93. [According to old ordinance 52 (q.v., ante, pp. 223, 224), and to Arandia’s ordinance, no. 17, it is strictly ordered that the alcaldes-mayor request the father ministers to exert themselves, so far as it concerns them, to establish schoolmasters in all villages, who shall teach the Indians to read and write in Spanish, and the Christian doctrine and other prayers, in accordance with the royal decree of June 5, 1574. The pay of the masters shall be one peso and one cavan of rice per month, but may be increased at the option of the alcaldes-mayor; and it shall be paid from the communal treasuries of the villages (see no. 25 of the present ordinances). If the masters do not teach and instruct the Indians in Spanish, they shall make restitution of all the pay that they have received, be incapacitated from all employment in the islands, and punished at the will of the alcaldes-mayor. This matter shall constitute a factor in the visits of the alcaldes-mayor, and if any persons oppose the teaching of Spanish, they shall be proceeded against according to law. Neglect on the part of the alcaldes shall incur punishment in proportion to its degree. As yet but little zeal has been shown in this matter, and there has been a total lack of observance of law xviii, título i, book vi, of the Recopilación, which is in harmony with many royal decrees.]
94. [The visitas or chapels in villages, besides being unnecessary for divine worship, which is to be held in the churches where the Indians can attend, are a burden on the Indians, by reason of the expenses incurred in their building and repairs, and the increase of feast days (although there should only be the three permitted by the government), fees, and alms, which must be paid to the curas and missionaries. Consequently, alcaldes-mayor are ordered, at the time of their visit, to report to the superior government all the visitas in their jurisdictions where the sacrifice of the mass is celebrated; with what authority and license they are established; the distance from each visita to the church of the village; the advantages derived from them; the expenses, fees, and alms contributed by the natives; and all other matters connected with them. No visita shall be established without the sanction of the superior government.]
All the above sections contained in this royal ordinance shall be observed and complied with by the governors, alcaldes-mayor, and corregidors of the provinces of these islands, and by each of the persons mentioned therein—with warning that, if they do not execute them, they shall be punished according to the penalties imposed in them. Given in the city of Manila, and the royal hall of the assembly thereof, February 26, 1768.
Don Jose Raon
Francisco Enriquez de Villa Corta
Manuel Galvan Y Ventura
Registered,
José Raon (seal)
By the grand chancellor,
José Raon
[Then follows the short statement of the government secretary, Ramon de Orendain, who had the ordinances written down at the order of the Audiencia. This is succeeded by an act of the Audiencia, dated February 26, 1768, enjoining strict observance of these ordinances which were ordered to be formulated by royal decrees of December 4 and 23, 1760. Those decrees ordered the revision of the ordinances of Governor Arandía. In order that all persons may not plead ignorance of them, they were ordered to be registered in both accountancies, and in the government secretary’s office, and copies were to be sent to each alcalde-mayor, corregidor, and justice.[18] These copies were to be translated into the native languages of the different jurisdictions, and the archives of each village was to have a copy. Other copies were ordered to be sent to the bishops and the father provincials of the several orders, so that they might order obedience on the part of their subjects, who are not to meddle in governmental matters. Last is the attestation of Orendain as to the accuracy of the copy, which bears date Manila, June 14, 1768, and which was sent to the castellan of the port of Cavite.]
[1] Del-Pan considers the ordinances of Corcuera and Cruzat much superior to those of Raón. (See his introduction, p. 20.) These ordinances (only 1–38) are synopsized very briefly by Montero y Vidal, Historia general, i, pp. 380–385.
As here presented, the ordinances are translated partly in full and partly in synopsis, the latter indicated by brackets. [↑]