The Inhabitants of the Philippines Part 9

Statement of the Population Administered by the Religious Corporations and Secular Clergy in the Philippines, 1896.

Year of Foundation or Revival.

| Year of Arrival.

| | Corporation. Towns.

| | | | Provinces.

| | | | | Friars.

| | | | | | Baptisms. Marriages.

| | | | | | | | Burials.

| | | | | | | | | Souls.

395 1570 Augustinians 203 16 310 98,731 20,355 83,051 2,082,131 1061 1532 1606 Recollets 194 20 192 56,259 11,439 40,008 1,175,156 1208 1577 Franciscans 153 15 455 38,858 11,927 35,737 1,010,753 1216 1587 Dominicans 69 10 206 27,576 7,307 32,336 699,851 1534 1581 Jesuits [5] 33 6 167 15,302 [6] 2,017 4,937 191,493 Secular Clergy .. .. .. .. .. .. 967,294 ----- --------- Total 1,330 6,126,678

N.B.-- The population of the Islands according to the census of 1877 5,995,160 Probable Christian population, 1899 8,000,000

These holy men have, since very early times, shown themselves rather turbulent, and then and always endeavoured to carry matters with a high hand. Thus in 1582 we find them refusing to admit the diocesan visit of the Bishop of Manila, and that old dispute has cropped up on and off many times since then. At the same time we find them taking the part of the natives against the Encomenderos. They have always been ready to fight for their country and to subscribe money for its defence. When Acting Governor Guido de Lavezares headed the column which attacked the pirate Li-ma-Hon, he was accompanied by the Provincial of the Augustinians. In 1603 all the friars in Manila took up arms against the revolted Chinese, and three years later the Augustinians not only furnished a war ship to fight the Portuguese, but provided a captain for it in the person of one of their Order, Fray Antonio Flores. It appears that the estates of the Augustinians and the Dominicans were very early a bone of contention, for in 1689 a judge arrived in Manila, and, in virtue of a special commission he had brought from Madrid, he required them to present their t.i.tles. This they refused to do, and the judge was sent back to Mexico, and a friend of the friars was appointed as Commissioner in his place. Then the friars condescended to unofficially exhibit their t.i.tles. Now more than two centuries after the first abortive attempt, the question of the ownership of these lands is still under discussion.

During the British occupation of Manila in 1763 the friars took up arms in defence of their flag, and gave their church bells to be cast into cannon. No less than ten Augustinians fell on the field of battle. The British treated them with great severity, sacking and destroying their rectories and estate houses, and selling everything of theirs they could lay hands on. I have visited the ruins of the old estate house of Malinta which was burnt by the British.

In 1820, when the ma.s.sacre of foreigners by the Manila mob took place, owing the cowardice of General Folgueras, the archbishop and friars marched out in procession to the scene of the disturbance and succeeded in saving many lives. In 1851 a Recollet, Father Ibanez, raised a battalion from his congregation, trained and commanded it. He took the field at Mindanao and with the most undaunted bravery led his men to the a.s.sault of a Moro Cotta, or fort, dying like our General Wolfe at the moment of victory. Not one man of this battalion ever deserted or hung back from the combats, for the worthy priest had all their wives under a solemn vow never to receive them again unless they returned victorious from the campaign.

The religious orders have frequently interfered to protect the natives against the civil authorities, and were often on very good terms with the ma.s.s of their parishioners. The greatest jealousy of them was felt by the native clergy.

The military revolt which broke out in Cavite in 1872, was doubtless inspired by this cla.s.s, who saw that a policy had been adopted of filling vacancies in all benefices except the poorest, with Spanish friars instead of natives. The condemnation of Burgos, Gomez, and Zamora, three native priests who were executed at Manila soon after the suppression of the revolt, is ascribed by the natives and mestizos to the subornation of justice to the friars, who are said to have paid a large sum for their condemnation.

However this may be, there is no doubt that since that date the feeling against the friars has become intensified.

The friars were the chief outposts and even bulwarks of the government against rebellions. Almost every rising has been detected by them, many plots being revealed by women under the seal of confession. It was only by the a.s.sistance of the friars that the islands were held by Spain for so many centuries almost without any military force.

The islands were not conquered by force of arms--the people were converted almost without firing a shot.

The greater part of the fighting was to protect the natives against Chinese pirates, j.a.panese corsairs, Dutch rovers, or the predatory heathen.

The defensive forces consisted of local troops and companies of Mexican and Peruvian Infantry. It is only since 1828 that Manila has been garrisoned by regular troops from the Peninsula.

During my residence in the islands I do not think there were more than 1500 Spanish troops in garrison in the whole islands, except when some marines were sent out. These troops belonged to the Peninsular Regiment of Artillery, and were a very fine looking set of men.

That this small force could be sufficient is evidently due to the influence of the friars in keeping the people quiet.

Yet the feeling of a great majority of Spanish civilians was against the friars, and I think many of those who supported them, only did so from interested motives.

The consequence was that as the number of Spaniards increased, the influence of the friars diminished, for the Spanish anti-clericals had no scruples in criticising the priests and in speaking plainly to the natives to their prejudice.

The friars have fared badly at the hands of several writers on the Philippines; but it will be noticed that those who know the least about them speak the worst of them.

Herr Jagor, who was much amongst them, bears witness to the strict decorum of their households, whilst he very justly says that the behaviour of the native clergy leaves something to be desired.

Foreman hints at horrors, and with questionable taste relates how he found amongst a priest's baggage some very obscene pictures.

Worcester thinks the priests' influence wholly bad. From what he states in his book, he must have come across some very bad specimens amongst the smaller islands where he wandered.

Younghusband, who perhaps got his information at the bar of the Manila Club, describes them as "monsters of lechery."

There is a tradition that when the conclusions of a tribunal favourable to the canonisation of Santa Rosa de Lima, Patroness of the Indies, were laid before Pope Clement X., that Pontiff manifested his incredulity that a tropical climate could produce a saint. He is even credited with the saying that bananas and saints are not grown together.

The tradition may be erroneous, but there is something in the opinion that deserves to be remembered.

Temperature does have something to do with s.e.xual morality, and in comparing one country with another an allowance must be made for the height of the thermometer.

The friars in the Philippines are but men, and men exposed to great temptations. We should remember the tedium of life in a provincial town, where, perhaps, the parish priest is the only European, and is surfeited with the conversation of his native curates, of the half-caste apothecary and the Chinese store-keeper. He has neither society nor amus.e.m.e.nt.

I have previously remarked upon the position of women in the Philippines. I may repeat that their position, both by law and custom, is at least as good as in the most advanced countries.

I remember reading with great interest, and, perhaps, some sympathy, a remarkable article in the New York Herald, of January 10th, 1894, headed "Virtue Defined," signed by Tennie C. Claflin (Lady Cook), and it seemed to me a plea for "equality of opportunity" between the s.e.xes, if I may borrow the phrase from diplomacy. Well, that equality exists in the Philippines. Whilst unmarried, the girls enjoy great freedom. In that tolerant land a little ante-nuptial incontinence is not an unpardonable crime in a girl any more than in a youth, nor does it bar the way to marriage.

The girls whilst young possess exceedingly statuesque figures, and what charms they have are nature's own, for they owe nothing to art. Their dress is modest, yet as they do not wear a superfluity of garments, at times, as when bathing, their figures are revealed to view.

Bearing in mind the above condition of things and that the priest is the princ.i.p.al man in the town and able to do many favours to his friends, it is not surprising if some of the young women, impelled by the desire of obtaining his good graces, make a dead set at him, such as we sometimes see made at a bachelor curate in our own so-very-much-more frigid and, therefore, moral country. The priest, should he forget his vows of celibacy, is a sinner, and deserving of blame for failing to keep the high standard of virtue which his Church demands. But I do not see in that a justification for calling him a monster. Have we never heard of a backslider in Brooklyn, or of a clerical co-respondent at home, that we should expect perfection in the Philippines? As for the statements that the priests take married women by force, that is an absurdity. The Tagals are not men to suffer such an outrage.

The toleration enjoyed by the girls, above referred to, is a heritage from heathen times, which three centuries of Christianity have failed to extirpate. In fact, this is a characteristic of the Malay race.

During the many years I was in the islands I had frequent occasion to avail myself of the hospitality of the priests on my journeys. This was usually amongst the Augustinians, the Dominicans and the Recollets. I declare that on none of those many occasions did I ever witness anything scandalous, or indecorous in their convents, and I arrived at all hours and without notice.

As to Younghusband's denouncement of them as "monsters of lechery,"

I would say that they were notoriously the most healthy and the longest-lived people in the islands, and if that most unjust accusation was true, this could hardly be the case. It should be remembered that the priest of any large town would be a man advanced in years and therefore less likely to misconduct himself.

There was also the certainty that any open scandal would be followed by punishment from the provincial and council of the order. I have known a priest to be practically banished to a wretched hamlet amongst savages for two years for causing scandal.

Some late writers speak of the native clergy as if they were of superior morality and better behaved than the Spanish priests. That appreciation does not commend itself to those who have had some experience of the Philippine clergy.

Some of those I have known were of very relaxed morals, not to say scandalous in their behaviour. The Philippine Islands, in short, are not the chosen abode of chast.i.ty: but I do not know why the Spanish friars should be singled out for special censure in this respect.

I can truly say that I was not acquainted with any cla.s.s out there ent.i.tled to cast the first stone.

Each of the orders (except the Jesuits) is a little republic governed or administered by officers and functionaries elected by the suffrages of the members. The head of the order is a Superior or General, who resides in Rome, but the head in the Philippines is called the Provincial.

The brethren render him the greatest respect and obedience, kneeling down to kiss his hand.

There is a council to a.s.sist the provincial, they are called definidores or padres graves, the exact nomenclature varies in the different orders.

There is a Procurator or Commissary in Madrid, a Procurator-General in Manila, a Prior or Guardian to each convent not being a rectory, an Orator or preacher, lay-brethren in charge of estates or of works, parish priests, missionaries, and coadjutors, learning the native dialects.

The members of the order were appointed to benefices according to their standing and popularity amongst their brethren. The neophytes are trained in one of the seminaries of the order in Spain; for instance, the Augustinians have colleges at Valladolid, La Vid, and La Escorial, with more than 300 students.

When a young priest first arrived in the Philippines, he was sent as a coadjutor to some parish priest to learn the dialect of the people he is to work amongst. Then he would be appointed a missionary to the heathen, where he lived on scanty pay, amongst savages, either in the highlands of Luzon or in some remote island, remaining there for two or three years. His first promotion would be to a parish consisting of a village of thatched houses (nipa) and, perhaps, the church and convent would be of the same material. This meant a constant and imminent dread of the almost instantaneous destruction of his dwelling by fire. Perhaps there is communication with Manila once a month, when, by sending to the nearest port, he may get letters and newspapers and receive some provisions, an occasional cask of Spanish red wine, some tins of chorizos (Estremeno smoked sausages), a sack of garbanzos, or frijoles, a box of turron de Alicante, and some cigars from the procuration of the convent in Manila. These would be charged to his account, and frugally as he might live, many a year might pa.s.s over his head before he would be out of debt to his Order. And poor as he might be, he would never refuse his house or his table to any European who might call upon him. Later on, if his conduct had satisfied his superiors, the time would come when he would get nominated to a more accessible and more profitable parish, that would quickly enable him to pay off the debt due to the procuration. He would have a church and convent of stone, keep a carriage and pair of ponies, and begin to have a surplus, and to contribute a little to the funds of his Order.

Soon he would become Padre Grave, and begin to have influence with his colleagues. He would be removed to a richer town and nominated Vicario Foraneo, equivalent to an archdeacon in England. Later on, he might be elected a Definidor, or councillor. Then, perhaps, one of the great prizes of the order fell to his lot. He might be appointed parish priest of Taal or Binan, worth at least ten thousand dollars a year, or of rich Lipa, high amongst its coffee groves (now, alas! withered), which used to be worth twenty thousand dollars in a good year. He would treat himself well, and liberally entertain all who visited him, and governors of provinces, judges, officers of the Guardia Civil, would often be seen at his table.