The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898; Volume 47, 1728-1759 / Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the Catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century

by Unknown

CHAPTER VIII

In which are shown the alms that were distributed for masses among the sacred religious orders, to the poor of the prisons, the widows, and orphans, in dowries, food, and clothing of the daughters of the brotherhood, etc., from the first years of its foundation until the years of the great earthquakes of 645 and later until that of 60; in which are included other sums which had been paid from the treasury for the expenses of the building of the church and college of Santa Isabel and other pious purposes.

At the time when this venerable brotherhood was founded with the solemnity and attending circumstances that are mentioned in chapter ii, for its better management and government, various chapters of rules were formed. One of them was that all the brothers in the wills that they signed were obliged to leave some alms to the brotherhood. With such a beginning which gave prestige to the works of this house, the brothers tried to have their wills ready before they started for the undertakings or conquests that were undertaken during that period. Hence resulted the foundations of various works, whose capitals were invested in annuities with most secure bonds and from their rent a great part of the alms which this house distributes, thus giving fulfilment to their pious purposes. Besides this, they also ordered in their wills other sums to be distributed at the discretion of the board, and they were applied as a relief for the necessities of the poor, for this brotherhood in the administration of the many works under its charge has not pretended to extract other fruit than that of serving God by relieving and succoring the miseries and hardships of its neighbor, exercising itself continually in the fulfilment of works of charity.

From the first years of foundation until that of 1650, it appears that in the pious assignment of alms for the missions of Japon, in masses which have been said by the sacred orders, in the church of the Santa Misericordia, in alms for the religious communities, in repairs of their convents, in relief for poor widows, in dowries for the girls of the schools and other poor girls of the community, in their food and clothing, and in other things, this venerable brotherhood has distributed and spent 107,125 pesos, 4 tomins, 3 granos, which have been earned and produced by the capitals of the funds invested at interest. I surely believe that this house is one of the precious stones which most beautify the crown of the king, our sovereign. But, in every way, the paragraph which follows is of more value.

In these times and, those extending to the year 660, in which the sums of pesos which entered into this house were very great, due to the liberality of illustrious benefactors (among the least not being those assigned by the governors of these islands, Don Luis Perez das Mariñas, Don Francisco Tello, Don Juan de Silva, Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, and Don Sabiniano Manrrique de Lara), the sum of 356,363 pesos, 3 tomins, which the book of the treasurer for those years gives as data, was reached. In that time there were many wills which were fulfilled by this venerable brotherhood; and there were not few bequests and alms which were given to it, especially by the will of the alguacil-mayor, Don Bartholome Thenorio, who left special memories in this house, the last being a principal of twenty thousand pesos which still remain while the interest therefrom from the year 702 until the present time is more than twenty-five thousand.

CHAPTER IX

In which are shown in separate items the supplements of reals which the house of Santa Misericordia has given to the royal treasury of this city, during the periods of its greatest poverty and necessity, occasioned both by the raids which have been made in these islands by the Dutch enemy and for reënforcements and fortifications of this royal camp and of other presidios of the royal crown from the year 619 until that of 726 for the service of his Majesty (whom may God preserve for many years).

[The royal treasury reaches a state of exhaustion in 1619 because of the inroads of the Dutch, who harry the Spanish presidios and forts. In this year Governor Alonso Faxardo is compelled to ask a loan of the brotherhood, for which he offers good security. That loan is unanimously voted by the purveyor and deputies, on April 4, 1619, and amounts to 39,599 pesos, 5 tomins.]

October 6, 638, it also appears from a certification of the royal officials that they gave to the royal treasury by way of loan 104,609 pesos, 2 tomins, 1 grano, while Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera was governor and captain-general of these islands, as a relief for the necessity therein, and the prosecution of the conquest of Jolo and the supplies of war which would be required for its total conclusion.

It also appears by another certificate that on July 3, 643, the purveyor and deputies of the Misericordia paid 57,468 pesos, 2 tomins by way of a loan, by virtue of an order of the said governor, to attend to the necessities of the treasury. And inasmuch as in the said year, because of his Lordship having before received a royal decree under date of June 28 of the year 635, he wrote to this board a letter [January 28, 1643][2] which is conserved in the original with many others of all appreciation, we believe it advisable to give it here, its tenor being as follows:

[In this letter Corcuera cites the royal decree above mentioned which orders general prayers said in all the churches of the islands for the success of Spanish arms. The governor has written to all the bishops and to the provincials of the religious orders asking the command to be observed in their churches. He asks the Misericordia to have a mass said in its church every Friday for the perpetual memory of the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that the Spanish pretensions may prevail.]

It also appears that in the year 643, forty-five thousand pesos which came as part of the register from Nueva España, belonging to the property of the said Don Bartholome Thenorio, were embargoed in the royal treasury at the petition of Doña Ana de Zarate, his sister-in-law, and although the members of the royal Audiencia declared the said sum as free and its delivery due to the board of the Santa Misericordia, as it was his executor, yet by certain results which the fiscal of his Majesty made, it remained in the said royal treasury until its liquidation, and lastly, by way of loan until the year 705, in which the final balance of the said sum was paid from the royal treasury, in order to fulfil the will of the said deceased.

It likewise appears by the reports and certifications of the royal officials, that from the year 643 and upward, there were paid into the royal treasury by order of Governors Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera and Don Diego Faxardo, 76,231 pesos 4 tomins, from the board of Santa Misericordia by way of loan. And although his Majesty (whom may God preserve) was pleased to order (by virtue of the representations given by the board) through his royal decree of March 8, 660, his Excellency, the viceroy of Nueva España, to pay the said sum given to the royal treasury in six payments of 12,305 pesos, 2 tomins, it was impossible to collect the said sum in these islands; for although the remissions of the said payments were made by his said Excellency as an item in the register for the satisfaction which was to be given to the board of Santa Misericordia, they were retained in the royal treasury of this city from the year 663 until that of 666 in order to succor the necessity of the city, during a period of so many disasters. Consequently, this new loan amounted to 61,526 pesos, 2 tomins, and both together amounted to 137,757 pesos, 6 tomins, which were employed in matters of the royal service and the benefit of these islands.

It also appears by another certification, that in the year 650, 13,740 pesos were embargoed in the royal treasury which had come consigned as a part of the register to the board of Santa Misericordia, belonging to the property of the alguacil-mayor, Don Bartholome Thenorio, by virtue of an order from Don Diego Faxardo, on an occasion when the royal treasury was suffering so great necessity.

It also appears from another certification, and royal provision despatched by the said governor, which was announced for this board March 1, 653, in which his Lordship represents the great need of the treasury of his Majesty with the lack of reënforcements from Nueva España; that although exact efforts had been made, on account of the general poverty which all the citizens of this city, as was well known, were suffering, it had been impossible to remedy, not even to the extent that was necessary, so that it might endure so serious a lack; and that because it was very fitting for the service of his Majesty to seek all the possible means which might exist, so that the said royal treasury should have money with which to succor the infantry of this royal army, until our sovereign should deign to bring the royal situado of these islands; for the present he ordained etc.: in consequence of which the board of the Misericordia paid 70,601 pesos, 4 tomins to the said royal treasury, with which sum it remedied for the time being its present necessity.

Lastly, it is well known that in the year 726, his Excellency, Don Thoribio Joseph Miguel de Cosio y Campa, knight of the Order of Calatrava, and governor and captain-general of these islands, and president of the royal Chancilleria of them, finding himself in great necessity of means to succor the need of the royal treasury on the occasion of the loss of the galleon “Santo Christo de Burgos,” with the profits of this trade, on the coast of the island of Ticao, on account of a storm which forced it to beach on the night of July 23 of the said year; and upon his Lordship, the Marquis, seeing himself forced to take most prompt measures for the cutting of timber for the new ship which was built in the royal shipyard of the port of Cavite, for the supplies of the royal army of this camp, and for many other inexcusable expenses, notwithstanding that the commerce of these islands was weak and its citizens in a time of the greatest necessity,—because of various supplies and gifts made to his Majesty in order to succor the need of the said royal treasury: nevertheless, the said marquis was obliged to solicit by other means the things necessary for the fulfilment of the royal service, and universal welfare of these islands, by having recourse to the house of Santa Misericordia in order to obtain forty thousand pesos, which were supplied without prejudice to the regular works of the house, and were made from some deposits which could be detained in their treasury until the arrival of the royal situado which was expected from Nueva España. He offered to pay them promptly under the royal word; by virtue of which, and the Christian efforts which preceded from one and the other parties, the said board supplied 33,641 pesos, 7 tomins, to the royal treasury, so that it might in part be freed from its greatest necessity. As soon as the royal situado of his Majesty had safely arrived at these islands his Lordship, the marquis, kept the word which he had promised by giving entire satisfaction to the board of the Santa Misericordia, in the full delivery of the said sum.

As a conclusion of all the loans made to his Majesty by the house of Santa Misericordia will serve that which it made in the year 646 to the royal treasury of these islands, when its governor and captain-general was Don Diego Faxardo, on the occasion when they were rumored to be surrounded by necessities and when the Dutch enemy was at the entrances of Marivelez, as he showed in a letter which he wrote the said board on September 12, 646, which is of the following tenor.

[In this letter Diego Faxardo thanks the brotherhood for the loan of ten thousand odd pesos which it made to the royal treasury on this occasion. All the loans between the years 1619–1726 have amounted to 2,449,418 pesos, 2 tomins, 1 grano. In addition, the Santa Misericordia has paid into the royal treasury between 1629–1695, as executor for deceased persons, 14,777 pesos, 2 tomins, 3 granos.]

CHAPTER X

In which is given public satisfaction in behalf of this brotherhood for a chapter of a manifesto which has been published denouncing the rectitude and faithful administration of the brothers; and it is proved that the annuities of the house of the Misericordia not only are not lost, as is supposed, but that, on the contrary, they are in much better condition than at any other time.

[A manifesto published against the brotherhood charges lack of business ability and neglect in the handling of its funds, so that much of the money entrusted to it has been lost; and proposes that the brotherhood be made subject to inspection by the authorities—by the ecclesiastical ordinary, if the association be considered a pious body, or by the ordinary with a royal minister, if the association be regarded as under royal protection. Discussing the manifesto our author shows that the affairs of the brotherhood have never been more prosperous. As compared with the religious orders, their capitals and the returns therefrom show better results, and not nearly so many arrears. The brothers are good managers and look after their business carefully. Those who have been benefited by the brotherhood are so numerous that there are but few in the community who have not been helped. From the year 1677 when the first fund was established, the brotherhood has distributed 657,383 pesos, 6 tomins, 6 granos. The purposes for which this sum has been applied are for masses for souls in purgatory, alms for the religious orders and royal colleges, dowries to poor girls, alms to widows, prisoners, and confraternities and their processions, aid to the sick, and for divine worship, the support and clothing of its collegiate daughters, support for women in retreat, and aid for the buildings of their house and chaplaincies, etc. The complaints against the brotherhood have emanated from those who have not obtained all the aid that they desired because their credit is not sufficiently good. If the brotherhood attempt to please everyone they will end by pleasing no one. No partiality is shown, but affairs are managed in a businesslike manner. Even were the brotherhood subject to inspection, it could act with no greater rectitude.]

CHAPTER XI

In which a relation is given of the government and order observed by the house of the Santa Misericordia

I do not believe that any of the many houses of the Misericordia throughout Christendom, can be declared to be governed with better rules or have better accounts than that of this city of Manila. I am not speaking without sufficient foundation, since I have read with special attention the great order which rules in the house of the capital of Lisboa. That house is the mother and pattern and source of them all, to whose teaching this faithful daughter of hers, not only has not kept its great talents which I expect from her zealous care, idle, but also has been able ingeniously to exceed her in the pious indulgences of increasing and treasuring up more copious annual reënforcements for the relief of the needs of her neighbor.

1 am very certain that this truth would run no danger amid the extensive shoals of self-love, for it navigates governed by the demonstrable reality which removes all kind of doubt; it is current knowledge that the alms which are annually distributed by the royal house of Santa Misericordia of Lisboa amount to forty thousand pesos more or less; but it is not less well-known and certain that those distributed by this house of Manila, when no shipwreck happens, or other misfortunes, amount on the average to seventy thousand pesos annually, making one mass of the benefit which the funds of the sea yield, in addition to those which are produced by those which are founded in bonds, possessions, monopoly, encomienda of his Majesty, chaplaincies of which he is patron, and other sources of wealth which are added to the huge mass of the said sum. This truth is so well known to all this city that it need no further support than the same certainty in which it is founded.

The order with which this house of Santa Misericordia is governed is that on November 21, the day of the presentation of our Lady, the Virgin Mary, and the day on which the brothers who have formed the board for that year, and which begins the election of other new members, the election is made by ten electors, whom all the brotherhood appoint, in the manner provided by our rules. They number in all thirteen brothers, the first being the new purveyor. [Next are the] secretary and the treasurer, the latter being the one who was secretary the previous year, who remains in that office in order to give account of the dependencies and affairs of the house since he has handled them all most intimately. After the above are the majordomo of the chapel, the general manager of the house, and all annexed to it; majordomo of prisoners; steward of the dish in which the alms are collected; while the rest of the brothers are occupied in other important duties of the house, such as visits of the treasury and of the prisons, the distributions of alms, secret investigations which are committed to them by the board, and others of like tenor.

So great is the authority and power of the purveyor of the house over all the brothers of the Santa Misericordia, and so prompt the obedience of the brothers, that it rather seems a well-ordered community of religious than of seculars, for the first thing which they swear on the holy gospels when they join the brotherhood is to well and faithfully observe the rules of the brotherhood, and that whenever they are summoned by the purveyor and councilors of the board, and should hear the signal of the bells, they will go thither promptly, if there is no legitimate hindrance that they can see. The purveyor may, when in the board, command, agree, vote, talk, and keep silence, whenever he pleases. He can command a board meeting called, and a general meeting of the brotherhood at the advice of the deputies, appointing the day which he considers best. He may transfer the board and apportion among the brothers of it the duties of collector of alms, and visitors of the prisons. He may remove the chaplains if they commit any notable error in his presence, as well as the servants of the board, and the rectress or portress of the college when he thinks best. He may proceed to the correction and fitting punishment of the collegiates by means of the rectress when they deserve it, and he may (which is more than all the rest) remove with the advice of the councilors of the board those brothers who are disobedient and break the rules of the brotherhood. He may remove those who violate their privileges and those who live after a scandalous manner, if having been warned three times they do not turn over a new leaf. He may appoint others in their place, so that they may serve God our Lord in this His house. Finally, he may (although I do not) do many other things which limit of space does not permit me to write here.

The seven deputies who are named above with determined duties shall receive from their predecessors the books of which each one of them has had charge, in order to enter therein the new accounts of debit and credit of all that which shall be given into their power in the course of the year, and all that shall be disbursed in order to fulfil the pious ends which are entrusted to them. This having been inferred, I say that the first thing which is asked by the new board from the new purveyors is to take charge of the girls’ school, which is managed according to past custom with allowances and expenses which are occasioned with it in the food and clothing of all the girls, the salaries of the rectress and portress, and other servants who are employed in it. And having accepted this duty, he goes ahead to arrange the provisions of rice, oil, and sugar, and other substances increased in times of the greatest cheapness and advantage; for whose constancy in the new account which is opened in the book of expenses of the purveyors, he sets down monthly the expense which is made in each one of them, and in this way he proceeds in all those of the year, placing each item down separately and procuring that the expenses shall not be increased unless there be a greater number of girls or wards, and, at the end of the year, he presents the book with his account. Its examination and review is entrusted to the present secretary, who balances it, either in favor or against, and having set forth the balanced part, the said secretary places his approval at the bottom of it and signs it, and enters it in the minutes of that day so that it may stand forth for all time.

The secretary of the board on whom devolves the greater part of the work has his new record book in which are entered all the despatches of the petitions which are presented, the distributions which are made, and the applications of the alms, both of dowry for the schoolgirls, and the orphan girls outside [the school], the salaries which are paid to the chaplains of the house, the portress and the servants of the house, and the alms of the masses of Alva, 9 and 11, which are said in our church on all feast-days. Especially with great care does he enter the two inspections or general balances, which are struck at the beginning and end of each board, of all the sums of pesos, both of current funds, of dowries and alms, and of deposits which are contained in the treasury under separate headings, in order to apply them to the purposes which their founders assigned by full directions. He affixes his rubric to the memoranda which are in the sacks, with the statement of what each one contains, with the day, month, and year of the record in which they are set down. The writing of all the above with his own hand is an operation so indispensable to his obligation that he is obliged to do it under oath. In case of his absence, the same is done by the treasurer who supplies his absences by writing in a separate book whatever occurs in regard to the business matters of the house. And as soon as the secretary takes charge of the current despatch of the house, he is obliged to transfer to his book whatever shall have been decreed during his absence, so that by such a proceeding all that which belongs to the record of that year may be found in one volume. He is also obliged to enter all the sums of pesos which are received in the treasury in the books prepared for them, both of the dues collected and the usufruct which are yielded by the sea funds, besides the great number of very troublesome collections, although the love of God makes them mild and easy, to whomever works for the welfare of his neighbor and the preservation of this house.

He is also obliged to adjust the appointments of the chaplains of the many chaplaincies of which the board of the Santa Misericordia is patron, by virtue of which, and of those presented as said chaplains, a collation of the chaplaincies has always been given to them so far as it concerns them, and the fitting support has been decreed and given as a relief for their poverty. In this there is no other consideration, either in this court or in other superior courts, but it is passed upon before the said secretary just as in the house of Lisboa, which has as a special privilege that the secretaries of the said house may give attestations in all and any court.

The treasurer, who has charge of the possessions of the Parián of the Sangleys, attends to the collection of their rents, and the distribution of the alms, which are distributed every Saturday throughout the year to the self-respecting poor at the door of the house of the Santa Misericordia; and also the alms in pesos for the masses which are said throughout all the months of the year by one of the chaplains of the house for the soul of the founder, who endowed it with the said possessions. And in the book which is delivered to him with the enumeration and individual account of the places and location of said possessions and of the purposes for so charitable a foundation, the said treasurer enters the debit and credit account of all the sums which are received monthly and are disbursed by them, collecting receipts of them all for the account which must be given at the end of the year, which passes in review and must be balanced like the other accounts.

The treasurer is also the one who is present at the time of the two inspections or general balances of the treasurer. If between the last of the board which has just ended and the new one which is formed for its government there is any difference because of some quantity of pesos having been drawn in the interim, for any purpose for which it has fallen due, he gives prompt account thereof by the vouchers made and that appear from the preceding record book and by his receipts. In this way he continues until the conclusion of the said general review, which is generally the first thing. Following, other important points are begun by the new board without any confusion arising.

The chapel steward receives in inventory all that belongs to the church and its sacristy, with the aid of the chaplain-in-chief of the house, from the acting secretary of the board, and the past steward. In his presence, the list is formed item by item in the book of inventories, and is received by the acting steward, and when it is completed to the satisfaction of all, the four sign it, and it is placed in the first record so that it may stand forever. He has also another separate book of the new expenses, which are made in the church, sacristy, and other things in his charge in the course of the year. In it he forms the debit and credit account in minute detail, and at the end of the year he presents the book; proceeding to his resolution with the same solemnity as the others whom we have mentioned.

The attorney-general who attends to all the business and interests of the house (except those of the annuities which have a separate attorney with a paid advocate) receives in the book of suits all those which the preceding board left pending, and also the writs and other papers which are to be in his charge for that year. For the better direction, management, and outcome of said suits, an intelligent advocate is appointed for him to whom he may apply in all his doubts. And in all that which he does in pursuance of this order, he gives account in all the board meetings which are regularly held semi-weekly. A secretary, who keeps the keys of the archives, is obliged to give him all the documents that he asks for, and shall keep a record of the withdrawal of such.

He also has another book, in which he enters in alphabetical order the accounts of the funds, the costs belonging to each one, which are caused in prosecution of the said suits, the signature of writs and the cancellations [chancelaciones] of them. Later he forms from them the general debit and credit account in which he places the salaries of advocate, procurator, and attorney in the royal Audiencia with the other expenses which belong to the said matters. At the end of the year, he presents it, and with it the fitting obligation of review, balances, and approval is made, as in all those above mentioned. But independently of this, he shows the book of current suits, writs, and other papers. Having been compared by the secretary, with the statement of those which were given to him at the beginning of the year, and of those which were given to him from the archives in his term, if the whole thing agrees, he is absolved from his charge, but in no other manner until the total fulfilment.

The steward of prisoners has in charge the collections of the possession of the sites of the paddy-fields, whose usufruct is distributed half and half in the two prisons of the court, and of the city, for the support of the poor prisoners, and the other half in the hospital of the Misericordia, which is in charge of the religious of St. John of God, as a relief for sick men and women. Besides this relief, which is monthly, they share other large alms which are furnished from other funds administered by the house of the Misericordia. In his book of the said possessions, with the statement of their purposes, he forms his account of debit and credit, and, at the time of its presentation, gives his discharge by the receipts which he collects from the wardens of said prisons. That is generally, or always, executed with the knowledge of the minister who has charge of the inspection of the prisons and the relief of the needs experienced therein.

The steward of the dish in which the alms are collected is obliged to send it every fortnight to two brothers of this venerable brotherhood, so that on Sunday they may go out to collect alms in all the public parts of this city. They having observed this measure, return the dish and the alms to the said steward. The latter, observing the same rule throughout the months of the year, draws up his debit and credit account. The alms which he declares before the board are equal in sum to those which have been collected, according as it appears. In that conformity it is approved, the same measures as before with the others having preceded.

This is the government, order, and method which the house of the Santa Misericordia has maintained faithfully, with the punctual assistance and encouragement of the zealous, disinterested Christians. They are the work of its brothers, whose powerful example in the faithful administration of the funds entrusted to them has enabled them to obtain exemption from inspection of their house until the present time. They are today more assured than ever by dint of royal decrees, the first dated Madrid, September 7, 1699; in which his Majesty resolves and declares that this brotherhood, in order that it may be maintained and continue its exercises with more encouragement, shall not be subject to visits by the ordinaries, archbishops, provisors in vacant see, or by any other ecclesiastical minister; and that it shall be allowed to make use as hitherto of its good government and to observe its rules and ordinances. And in the same vein is another decree given in Buen Retiro, under date of June 11, 1708, in which his Majesty also resolves that the decree above inserted be kept, fulfilled, and executed, exactly according to the terms expressed therein, and that no embarrassment or obstacle be opposed or permitted to be opposed to the fulfilment of its contents, as such is his royal will. In that one can see clearly how, having been well informed, his Majesty approves the good government of this house and the practice of its rules and ordinances. This is the greatest intent of this chapter, and we leave the rest so that the parties may discuss it in or out of court.

CHAPTER XII

In which are recounted the new hardships which came upon these islands between the years 620 and 634, both because of the invasions of the Dutch enemy therein and because of the putting back and loss of ships, which happened in this period; and the devout exercises and alms of the house of Santa Misericordia.

[In this period four ships put back and two are almost completely lost. The Dutch, however, prove the worst thorn from which the islands suffer, for they invade all parts of the Spanish colonies of the Orient. The brotherhood, during this time, works with unexampled energy in its measures for the public relief, and its work among the hospitals. In this time, too, it builds the school of Santa Isabel from certain bequests, spending in these and other things, 176,910 pesos, 6 tomins, 10 granos. In 1632, a new branch of the Misericordia is formed in Formosa, which is taken under the protection of the one in Manila. The latter sends the new branch 5,065 pesos, 5 tomins, 9 granos, as an aid to it in its work. The brotherhood also treats for the ransom of Domingo Vilancio, S.J., and Fray Juan de San Joseph, a Recollect, who are captives in Joló, and for which five hundred pesos are expended. Although the former dies, before his ransom, that of the latter is effected. For two hundred pesos, one Pedro Delgado is ransomed in Japan, the ransom money being sent by way of Macao.]