[THE OTHER HOSPITALS IN THE ISLANDS]
[This matter is found at the end of chapter ii of Maldonado’s book (pp. 25–29), but is transferred to this place as being more appropriate in orderly sequence; he describes the condition of those institutions at the time of writing his book.]
Present condition of the royal hospital of Manila
The new royal hospital being reestablished, and all the expenses necessary for its maintenance being provided for in the royal treasury, for its business management and the assistance of the sick there were allotted a steward, a physician, a surgeon, nurses, and the other servants who were deemed necessary; and for its spiritual administration the discalced religious of the holy order of our holy father St. Francis, in the province of San Gregorio of these islands—which arrangement was approved by a royal decree, dated at Madrid, May 20, 1624. It has continued in this manner up to the present century, when, on account of the lack of religious for the Indian villages dependent on the Franciscans, and other just reasons, they were released from the ministry of the said royal hospital, and the government appointed secular priests as chaplains, with a suitable income. The cost of maintaining the hospital in its present condition is reckoned at 6,841 pesos, thus: The chaplain, steward, and physician, at 300 pesos each; the surgeon, 240;[24] the chief sacristan, three nurses, one assistant surgeon, the keeper of the wardrobe, the cook, and the doorkeeper, each 96 pesos; with this the ordinary expense, 1,368 pesos. [It also requires] 960 cabans of rice, 384 gantas of cocoanut-oil, and 8,400 fowls; also 2,000 pesos, at which amount the provision for medicines is permanently fixed, and 215 pesos besides, which sum is allotted for the cost of wine for mass, wax, and other expenses which are incurred for the titular feast day, which is All Saints’ day. Interments are made in the royal chapel of this garrison, which also has for the year’s expenses 3,220 pesos more, without counting the extraordinary expenses which are necessary during that time in the hospital, for beds, tents, and other needs, and in the royal chapel for ornaments and the other requirements of the divine worship. In the said royal hospital, without a special order from the superior government no other persons are received, whatever their rank may be, besides the officers and soldiers who are in actual service; and, although some mariners resort to this institution—and these are few, on account of the distance of their residence, which is in Cabite—it has not, either, a ward for women. The steward, the chaplain, and the chief sacristan (who usually is a priest) have their residence in the said hospital, and are continually on duty. The physician and the surgeons are present both afternoon and morning, to visit the sick and give prescriptions for what seems necessary. The nurses and the other servants lack the intelligence which is required [in such work], for those who are occupied in it are poor persons, who have no other situations; and, as the employment is arduous, they do not remain long in it. Several high officials, in discussing this matter, have showed their preference that this responsibility should devolve upon our religious. It is certain that the object of that same institution calls for different service, and might also excuse some [further] expense to his Majesty; but as this depends upon the royal command, it has not proceeded beyond mere talk.
The hospital of our religious order—of which mention will be made further on, as not limited to a special class—is a general one, for men and women of all classes; and in this same holy exercise of their ministry is secured the relief and general consolation of the needy who resort to this charity.
Hospital of San Lazaro
Without the walls of Manila is another hospital, with the name of San Lazaro, in which are gathered all those who are stricken by the contagious disease of the same name; it is administered and cared for by the religious of our holy father St. Francis, and his Majesty has assigned to it, by virtue of a royal decree of January 22, 1672, a contribution of 1,187 pesos 4 reals every year—500 pesos in cash, paid from the royal treasury; the rest is the estimated value of 1,500 cabans of rice, 1,500 fowls, 200 light Ilocos blankets, and one arroba of Castilian wine for the holy sacrifice of mass.
Hospital of San Gabriel for the Sangleys
There is also another hospital outside the walls; it is under the protection of St. Gabriel, and in the charge and administration of the religious in the venerable Order of Preachers of the province of the Santissimo Rosario of these islands; it is designed solely for medical treatment for the Chinese (or Sangleys) who reside in this country. For its maintenance at the beginning, there was assigned to it by his Majesty the ferry across the great river which flows between the said hospital and this city; but this allowance ceased at the building of the great bridge which afterward was constructed, and by royal decree of November 26, 1630, the said allowance was commuted to the sum of 2,000 pesos each year, which is paid from the communal chest[25] which the Sangleys themselves maintain.
Hospital of Los Baños
In the village of Los Baños, in the jurisdiction of the province of La Laguna, which is distant five leguas from Manila, was founded another hospital at the account of his Majesty; it was for the convalescent soldiers, on account of the specific properties of the waters of that district, particularly for venereal diseases [Galicos]. But the institution has been steadily declining with the course of time, and at present there remains only one religious from the holy order of our holy father St. Francis, who is assisted from the royal exchequer with 120 pesos a year.
[Royal] allowances for infirmaries
In virtue of a royal decree of September 4, 1667, every year are issued [treasury] warrants for 300 baskets [sextos; apparently misprint for cestos] of rict and 200 fowls for the infirmary which the holy Order of St. Dominic maintains in the convent at the village of Lalo, the chief town of the province of Cagayan. By another royal decree, dated January 18, 1706, there are also issued to the holy order of our holy father St. Francis 100 pesos for medicines, and the value of 129 pesos in various commodities, and 800 fowls, for the infirmaries which it maintains in this city, [in] Pagsanhan, the chief town of the province of La Laguna, and [in] Naga, the chief town of the province of Camarines. It is understood, however, that this aid is only for the treatment of the sick religious belonging to the said holy communities.
Hospital of Zamboanga
In the fortified town of Samboanga is maintained a dwelling for the sick soldiers, who are assisted by a practitioner with the title of surgeon; for this occupation he is paid four pesos four reals monthly, and for the treatment of the sick a chest of medicines is sent from Manila every year. The lack of skill on the part of this practitioner or surgeon, and, moreover, the fact that less provision is made for the entire amount of assistance [there given] than the hospital order requires, enable one to see what the men in garrison there will suffer. But it is inferred that those are in worse condition who serve in the garrisons of the fortifications of Nuestra Señora del Rosario in Iloylo, San Pedro in Zebù, Santa Isabèl of Paragua in Calamianes, San Francisco in Cagayan, and San Joseph of Tanda in Caraga—not to mention many other posts that are dependent on these principal fortresses—where there is no attendance of surgeons, and no medicines are sent thither. Our community, knowing this, shares in their affliction, by not being able to aid them for lack of the permissions from superiors and the adequate assistance which were indispensable for the proper care of the soldiers.
[The book ends with another chapter, headed “Digression xvii,” which contains an apology for the deficiencies of the work, and an account of two miraculous interventions (by their founder St. John and by an image of the Virgin) at their convent in July, 1739. On the former subject he says: “I avoid repetition of the reasons for the lack of elegant style and exactness of terms, and will conclude by saying that various other deficiencies that may be encountered are irreparable; for these natives who serve as amanuenses are so averse to all orthography that even the greatest exactness in pointing out their errors, in work of this sort, cannot prevent them from making mistakes. Some words they separate [from those] to which these belong, and others they do not divide; they write proper names with a small [initial] letter, and place capitals in the midst of any word; sometimes they set down the words without the least understanding of the punctuation. On this account it is necessary that the reader discreetly supply what [deficiencies] of this sort he may notice; and if this [manuscript] be transcribed for any purpose, that it be corrected beforehand—for this effort has already been made, but has not been sufficient; nor would it be, even if the manuscript were copied over and over, for what is thus made correct in one place is compensated by a new error in another place.” He ends with the usual protestation of loyalty to the doctrines and precedents of the church, dated at Manila, July 10, 1740.]
[1] The title-page of this book reads in English thus: “Religious hospital work [conducted] by the sons of our pious father and patriarch, the father of the poor, St. John of God, in his province of San Raphael of the Philipinas Islands: a condensed epitome of its foundation, progress, and present condition, in succinct and instructive style. Dedicated to the very reverend father Fray Alonso de Jesus y Ortega, general of the same holy hospital order, by the reverend father Fray Antonio de Arze, vicar provincial and visitor, and prior of the convent at Manila—in obedience to whom it was written by Fray Juan Manuel Maldonado de Puga, a religious and priest; preacher, master of novices, and chaplain rector in the same convent of Manila. Year of 1742.” The dedication to the general, by Antonio de Arze, is dated at Manila, July 14, 1740. The book is approved by Fray Pedro de Zaragoza, of the same order, at Ocaña, February 26, 1742; and permission for its issue is given by the general of the order at Granada, September 28 following. It is approved by Father Martin Garcia, S.J., “synodal examiner of this archbishopric and that of Sevilla, and of the bishoprics of Malaga and Barzelona,” at Granada, on September 20; and the license by the ordinary is dated at Granada, on September 26. The approval of the book by the Inquisition is signed by Fray Pablo de Ezija, a Capuchin, at Granada, June 12 of the same year; and finally, the permission of the royal Council to print it is dated at Madrid, on July 9. The colophon reads: “Printed at Granada, by Joseph de la Puerta, printer and seller of books: year of 1742.” [↑]
[2] The same as French entresol; apparently equivalent to the English word “basement,” and referring to the space left under Filipino buildings. [↑]
[3] Spanish, azucar rosado; described by Dominguez as “sugar cooked to the point of caramel, to which is added a little lemon juice, so that the sugar remains [granulated] like sponge sugar, thus serving, with water, for a refreshing drink.” [↑]
[4] These signatures indicate that the opinion rendered by the Jesuits dates back of 1717, since in that year Clain died; it is probably earlier than 1708, since in that year Arias and Bobadilla went to the Palaos Islands (Murillo Velarde, Hist. de Philipinas, fol. 377 verso). [↑]
[5] Palma brava: the common name of Livistonia rotundifolia, of the order Palmæ; see Merrill’s Dictionary of the Plant Names of the Philippines (Manila, 1903). [↑]
[6] Of interest in this connection is Herrmann Sokeland’s “Ancient Desemers or Steelyards,” in Annual Report of Smithsonian Institution, 1900, pp. 551–364. It is well illustrated with engravings of various primitive weighing instruments which are preserved in the museums of Berlin, Germany, some of which came from Thibet and India. [↑]
[7] Apparently meaning here, not the Castilian language in general, but as spoken in the islands. [↑]
[8] The marco is a weight equivalent to the half of a libra, and is used for weighing gold and silver. The marco of gold is divided into fifty castellanos, and that of silver into eight onzas. (Barcia.) [↑]
[9] Albarejo (or alberjon): a provincial term (used in La Mancha), applied, like the Catalan candeal, to a variety of white wheat. (Barcia.) [↑]
[10] Spanish tumbaga (from Malay tambâga, copper): an alloy of copper and zinc, or a species of brass, with an excess of zinc; also known as “Dutch gold” and “pinchbeck.” [↑]
[11] In the Spanish text, extension; but this is apparently a misprint for some other word, for which, in accordance with the obvious meaning, we substitute “suppression.” At the beginning of Maldonado’s work is printed a list of errata therein, thirty-two in number; this is followed by the naïve remark, “There are some others, which the discreet reader can correct.” [↑]
[12] Spanish, Pico de oro; the same as the Greek Chrysostom. [↑]
[13] The word caballería has many meanings, but probably only two are here involved; these are found in the supplement to Domínguez’s Diccionario nacional (ed. of 1878). One is, “In the Indias it is understood as the distribution of lands or seigniorial domains granted to the settlers or conquistadors in a country.” It is possible that the text refers to some of those military allotments, which might have descended unbroken to Maldonado’s time; but it is much more probable that he uses the word in the sense of a measure for land. Caballería, in Andalusia, means also the area of sixty fanegas (or 3.8758 hectares) of land. [↑]
[14] This sentence sounds somewhat contradictory to the following one; but it is the literal rendering of the Spanish, se graduaron con prelacion de los Legados à las deudas de Justicia. This is but one of many uncertainties in the text of Maldonado’s work which presumably arise from the blunders of native amanuenses which he mentions at the beginning of chapter xvii; the translation is as close as possible, but in various places has been necessarily made more free than is usual in this series, in order to render intelligible involved, elliptical, or even apparently erroneous phraseology. [↑]
[15] In the text, Escudo—a rather surprising and foreign use of this word instead of corona. [↑]
[16] In the text, Tierras Tubiganes: tubigan is the Tagal word for Spanish aguanoso, meaning “wet,” or “irrigated.” [↑]
[17] In the text, simenteras tabalcanes; but the word tabalcan does not appear in Tagal dictionaries, and is probably a misprint for tubigan, as a result of some error by Maldonado’s native copyists. Quiñon in Spanish means “share” or “portion,” usually of profit in an enterprise; but here it is evidently the Hispanicized form of the Tagal qiñong, which is defined by Noceda and Sanlucar as a land measure equivalent to 100 brazas square of area. [↑]
[18] That is, the founder of the order, St. John of God. [↑]
[19] Montero y Vidal says (Hist. de Filipinas, i, p. 463, note) of the obras pias: “In 1880 they possessed a capital of 2½ millions of pesos, belonging to the following religious bodies: Discalced Augustinians, 127,938 pesos fuertes; idem at Cavite, 33,117; Order of St. Francis, 500,840; Order of St. Dominic, 205,092; the [archiepiscopal] see, 88,155; House of Misericordia, 811,154; the city, 37,272; the privileged confraternities, 97,617.” See our VOL. XXVIII, p. 298, note 138. [↑]
[20] An interesting account of this legacy is given by Uriarte in his history of the Misericordia (q.v., ante). Lobo, a native of Viana, in Portugal, died on September 8, 1709, at Agaña in the Marianas Islands, “having executed a power of attorney for disposing of his estate, in which he left the board of the holy Misericordia as his executor, declaring his mother, Isabel Gonzales Lobo—a widow, and a resident in the said town [i.e., Viana]—the heiress of his property, in case she had survived him. If not, he named his soul as his heir, with the declaration that although he had in the said town married Victoria de Silva he had no children by her, nor had she brought him a dowry at the time and when they contracted matrimony.” The Misericordia made inquiries in Spain to ascertain whether the mother were still alive, and the wife brought in a claim for part of Lobo’s property; it also appeared that the deceased had left a sealed will with his uncle, Francisco Martinez Casados, in Viana. Not until 1723 did the papers arrive from Spain to settle the difficulties attending this will; it seems to have been decided earlier that Victoria de Silva was entitled to one-half of the property gained by Lobo during the period of their marriage [bienes gananciales], but the Misericordia refused to pay out any money until the said documents should arrive from Spain; also that board administered a large sum of money belonging to Lobo, which was lent to General Miguel Martinez at interest, and could not be repaid for several years, especially as his estate was long in probate and greatly decreased in value. “Accordingly, even if the conveyance of the share belonging to the said Victoria de Silva could have been made, there was no opportunity for it.” Nothing further is said about Victoria, but the inference is that she had by 1723 died, or dropped out of sight, or was unable to push her claims further. At all events, the Misericordia, according to Uriarte, sold the property and distributed the proceeds according to the terms of Lobo’s will—having first consulted the learned doctors of the Manila universities as to their justification in doing so, who fully sustained the board’s course; it followed, then, that their procedure was lawful and Christian, and that they were not to blame for the delays which occasioned the final disposition of the estate of Lobo. The opinion of the Jesuit university is reproduced in full; it is dated November 2, 1727, and signed by the licentiate Don Francisco Fernandez Thoribio (apparently an auditor who held the chair of civil law in the university) and Father Pedro Murillo Velarde, and is fortified by numerous citations from canons. They decide that, Lobo in his last will “having left his soul as the heir of his property, that means only the direction that all of it may and should be spent in suffrages, alms, pious foundations, and other ways which can result for the relief and welfare of his soul; and in saying that he ‘gives to the honorable steward and deputies of the Board all his own faculty, amply and sufficiently,’ he means that he leaves to the judgment of the said Board the disposal of his goods, in such manner as shall, according to the circumstances, appear most to the pleasure of God, and the welfare and relief of his soul. Accordingly, in virtue of the said power and faculty the said honorable steward and deputies have authority to proceed to the execution of the will, in the manner which we propose.” They approve of the bequests made by Lobo for three chaplaincies; for the aid of the seminary of Santa Isabel and the support of orphan girls; and for masses for the souls in purgatory. They recommend that the girls of Santa Isabel set aside the masses and prayers of a certain day for the repose of Lobo’s soul, for which shall also be said a thousand masses; and that an offering be yearly made from this estate for the aid of the home for wayward girls, in which a day shall also be observed with prayers for Lobo’s soul. No mention of Victoria de Silva is made in this opinion. [↑]
[21] Alguazil: one of the many words of law and administration derived by the Spaniards from the Arabs. The word was originally, according to Dozy, al-vacil, which was from al-wazir, “vizier.” Under the Arabs it was used to denote an officer of high rank, equivalent to dux. The governors of provinces under the Ommiade Khalifs sometimes received the title by way of extra dignity. The Christians used the word down to the fourteenth century as an equivalent to judge of first instance. Descending lower, in time it came to designate an officer of the court, the bailiff—in which sense only alguacil is now used. (H. E. Watts, in note to his edition of Don Quixote [London, 1895], iv, p. 14.) [↑]
[22] Gozos: “verses in praise of the Virgin or of the saints, in which certain words are repeated at the end of every couplet” (Velázquez). [↑]
[23] In 1686 the Dominicans in Filipinas were strictly forbidden to drink chocolate. This ordinance was observed for several years, until chocolate became so cheap and so generally used (even by the poorest Indians and negroes) that it came to be regarded as a necessity rather than a delicacy, and the prohibition was removed from the friars. (Salazar, Hist. Sant. Rosario, p. 379.)
The culture of the cacao (Theobroma cacao), from the seeds of which chocolate is prepared, was introduced from Nueva España into the Philippines under the rule of Governor Diego de Salcedo. Murillo Velarde accredits this to the Jesuit Juan Davila (Hist. de Philipinas, fol. 395 v.): “He cared for both the temporal and spiritual good of the Indians, endeavoring that they should possess some means of gain which would cause them to remain permanently in the villages, in order to remove the difficulties which ensued from their wandering hither and yon—for, going about in this manner, they were not instructed in the Christian doctrine or in Christian morals—besides other damages which they cause. For this purpose he interceded with the governor, Don Diego de Salcedo, to cause to be brought from Nueva España some shoots of cacao, in order to plant them in Bisayas. The governor accordingly obtained them, while the father was at Carigara, where a plantation was begun with good results; and from that place it has spread to other villages and islands of Pintados—with great benefit to those Indians, and to the general advantage of all the islands; for this beverage is more necessary here than in other regions. It is especially so for the ministers [of religion], who go about in continual voyages and navigations, very often without having the comfort of having any other provision or nourishment.” Father Davila was born in Sevilla in 1615, entered the Jesuit order at the age of fifteen; and was ordained in 1639. For a time he was minister in the college for Irishmen in Sevilla. He came to the islands in 1643, and labored in the Bisayan missions for many years; he died in Ylog, Negros, June 20, 1706. For seven years before his death he suffered from a malignant cancer in the face. Concepción says (Hist. de Philipinas, ix, p. 150): “Chocolate is a great aid to feeble stomachs; and cacao is now produced in such abundance that it serves as the common beverage of every class of people, although it is true that some islands produce it of better quality and richness than do others.”
The introduction of the cacao which was made in 1670 (see VOL. XX, p. 198) is reconciled with that by Davila thus, by Blanco (Flora, ed. 1845, p. 420): “It is very probable that with the remittance of cacao plants which came from America at his order, some others were brought over by private persons; and thus, at the same time when the cacao was spreading through Carigara (where Father Davila was laboring) and through other regions, it would also be cultivated by Tagals. In the year 1674, when Father Ignacio de Mercado was parish priest of Lipa, he says that he distributed seeds of this tree to many persons.” The allusion here to Tagals refers to San Agustin’s statement that the plant of cacao brought over by Pedro Brabo in 1670 was stolen from him by an Indian of Lipa, named Juan del Aguila, who hid and cultivated it; and thence it spread throughout the islands. [↑]
[24] There is some uncertainty in the Spanish text, which reads, Cirujano dozientos; y quarenta el Sacristan Mayor. Apparently there is some typographical error in the punctuation; but there is no means of verifying the fact involved. [↑]
[25] The money in the communal fund of the Chinese in the Parián was called Lapuat, and in 1718 amounted to more than 20,000 pesos (Concepción, Hist. de Philipinas, ix, p. 234). [↑]