I
SUPERIOR DECREE IN REGARD TO THE THREE PER CENT DISCOUNT FROM THE STIPENDS OF THE PARISH PRIESTS FOR THE SUPPORT OF SEMINARIES
A measure having been formulated, in accordance with the royal decree of February 27, 1796, in regard to the exaction of the three per cent, which is to be paid by all the parish priests of the stipends which they enjoy in these islands for the foundation and support of the conciliar seminaries,[1] according to the order of the Council of Trent, I determined in consequence the following:
“Manila, July 30, 1802.
“By virtue of the fact that, with the order of the fiscal of civil affairs, all the objections and obstacles which have been imposed in behalf of the regular parish priests and devout provincials of the religious orders in a meeting of other persons, to exact the payment of three per cent of their stipends for the conciliar seminaries; and by the royal decree of June first, ninety-nine, the door is shut to all contradiction in so far as it declares that it must be paid by the missionaries of the Order of St. Francis,[2] and that the exaction shall be in money and not in kind, with warning that in the city where there are no seminaries, the collection shall also be made, and its result deposited in the cathedrals in a chest with three keys, which shall be held by the vice-patron, the bishop of the diocese, and another member of the cabildo: I have just resolved in consequence of the definitive statement of my assessor-general that the superior decree of November twenty-five, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-nine, shall have its total and due effect. That decree was communicated on the same date to the diocesans of Cebú, Nueva Cáceres and Nueva Segovia, the venerable dean and cabildo of this holy church, the provisor of the archbishopric, and the devout provincials of the orders of St. Dominic, St. Francis, St. Augustine, and the Recollects. It is modified to the effect that the above three per cent shall be collected generally, not only in this capital and the bishoprics of Cebú and Nueva Cáceres, but also in that of Nueva Segovia, which had been excluded before. It must be established immediately, and the sum derived from it must be deposited in the above-mentioned chest with three keys, according to the terms of the above-mentioned royal decree of June first, ninety-nine. It must be satisfied with money and not in kind; and for that purpose, the necessary official letters shall be sent with insertion of this decree to the bishops, the venerable dean and cabildo, and the provisor of Cebú in vacant see, and the devout provincials, this superior government expecting that by reason of all the abovesaid fundamentals other difficulties will cease to be offered in the future.”
A Cebú coal mine
[From photograph procured in Madrid]
As thereafter fuller instruction was given because of what was shown in the reply of his Excellency, the bishop of Nueva Segovia, in regard to the building of the seminary of his diocese; and considering the information given by the royal officials in regard to the method to be observed for putting into practice the abovesaid exaction: I have resolved in general upon the following, which I send to you with that superior determination for its fulfilment and observance in the part touching you.
Manila, March 26, 1803. Since the collection of the three per cent, assigned to the seminaries in the manner prescribed by the royal decree of February twenty-two, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-six, is now determined to include all the parish priests of these islands with the exception of the hospitals, according to the declaration of June first, ninety-nine; and that in the cathedral churches where said seminaries are not established, they be founded, without prejudice to the fact that the above-mentioned three per cent shall be collected in the meanwhile, and deposited in a chest with three keys: it only remains to advise that one of these keys shall be held in Nueva Segovia, by the bishop of the diocese, another by the alcalde-mayor, and the third by the father sacristan placed or appointed in that church. It is to be noted that the chest shall be kept in the episcopal palace, and when the see is vacant it will go to the royal house, where the alcalde-mayor lives, for its due safety. This same order must be kept in the bishoprics of Cebú and Camarines, and information shall be given in this regard to the respective bishops; although since the first see is vacant it shall be given for the present only to his Excellency, Don Fray Domingo Collantes, who has charge of its government; and in case anything inconvenient is found in its execution, he shall have the goodness to inform this superior government in regard to what he should esteem convenient according to the situation of each church. The three per cent shall be collected by the alcaldes-mayor of Ilocos, Camarines, and Cebú, as subdelegates of the government, and the proper discount shall be made for each of the parish priests at the time of paying them their stipends, and the sum shall be placed in the above-mentioned chest in the presence of the other keyholders. For that purpose they shall send to them the proper advice, with the assignment of the day and hour in which it must be done, at the disposition of his Excellency, the prelate, and when the see is vacant, to those who shall have his key. Inasmuch as the amount collected must be placed in said chest with three keys, as ordered, a balance shall be struck at the end of each year, in the presence of the three keyholders, and a copy of it shall be sent by the subdelegates to the general superintendency, with expression of the assets which are pendent. The governors, corregidors, and alcaldes-mayor of the other provinces, shall send the amount of their collections at the order of their respective prelates, so that in the presence of the other keyholders, the same deposit may be made. Since it was determined by the above-mentioned royal decree, the persons who are to have charge of the three keys, so far as this archbishopric is concerned, are this vice-patron [i.e., the governor], his Excellency the archbishop, and the member of the cabildo who shall be elected; it is only to be noted, in order to avoid any reason from which any doubt can result prejudicial to this important object, that the peculiar provision for the collection of the three per cent corresponding to the curacies of the district, is comprehended in the preceding article; and by this methodical order, all the governors, corregidors, and alcaldes-mayor, except those of Cebú, Camarines, and Ilocos, must be guided. For the foundation of the seminary of Nueva Segovia, the alcalde-mayor shall confer with his Excellency, the bishop of that diocese, in order that they may select a site fitting for the extension which should be given to it, with respect to the number of persons whom it can maintain, and who are necessary for the discharge of the duties of the bishopric. For that purpose a plan of the work must be made by experts, and at the same time its cost must be estimated, so that after it has been sent to the superior government, with expression of the funds existing in the three per cent, and of what it is calculated that those funds will yield annually, the government may take the fitting measures, in order that the construction may not be undertaken if it must be suspended later through lack of funds. May God preserve you many years. Manila, March 26, 1803.