were those of eight doctors and masters and lastly that of the blessed secretary, Christoval Bernardo de la Plaza. This university erected with so fortunate beginnings with all that luster worthy of all estimation, has continued to advance. There have been and are very learned persons who have studied there, who have occupied prebends and dignities in the holy church of Manila, and in other churches of our España, and it has had three sons, most worthy bishops, one of whom ascended to the archiepiscopal see of this city, of whom we shall treat in due time.

II

ROYAL DECREE GRANTING TITLE OF "ROYAL" TO THE COLLEGE OF SANCTO TOMAS

The King. Inasmuch as Fray Sebastián de Valverde, of the Order of Preachers, and procurator-general of the province of Santísimo Rosario of Filipinas, has represented to me, among other matters, that since the establishment of the college of Santo Tomás in the city of Manila, and especially since, at the instance of Felipe IV, a public academy or university was erected in it by his Holiness, Innocent X, in the year one thousand six hundred and forty-five, [75] in behalf of his order, not only has it redeemed its obligation in the public instruction with well-known benefit to those vassals, in which the religious have filled the chairs at the expense of the private property of the above-mentioned college, but also, at the same time, in order to inspire in the minds of its pupils the illumination of the holy doctrine of the angelic doctor St. Thomas, which some factional spirits in that capital, in whom still lives the seed of the suppressed doctrine, [76] are attempting to confuse with useless projects, have endeavored likewise to infuse into their hearts the fidelity, loyalty, and love due my royal person--and one of the most signal and noble proofs that attest this truth is the promptness, with which the present rector, Fray Domingo Collantes, in this last war, in observance of the suggestion of that governor, raised four companies of fifty soldiers apiece among the collegiates and students, on whose clothing and support he spent some thousands of pesos from the beginning of the war until the peace was made, and at the same time placing at the disposition of the same government all the grain of the harvest and the cattle of its estates--and inasmuch as he has petitioned me that, in order that this signal example of the fidelity and generosity with which the above-named college served me and continues to serve me, may be remembered by the inhabitants of those islands, I deign to signify to it my royal pleasure and kindness by admitting it under my sovereign protection and patronage, and by granting to it the title of "very loyal;" therefore, my Council of the Indias having examined the above petition, together with the information given in regard to it by the general accountant's office, and the explanation of my fiscal, I have resolved in the conference of the tenth of January of this year, to concede, among other things, and as I concede by this my royal decree, the sole name of "royal" to the above-named college of Santo Tomás of the city of Manila, with the distinct condition and declaration, that it shall never have the right of petitioning assistance from my royal treasury. Therefore, by this present, I order and command my governor and captain-general of the above-mentioned islands, the regent and auditors of my royal Audiencia in the islands, and all other ministers, judges, and justices of those provinces, and I request and charge the very reverend bishop of that metropolitan church, the venerable dean and cabildo in vacant see, and all other ecclesiastical prelates and judges to whom this pertains, to observe, fulfil, and execute, and cause to be observed, fulfilled, and executed, exactly and effectively, my herein expressed royal resolution, as and in the manner herein set forth, without violating it, or permitting it to be violated in any way, for thus is my will. Given in El Pardo, March seven, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-five. [77]

I the King

By command of the king our sovereign:

Antonio Ventura De Taranco

III

HISTORICAL ACCOUNT

[Below follows an interesting account of the university of Santo Tomás, by the Dominican friar, Evarista Fernandez Arias, from his Discurso leido en la apertura de sus estudios (de la universidad) el dia 2 de Julio de 1885--i.e., "Discourse read at the opening of its studies (of the university) July 2, 1885" (Manila, 1885). Its author was a professor of the university.]

The university of Santo Tomás, of Manila, graced with the titles of royal and pontifical by the Catholic kings and the supreme pontiffs, holds the first place among all the educational institutions of the Philippines on account of its antiquity, its history, and its importance. It was established in 1619, under the name of College of Santo Tomás, having, as its basis, a holy legacy from his Excellency, Fray Miguel de Benavides, of the Order of Preachers, second archbishop of Manila, who is considered as its true founder. By this legacy, the sum of 1,600 pesos was turned over to the fathers of his order, of the province of the Santísimo Rosario, who, accepting it, in accordance with his purposes and intentions, immediately proceeded to carry the plan into effect. Thus, after various contingencies, on the day of the festival of the Assumption of the Virgin, in the year mentioned, after having been authorized by the general government of these islands, and by both the ecclesiastical and the secular chapters, Fray Baltasar Fort, its first rector, proceeded to the inauguration of its studies by giving fellowships to twelve young men belonging to the most distinguished families of Manila. The permission granted by the general government and other authorities of this capital, was formally confirmed by his Catholic Majesty, Felipe IV, in his royal decree of November 29, 1623, in which he said of this institution: "It has afforded and affords great advantages to the young, the preaching of the gospel, and the instruction of the children of the inhabitants."

The chronicles of those times show that the number of young men, mostly children of Spaniards, who attended the schools of the Dominican fathers was not small; but the difficulty of not being able to receive academic degrees was an obstacle to the progress of the studies. For this reason, Pope Paul V was asked to authorize the order to confer the customary degrees upon the pupils of this college. This permission was granted for ten years, upon the expiration of which time, it was necessary to again apply to the Roman pontiff, then Urban VIII, for the extension of the concession for a similar term of years. This uncertain condition of affairs was not, as is evident, most conducive to progress in these studies, for which reason Felipe IV, desiring to regulate this concession consistently and permanently, requested, through his ambassador, an apostolic brief from the supreme pontiff, Innocent X, in 1645, which should confer upon the college of Santo Tomás (the title) and honors of a university, with all the privileges of those of the same class in the Peninsula, authorizing it to confer academic degrees in the schools of theology and philosophy. Afterwards, in 1734, this concession was extended by Clement XII, [78] also on the petition of the king of Spain, to the schools of canonical and civil law, and to others that might in time be established.

The year following the erection of this university by Innocent X and Felipe IV, its first rector and chancellor, Fray Martin Real de la Cruz, who so distinguished himself in the conversion of the Cagayanes, framed the laws, which continued in force until 1785. The greater part of these were similar to the laws of the university of Mexico, to which his Catholic Majesty desired to conform them, as appears from his letter written on December 20, 1644, to his ambassador at Rome.

In the beginning the only courses were dogmatic and moral theology, philosophy, and the humanities; Latin and Spanish grammar, rhetoric, and poetry were included in the humanities, and the study of all the branches comprised in the works of Santo Tomás de Aquino formed a part of the courses in theology and philosophy. [79] This was the custom in most of the universities existing at that time, a custom that responded perfectly to the necessities of that century, and more particularly to the special requirements of this country at that period. In the first stage of their civilization, education in the Philippines was based exclusively on religion; and the local necessities and the aspirations of the first Spaniards, echoing faithfully the sentiments expressed many times concerning this subject by the Catholic monarchs, demanded a literary center where the bishops and missionaries might find a solution for the many and varied doubts which arose in the exercise of their ministry; where the governors-general might receive ideas of profound and consistent methods of government for the direction of the towns and for their relations with neighboring nations, and where the alcaldes and encomenderos might learn the lessons of Christian charity and justice, which they not infrequently failed to observe. In what a satisfactory manner the university of Santo Tomás fulfilled this duty is shown by the illustrious names of Fathers Berart, Marron, Santa Cruz, Pardo, Sanchez, and the celebrated Father Paz, and many others whom it would take too long to mention, whose brilliant and wise writings contain discussions of all kinds regarding the practical life of these people. It is also shown by the royal decree of 1862, in which his Catholic Majesty, admitting this institution under his protection, says that degrees in theology and letters are given with all strictness and display to qualified persons in those islands, this being of notable utility in that it furnishes subjects capable of filling the offices of curates and prebendaries.

The eighteenth century arrived, and, with the coming of the Bourbon dynasty to the Spanish throne, new germs of civilization took root throughout the monarchy, and were felt as far as these remote shores. Then the faculty of jurisprudence and canonical law was established (the establishment of which the Dominican corporation had endeavored to secure years before), because with the increase of the native and mestizo population, and with the consolidation upon a religious basis of the social life of these peoples, there was not a sufficient number of lawyers for the administration of justice. Lawyers did not come from the Peninsula, and for that reason, if not for other better and more noble reasons, it was necessary to seek them within the bounds of the islands. Hence, faculties of jurisprudence and canonical law were established, with courses in Roman law and institutes and the sacred canons. The pupils could hope for the degree of licentiate in jurisprudence and canonical law after a four years' course in these studies, and four other years called pasantía years, which were taken in connection with the law course, and were years of practice in the office of some lawyer. During these so-called pasantía years, the pupils were required to defend a proposition every week and sum up the opposing arguments, and were permitted to act as substitutes during the absence of any of the professors of the faculty.

The course of institutes and canonical law was the only course in law given in most of the universities of that period, the professors being charged with making the applications necessary to the Spanish laws and those of the Indias, explaining the points in which they differed from the Roman and canonical laws.

The instruction continued thus during the greater part of the eighteenth century, the university conferring degrees in theology, philosophy, and canonical and Roman law. The courses in moral theology and the humanities were pursued without the formalities of enrolment and without a fixed number of terms, until toward the end of that century. With the increase of the commerce and the intercourse of these islands with Europe, and under the influence of the government of Carlos III, it was decided in the university assembly of 1785, to extend the faculty of theology by the establishment of chairs in literature and sacred writings, and that of law by two additional chairs of canonical and Roman law. It was also decided to create the faculty of medicine, together with a chair of mathematics, applied to commerce and navigation in conformity with the necessities of the times. Father Amador, professor of canonical law, having been appointed to form the new laws, in accordance with the resolution of the assembly, concluded them during the same year, 1785. These laws, after being approved by the superior government of these islands, are now in force except in the points modified by subsequent laws. These laws provided that all professorships, with the exception of those belonging to the private patronage of the Order of St. Dominic, should be conferred by competitive examinations. It also prescribed rules for the conferring of academic degrees by the faculties of theology, canons, law, philosophy, and the new one of medicine, it being provided that, in order to secure the degree of bachelor of theology, canons, civil law, and medicine, it was necessary to have passed in four courses, and for philosophy in three, and that, after having obtained the title of bachelor, it was necessary to exercise the pasantía for four years in the schools of theology and law, and for three years in the other schools. Rules werealso provided for the courses, the enrolments, and the examination fees. These laws were taken to a great extent from those in force in the universities of Salamanca, Mexico, and Lima.

About that time the king of Spain confirmed the privilege of exemption from tribute for all those who had received the degree of bachelor, and also for the pupils of the university, in consideration of "the utility and necessity for this branch of the state to encourage these studies, without which no community can flourish; for, if it should be ordered, contrary to the practice observed up to the present time, that the tribute be paid, the schools would be deserted, to the general injury of these islands."

Because of the indolence of the times and the lack of pupils, it became necessary to abolish the school of medicine and the class of mathematics and drawing, which were afterwards incorporated by the consulado, and the superior studies continued during the first part of the present century as they existed at the beginning of the eighteenth century. It was not until the year 1836, on the petition of the corporation of St. Dominic, that the chair of Spanish law was created, increasing the faculty of laws.

By a royal order of 1837, continuing the progressive course initiated in the instruction at the university, a commission, presided over by the director of the university, was appointed for the purpose of studying the method of extending the instruction, and making a report upon the manner of filling the chairs which should be created, at the same time preparing a plan of studies, conforming as far as possible with that in force in the Peninsula. The report of this commission was awaiting the decision of the court of appeals when a new royal order of April 2, 1842, provided for the appointment of a new commission, also presided over by the director of the university, and consisting of one associate justice of the royal court of appeals, a prebendary of the cathedral chapter, a member of the municipal council, and one of the economic association, for the purpose of preparing a new plan of studies in harmony with the necessities of the times. The new commission, having worked with great activity, presented its completed report, submitting a plan of laws for this university which included the college of San José, notwithstanding the opposition of its rector, who, as prebendary, formed part of the commission. According to this plan of studies, instruction in theology, philosophy, and jurisprudence was improved, chairs of medicine, pharmacy, and chemistry were created, and that of physics was extended. Upon the submission of this plan of studies to the supreme government of his Majesty, it was provided by another royal order of April 2, 1846, that funds be secured for the establishment of said change in the university, without injuring the interests of anybody, but respecting those existing in so far as possible.

In fulfilment of this decree, on the twenty-sixth of the following August, this superior government appointed another commission, to which was communicated a royal order of April 15, 1847, which appointed, as a member of the same, the rector and chancellor of the university; and another royal order of July 12, of the same year, which directed said commission not to include in the budget of studies "the property of the college of Santo Tomás, as it is the exclusive property of the Dominican fathers." [80]