The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume 45, 1736 / 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

I

COLLEGE AND SEMINARY OF SAN JOSEPH

[The first part of this document is taken from the second half of chapter xviii, of book iii, pp. 414–418, of Colin’s Labor evangélica.]1

353 [i.e., 153].A few months after the foundation of the congregation,2 a beginning was given to the college and seminary of San Joseph, which was not less desired by the principal citizens of Manila than was the congregation. It had been discussed already before this, and Governor Don Luis Perez Dasmariñas had enacted, on the fifteenth of the month of August one thousand five hundred and ninety-five, an act in regard to it, in obedience to and in execution of a royal decree of one thousand five hundred and eighty-five, in which his Majesty commands Doctor Santiago de Vera, his governor in these islands, or the person in whose charge should be their government, to ascertain in what manner a college and seminary, where the sons of the Spanish inhabitants of these islands, under the care and management of the fathers of the Society, can be instructed in virtue and letters, may be instituted.Although the act was given out from that time by the governor, at the advice of Doctor Don Antonio de Morga, lieutenant general and assessor of the governor, on account of difficulties which always exist in whatever depends on the royal treasury, that work was suspended until the arrival of the father visitor, Diego Garcia,3 with his ardent desire of putting into execution all the means for the service of God and the greater welfare of his neighbors. From the mountains of Antipolo, where he was, he charged Father Pedro Chirino, rector of the college of Manila, independently of the said act, to treat with Governor Don Francisco Tello, the auditors of the royal Audiencia (which had been reëstablished in these islands), and the two cabildos (ecclesiastical and secular), in regard to this matter.4 The father found them all not only kind but desirous of its execution, for some of them had sons or nephews without the necessary education, for lack of the college.

154.Having seen the readiness and desire of all, the father visitor ordered some houses near our college to be made ready for that purpose.He appointed Father Luis Gomez5 rector of the future college, and ordered him to choose some picked students as collegiates, and gowns and becas of the color now used to be prepared. He ordered the necessary licenses of the ordinary and of the secular government to be obtained; and that after they had been obtained, a beginning should really be made to the college and seminary with the fitting solemnity. It was to be named after San Joseph, on account of the special devotion that he had for that holy patriarch. The rector appointed exerted himself and, by virtue of his efforts, obtained the licenses from Governor Don Francisco Tello, and from the provisor judge and vicar-general of the archbishopric which was then vacant. Both licenses were dated August twenty-five, one thousand six hundred and one. Inasmuch as everything was now ready, a day was appointed for the erection of said college in due form. The governor and royal Audiencia, the provisor and vicar-general, some capitulars, the secular cabildo, the orders, and many others of the best people assembled in the chapel of the houses which had been prepared for the habitation and dwelling of the collegiates. Gowns and becas were given to Don Pedro de Tello, nephew of the governor; to Don Antonio de Morga, son of the senior auditor of that name; and other sons of the principal citizens up to the number of thirteen. Mass was celebrated by the archdeacon of the cathedral, Don Francisco Gomez de Arellano, who afterwards became dean. The new collegiates recited two prayers, one in Latin and the other in Spanish verses, in which with elegance, gravity, and in a pleasing manner, they declared the reason for the undertaking and the end of the new foundation, and the profit which could be promised to the community from it.They were received with general applause.Then many persons went through the house, and admired the neatness and fitness of the lodgings, beds, and desks, and the good order in everything.The number of the collegiates soon increased to twenty, which for a beginning and in a country so new and which professes rather the military and mercantile life than that of letters, was not to be esteemed lightly.After having made the foundation in the said form, the father visitor came to visit the new college, and with his presence, authority, and prudence, they attained great prestige.He gave the collegiates rules, and a method of living, proportionate to the profession of students.He made for them and for the rector and masters the necessary statutes, so that they might be kept in the future, as was done.By means of that in a few years students were seen to graduate from this college very advanced in letters and fit for offices and benefices; and others, sensible and devout, who, touched by God, entered the religious life.

155. The support of the collegiates during that time was obtained by themselves with a certain sum of money which each one of them gave, and which, administered by the procurator of the college, was sufficient for their sustenance and decent support. Some fixed income for the support of the rector and teachers, and succor for some students of quality and ability, who by the poverty of their parents could not meet their expenses with the sum which was charged, was greatly desired. Our Lord provided that by means of the Christian and noble governor of Mindanao, Estevan Rodriguez de Figueroa, who (as we have remarked above) had already founded and endowed the principal college of the Society in Manila.Being so favorable to the good work, he, when making his will as he embarked in Oton for the conquest of Mindanao, in which he named his daughters as his heirs, in case of their death before they reached a competent age, made a pupillary substitution in favor of this college and seminary.He ordered that in such an event, the property of either one of his two daughters should pass to the Society of Manila for the purpose of building a house, and founding a college and seminary for the education of youth.That event happened, for the younger of his two daughters named Doña Juana died at a very tender age, being drowned with her uncle Andres Duarte, a “twenty-four” of Xerez, in the wreck of the ship “San Antonio.”Therefore, by virtue of the clause of the will of the said governor, the college of San Joseph inherited the possession which belonged to it.With that property this college and seminary of San Joseph was instituted and founded anew with public ecclesiastical and secular authority, on February twenty-eight, one thousand six hundred and ten, as appears from the act of its foundation which reads as follows.

156. “In the city of Manila, February twenty-eight, one thousand six hundred and ten, in the college of the Society of Jesus of this said city, before the treasurer, Don Luis de Herrera Sandoval: the provisor and vicar-general of this archbishopric, apostolic commissary, subdelegate-general of the Holy Crusade in these islands, Father Gregorio Lopez, provincial of the said college of the Society of Jesus, made a presentation of the acts contained in the four preliminary leaves of this book, signed by his name, and sealed with the seal of his office. That signature appears to be that of said father provincial. I, the present secretary, attest that I know him. He also presented the original licenses of the cantor, Santiago de Castro, former provisor and vicar-general of this archbishopric, and of Don Francisco Tello, former governor and captain-general of these islands, copies of which are inserted in these acts. Said licenses are for the foundation of the said college of San Joseph of this city of Manila, as is contained in them more minutely. I attest that I have seen said original licenses and that they are conserved in the archives of the said Society. One of them is countersigned by Geronimo de Alcaraz, former notary-public of this archbishopric, and the other by Gaspar de Acebo, former government secretary of these islands. The said father provincial declared that by virtue of the clause of the will of Captain Estevan Rodriguez de Figueroa, deceased, which is contained in the said acts, where he appears to be the patron of said college of San Joseph, he appointed and presented as collegiates of said college, Don Felipe de Figueroa, son of Don Lorenco de Figueroa and Doña Ana de Salazar, his wife; Gabriel de Santillan, son of Captain Ventura de Santillan and Doña Flora de Aguilar, his wife; and Gabriel Venegas, son of Don Goncalo Flores and Doña Juana Bautista, his wife: all inhabitants of this city, so that as such appointed collegiates they might be supported by the said income of the said college, according to the clause of its institution, as appears from the appointment above, which was dated in this city on St.Bernard’s day, August twenty of the former year, one thousand six hundred.Although the said appointment is valid, legal, and sufficient, as it was made by the patron whom the said testator appoints, for greater validity he declared that he again presented—and he did present—the said three collegiates above named.And for greater solemnity of this act, as it was the first, the said provisor and vicar-general begged that his judicial authority be interposed and renewed, and that the license of said Santiago de Castro, his predecessor, be confirmed.The said provisor and vicar-general, having also read the said acts and original licenses, declared that, so far as it concerns him, he approved—and he did approve—the appointment made of the said Don Felipe de Figueroa, Gabriel de Santillan, and Gabriel Venegas; and he declared that he confirmed—and he did confirm—the said license of the said Santiago de Castro, his predecessor, and said that he again gave it—and he did give it—for the college founded with an income.For that effect, for greater validity, the said father provincial, in the presence of the said provisor and of me, the said secretary, delivered the three said collegiates to Father Pedro de Velasco, appointed rector of the said college.The latter received them as said collegiates of said college, so that they might be supported by it.All the above was done in my presence, and that of the witnesses who were present, brothers Diego de Sarsuela, Juan de Larrea, and Martin de Lisarde of the said Society; and the said father provincial, the said provisor; and the said Father Pedro de Velasco affixed their signatures to it before me, Pedro de Roxas, secretary and notary-public.”

157. Before making this second institution of the college, account had been given to his Majesty in his royal Council of the Indias, of the legacy and bequest of Governor Estevan Rodriguez, and the possession by the Society in Manila of the property of Doña Juana de Figueroa, and permission was petitioned to bring from Mexico to Manila the money belonging to the said bequest, since it had to serve for the foundation of the college for the public welfare and profit of the islands.His Majesty, considering himself as greatly served by it, had ordered his royal decree despatched in accordance with this.In order that one may see the esteem of the Council for that work, that decree faithfully copied from its original will be placed here.It is as follows.

158. “The King. Don Luis de Velasco, my viceroy, governor, and captain-general of Nueva-España, or the person or persons, in whose charge may be the government of that country: On the part of Diego Cordova, of the Society of Jesus, and its procurator of the Indias, I have been informed that Governor Estevan Rodriguez de Figueroa, when he went to accomplish the conquest of the island of Mindanao in the Filipinas, where his enemies killed him, made a will under whose disposition he died, by which, desiring that the youth [of Filipinas] be occupied in virtue, he ordered that if either of his daughters should die while a minor, a college seminary should be founded in the city of Manila with the portion of the inheritance which belonged to such deceased girl, so that the sons of inhabitants of the said islands might study therein; and he left as patron of it the provincial of the Society of Jesus of those islands. Inasmuch as the younger daughter has died while a minor, the possession of that inheritance which fell to her was given to the said Society. Consequently, the said college seminary is to be founded in the said city of Manila with that inheritance. There is very great need of that college in that city for study, and for the rearing of ministers of the holy gospel. The property with which the said seminary is to be founded is in that city of Mexico, where it is advisable that it be placed at interest for its conservation and maintenance, inasmuch as there is nothing in which to invest it in the said islands. He petitions me that, in consideration of the great fruit which will be attained in those islands from that foundation, and in consideration of the many good services of said governor, I grant the concession of giving the license so that the proceeds from the property which is in that said city for the foundation and support of the said seminary, be allowed to pass thence to the said islands freely, notwithstanding the prohibition, with a sworn certification of the procurator of the said Society of Jesus of the said islands, to the effect that what thus passes is the gain or proceeds of the property of the said seminary, as there is nothing in the islands in which the said money can be invested as abovesaid. The members of my Council of the Assembly of the Indias having examined it, and having considered the abovesaid, I have considered it fitting to have this my decree issued. I command you thereby that, in each one of two years you allow to pass from that city to the said islands the sum which shall appear necessary to you for the said effect from the said property, if it does not exceed six hundred ducados; and that that sum be included in the quantity which I have given permission to be sent from that kingdom to the said Filipinas Islands, notwithstanding any order to the contrary, which for this time and in regard to this matter I dispense with.The said two years you shall send me a minutely detailed account of the value of the said property, and the district where it is invested and in what, and the amount of the proceeds thereof each year, and what it is advisable to enact concerning the whole matter.That, with your opinion you shall send to the said my Council of the Assembly, so that after examining it the advisable measures may be taken.Given in Valladolid, September thirteen, one thousand six hundred and eight.

I the King

“By command of the king our sovereign:

Juan Ruiz de Contreras”

159. After all this, it was necessary to have recourse the second and third time to the royal Council of the Indias, in regard to the collection of the remainder of the property of this foundation, which was in the royal treasury of Manila. His Majesty, with the appreciation and esteem which he always had for this work, protected it with the kindness which he generally exercises toward all those things which are for the service of God and the public welfare, and ordered his royal decrees despatched to the governors, Don Juan de Silva, May twenty-two, one thousand six hundred and fourteen, and Don Alonso Faxardo, December three, one thousand six hundred and eighteen, ordering the said sum to be paid for the purpose of the support of the collegiates, as was done. By virtue of those royal decrees and other papers which were presented during the suit of precedence which the college of Santo Thomas, of the Order of Preachers of this city, began a while ago with San Joseph, the latter obtained a decision from the royal Audiencia in its favor, May sixteen, one thousand and forty-seven, by which it was protected in its priority and possession of precedence in the public acts to that of Santo Thomas.That same thing was confirmed afterward by the royal Council of the Indias, as appears from the suit and other authentic documents which are kept in the archives of San Joseph.

II

SUMMARY OF HISTORY

[The following brief summary is compiled from various authorities, full references being given in the footnotes throughout.]

Antonio Sedeño, writing to Felipe II, June 17, 1583, petitions for the establishment of a Jesuit seminary, and asks royal aid.6

Felipe II, in a decree dated June 8, 1585, in view of the benefit that will result to the colony from aiding the Jesuits in instituting a college, and in aiding in the support of the religious who shall teach therein, orders Governor Santiago de Vera and Bishop Salazar to discuss measures for the founding of the same.7

The above-mentioned royal decree was presented to Governor Luis Perez Dasmariñas, August 15, 1595.September 5, a government act was dictated accepting the petitions of the Society in regard to the foundation of a college, with the condition that 1,000 pesos he assigned to it, together with the royal title and arms. The governor has it noted in the said act that everything is only provisional, until the foundation of the college is discussed with the bishop, and the agreement adopted sent to his Majesty for his approval.8

Rodriguez de Figueroa, on setting out for Oton for the conquest of Mindanao, made (March 16, 1596) his will in which he declares: “And inasmuch as, ... some of the said my children may die before reaching the age necessary for making a will, it falls to me as their father and legitimate administrator, to make a will for them. In such case availing myself of the said faculty, I order and command that, if the abovesaid should happen during the lifetime of their mother, the said Doña Ana de Oseguera, the latter shall hold and inherit the goods and property of the one who shall thus die, and with both the third and the remainder of the fifth, shall be done what shall be stated hereinafter. If the said Doña Ana Oseguera shall die, and the said my children, or either one of them without leaving any heir or descendant, then their property and their legal paternal and maternal portion, and the profit and income from it, shall be used to found a college in the manner hereinafter stated.The same must be founded, in case that said Doña Ana de Oseguera is living, from the said third and remainder of the fifth.For if either one or the other of the two casualties occur, a house shall be built next the Society of Jesus, of the city of Manila, sufficient, and which shall be used, for a college and seminary for boys, where all those may enter who desire to study the first letters in such seminary.I request and charge the provincial, at such time, of the Society of Jesus, to take it under his care and to give to such boys sufficient teachers for it.That part of the said building that shall be unoccupied shall be rented, for the support of said children and youth.The said father provincial shall be patron and administrator of the said college.”9

In 1601, the Jesuits themselves founded a college, primarily through the efforts of Father Diego Garcia, who went to the Philippines as visitor in 1599. He ordered Father Pedro Chirino, independently of the act of Luis Perez Dasmariñas, to plan for the founding of a college for the Society. The first rector was Father Luis Gomez, who obtained the licenses of both ecclesiastical and civil authorities, August 25 of that year.The cantor, Santiago de Castro, provisor and vicar-general of the archbishopric of Manila, acting in vacant see, in view of the petition presented by Father Gomez, grants “license to said religious of the Society of Jesus, and to the said Father Luis Gomez, to found said college of San José.”Governor Francisco Tello, on the same date, grants the civil license for the erection of the college in view of Gomez’s petition, the erection being for the rearing “in virtue and letters of some Spanish youth, in view of the necessity of training ministers of the gospel of whom there is a lack in this land for the need of said college.”10 The new college was instituted with thirteen collegiates, and one father and one brother of the Society who were placed at its head to look after the spiritual and economic managements respectively.

October 30, 1604, a royal decree was despatched, which was received by the royal Audiencia at Manila, July 10, 1606, ordering “information in regard to the plan that could be inaugurated for the exercise of letters in these islands, and the lecturing by some professors without there being any university.”The Audiencia in its reply states the death by shipwreck of the younger daughter of Rodriguez de Figueroa (1605), and that the Society of Jesus had entered suit for her estate, in accordance with the will of her father, and that they had been given possession of it.11 Since a considerable part of Rodriguez de Figueroa’s goods were in Mexico, and since there was a royal prohibition forbidding money to be transferred from one territory to another, the Jesuits requested from the king, through their procurator at Madrid, permission to transfer the necessary money from Mexico to the islands, in order to found the college.Three royal decrees were issued in accordance with this petition, two asking for reports from the archbishop and Audiencia, and one (September 13, 1608)12 granting permission for the founding of a college and seminary in the city of Manila. By the beginning of 1610, the Jesuits realized the terms of the will of Rodriguez de Figueroa, and on February 28 of that year, the licenses, given formerly to Luis Gomez in 1601, were confirmed by the provisor for the college now founded with an income.13

In a letter to the Jesuit general, June 11, 1611, Father Gregorio Lopez writes of the flourishing condition of the college and seminary of San José. He says: “In the seminary of San Joseph, our pupils are reared with the virtue of which advice was given in former years. Some are inclined to our rule, and others to that of the other orders. Three have embraced that of the Order of St Augustine. The seminary has been improved this year with a fine new refectory built of stone, with a very large hall for the lodging of the collegiates, and the work which will be one of the best in the city, is progressing.” Diego Vázquez de Mercado, archbishop of Manila, insists on the idea of the foundation of the university, which was undervalued by Felipe III, after the unfavorable report of Benavides, and in a letter of June 24, 1612, to the king, praises the work of the college and asks that graduates therefrom in arts and theology be granted degrees. Archbishop Garcia Serrano writes to Felipe IV, July 25, 1621, regarding the colleges of San José and Santo Tomás: “There are two colleges for students in the city, one founded by Captain Estevan Rodriguez de Figueroa, which is in charge of the fathers of the Society of Jesus, whence the collegiates go to the college of the same Society, which is near by, to hear lectures in grammar, philosophy, and scholastic and moral theology. It has twenty collegiates with the beca at present, some of whom pay for their tuition, while others are aided by charity, as the income derived from the founder serves now to support but few because it was spent in building said college. The other college is called Santo Tomas de Aquino and is in charge of the Order of St. Dominic, and is very near their convent. It is not more than two years since collegiates entered it. It was founded with alms of deceased persons and others given by the living which the fathers have procured. It also has some income, and it is making progress. It has also twenty collegiates with the beca, some of whom also pay for their tuition, while others are supported by charity and by other persons. They study grammar, philosophy, and theology in the said college, where they have a rector and masters of the Order of St. Dominic. These two colleges greatly ennoble the city, and the sons of the inhabitants of these islands are being reared therein in civilization, virtue, and good letters. It will be of the highest importance for their progress for your Majesty to honor them by giving them license to grant degrees in the courses taught in them.”Another letter from Serrano, July 30 of the same year, notes that the secular priests have increased so greatly in his archbishopric because of the number that have graduated from the college and seminary of the Jesuits that he has not places for them and they suffer great poverty.The same is true of those who have studied in the college of Santo Tomás.In a letter of August 15, 1624, he notes that the college of San José has obtained the right to grant university degrees, by a papal brief, without the necessity of the graduates going to other universities, and petitions that the rector be allowed to grant the degrees in person.In 1627, Pedro Chirino was dean of the law faculty of the university.14

A document of June 18, 1636, shows the college of San José to possess incomes from various houses, aggregating 14,000 pesos.15 In 1640 the college was able to support 40 collegiates, and was in a flourishing condition.16 That same year the short-lived royal college of San Felipe de Austria was founded.17 The earthquake of 1645 caused great losses to the college of San José, as much of its capital consisted of houses which were destroyed.18

The Dominican college of Santo Tomás, formally founded in 1619, with the alms left by Archbishop Benavides and others, was the second college founded in the Philippines. October 25, 1645, however, the Dominicans entered suit against the Jesuits declaring the precedence of their institution over the latter in all public acts in which the said institutions participated.19 Governor Fajardo, before whom the suit was brought, remitted the cause to the royal Audiencia, which rendered a verdict in favor of the Jesuits, May 10, 1647, declaring that all public acts of the college of San José had precedence over those of Santo Tomás, as the former had been founded over eighteen years earlier. This sentence was confirmed in review, July 29 of the same year, and again by the royal Council of the Indias, August 12, 1652, on examination, and again on review, November 25 of the same year. The college of Santo Tomás, being dissatisfied with the decision, endeavored to take precedence in certain public acts, but with no real effect.20

A royal decree of June 12, 1665, conceded the sum of 8,000 pesos to the college of San José; and another, issued July 27, 1669, granted the further sum of 12,000 pesos.The reason advanced by the petitions for the grants was the many losses sustained because of the earthquakes during the period from 1645 to 1658.21 The Jesuits made many requests for royal alms for their Society and college; and many royal decrees were issued granting such alms, both of money and rice.22

November 22, 1666, Don José Cabral, a Spaniard born in the Philippines, died bishop elect of Camarines, and left a pious bequest of certain lands called later the estate of Liang, to the college, on condition that a chaplaincy be maintained thereby, and that an annual alms be given of ten pesos each to the church of Balayan and to the poor of its district.”23

A decree issued by Governor Fausto Cruzat y Gongora, September 22, 1695, recites the two royal alms above mentioned, which had been assigned from tributes of vacant natives.In response to a petition by Father Juan de Montemayor, S.J., that 1,000 pesos be given the college annually until the 20,000 pesos be paid in full, he assigned to the said college 383½ tributes from the encomienda of Tubig, Sulat, and Pamboan, in the province of Leyte, “so that there may be paid annually, five hundred and thirty-three pesos four tomins one grano ...on account of the eighteen thousand six hundred and eleven pesos six tomins which are still to be paid of the twenty thousand pesos.”24

A royal decree of May 3, 1722, grants the title of “royal ad honorem” to the college of San José.This decree is as follows:

“Inasmuch as Augustin Soler of the Society of Jesus, procurator-general for his province of Filipinas, has represented to me that his province has charge in the city of Manila of a seminary of grammar, philosophical and theological collegiates, under the advocacy of St. Joseph, which was founded by Don Esteban Rodriguez de Figueroa, adelantado of Mindanao, which by its antiquity and royal writ of King Don Felipe IV enjoys precedence in all public functions to the other colleges; and inasmuch as in consideration of the notoriety in that community of the great profit which has followed and is experienced in the said college, in virtue and letters from the many erudite men who have graduated from it to maintain the luster of the cathedral church of that city and the other churches of their islands, the greater part of those who today obtain their prebends being among those who have been raised and have prosecuted their studies in the above-mentioned college, he petitioned me, in consideration of the above-said and so that its collegiates may have the greatest application in said studies with the luster, esteem, and credit that is due because of the particular blessing which results to that community in general, to deign to receive it under my royal protection, by conceding it the title, privileges, and preeminences of royal college, without any burden on my royal treasury, with the permission to place on its doors and the other accustomed places, my royal arms, and to make use of the title of such in the instruments which it presents, and the letters which it writes to me: therefore, this matter having been examined in my assembly Council of the Indias, together with what was declared thereon by my fiscal, I have considered it fitting to condescend to [heed] his instance, receiving (as by the present I do receive and admit) the above-named college of San José under my royal protection. I honor it with the title of Royal ad honorem, in case that it has no patrons, and with the express conditions that it never has any, and that it cannot produce any effect of burden on or embarrassment to my royal treasury by reason of this title. Therefore, I order my present or future governor and captain-general of the above-mentioned Filipinas Islands and my royal Audiencia of the city of Manila, and the other ministers and justices of that jurisdiction, and I beseech and charge the archbishop of the metropolitan church of said city, and the ecclesiastical cabildo of it, not to place or allow to be placed now or in any time any obstacle or hindrance to the above-mentioned college of San José, which is in charge of the religious of the Society of Jesus, in the grace which I concede it of the title of royal ad honorem, in the above-mentioned sense, and that as such it may place my royal arms on its doors, and the other accustomed places, and that in all its instruments and letters which it may write me, both through my councils, tribunals, and ministers, and in all that which may arise, it may make use of the abovesaid title of royal.Such is my will.Given at Aranjuez, May three, one thousand seven hundred and twenty-two.25

I the King

“By order of the king our sovereign:

Andrés Alcorobarratia Gulpide”

This decree was presented in the Manila Audiencia, in 1723.26

In 1734 the college was granted the right to teach canonical and Roman law, the same as the university of Santo Tomás, although it seems that no decrees were given in those branches.27

Father Francisco Mendez, S. J. , in a document of August 15, 1742, enumerates the fellowships in the college of San José, in addition to the eight of the foundation, as follows: one given by Captain Gonzalo Araujo, alguacil-mayor of Manila, to be enjoyed by a Galician or the descendant of Galicians; one by Benito Lopez, for an European; two by Captain Diego Gonzales de los Arcos, one of them being for Estremadura and the other for creoles and virtuous persons—the appointment of the latter belonging to the Santa Misericordia, which afterward became the object of a suit between the Jesuits and the Santa Misericordia, and finally settled by Archbishop Camacho; one by several benefactors for a pure-blooded and virtuous Spaniard.All the capital or endowment of these fellowships was incorporated in the property of the college, except the one appointed by the Santa Misericordia.There were also two other fellowships founded in 1717 (although only made effective in 1720), by Domingo de Valencia, bishop-elect of Nueva Cáceres, who endowed them with some shops which he owned in the Parián; they were intended for Spanish creoles born in Manila.Besides the above there were nineteen other fellowships which were known as fellowships of grace, “because there is no legal obligation to maintain them, and it was a grace or favor of our Society to institute them, to facilitate the good education of youth.”28

In his royal decree of April 2, 1767, Carlos III declared: “I have resolved to order the expulsion from all my domains of España and the Indias and the Filipinas Islands, of the regulars of the Society, both priests and coadjutors, or lay-brethren, who have taken the first vows, and the novices who desire to follow their example, and that all the temporal possessions of the Society in my domains be seized.”29 A decree couched in like terms was received in Manila, May 21, 1768. Governor José Raon affected to obey the decree and appointed commissioners to carry it into effect, but he imparted the mandates of the decree, which was secret, to the Jesuits.30 In consequence heavy charges were afterward brought against him.

The college of San José and its estates were seized and confiscated to the crown.31 The college buildings were converted into barracks. Against this confiscation, the archbishop protested, and petitioned the governor-general that, pending the king’s action on the protest, the college be turned over to him. The petition being granted, the archbishop took possession of the college, and converted it into a seminary for the education and instruction of the native clergy.32 He ordered the former collegiates to leave, and placed the new seminary in charge of the Piarist fathers [padres escolapios]33 The Audiencia of Manila protested against this action of the archbishop.34 The royal answer to their letter is as follows:

The royal decree sent to the archbishop on the same date,36 is couched in similar terms to the above decree, and disapproves the action of the archbishop in regard to making an ecclesiastical seminary out of the college of San José.The decree in its opening clauses, notes that the archbishop had sent various documents and reports to the king with his letter of March 12, 1769, which state what had been done in regard to the college of San José, and the occupations of the four Piarists who had accompanied the archbishop to the Philippines.

In 1777, Doctor Ignacio de Salazar, magistral of the Manila cathedral, was chosen rector and administrator of the college.From that date until 1879, the position of rector and administrator of the college was always confirmed by the governors-general to the dean or other dignitary of the Manila cathedral.Accounts of the administration of the college were to be rendered every three years, or annually.The management of the college was not successful, and the administration of the properties was negligent and possibly corrupt during some years.The field of secondary education which it had attempted to fill came to be occupied by newer and more successful institutions, such as the Ateneo Municipal and the college of San Juan de Letran.37

From the books of the university of Santo Tomás, it seems that a few years after the expulsion of the Jesuits, if not immediately, instruction on philosophy and the natural sciences was resumed, and that two professors were appointed for that purpose, and that in 1795 the government of the islands recommended the abolition of such instruction, applying the revenues therefrom to the payment of the fees of the institutes and law courses, which recommendation was not carried out on account of an unfavorable report of the faculty of the university.Only grammar and philosophy were taught until 1866, and pupils were required to pass an examination in the university of Santo Tomás before two professors appointed for the purpose, in order to legalize their courses.The first four years of secondary instruction were established at this period.38

Between the years 1860 and 1870, the question of the conversion of the college into a professional school of some sort—arts, agriculture, or medicine—was much discussed, particularly its conversion into a school of medicine and pharmacy.Finally, in 1867, a board consisting of the rectors of the university, Ateneo Municipal, and college of San José, and one representative each of the professions of medicine and pharmacy, was convened by royal order, and charged with the duty of ascertaining the origin and object of the college of San José, its revenues and pious charges, and the best manner of installing therein classes of medicine and pharmacy.The report of the committee was to the effect that such studies could be admitted.The rector and administrator of the college in 1869 was of the same opinion, and the rector of the university of Santo Tomás also considered such a thing legal.November 6, 1870, the Spanish government adopted the decrees concerning education in the Philippines, known as the Moret decrees,39 by which the attempt was made to secularize most of the institutions of learning. Among other provisions in these decrees was one directing that the college of San José, the college of San Juan de Letran, and the Ateneo Municipal, as well as the naval academy and the drawing and painting academy should be united in one academy for secondary and entirely secular education to be known as the Philippine Institute, to be subject to the ultimate control of a Superior Board of Education which was civil and secular in its character.These decrees were never enforced, for they were vigorously opposed by those in charge of the above institutions.40

In 1875, a royal provision established the faculty of medicine and pharmacy in the college.41 This decree, issued October 29, 1875, reorganized the university of Santo Tomás. Article 2 of the decree prescribed “that in this university shall be given the necessary studies for the following: jurisprudence, canon, medicine, pharmacy, and notary;” and article 12, that, “the branches of medicine and pharmacy, although constituting an integral part of the university, shall be taught in the college of San José, whose revenues, with the deductions of the amounts for pious charges, will be devoted to the expenses of these branches.42 The five-sixths part of the fees from the registration of these subjects, and half of the fees for degrees, titles, and certificates of the pupils, will also pertain to the college mentioned. The rest will pertain to the general expenses of the university.” The governor was to name a director, upon the recommendation of the rector, for the college, and he was to have charge of the revenues. September 5, 1877, a commission appointed to consider various matters of the college of San José, recommended that the university of Santo Tomás take immediate charge of all the property of the college, and that regulations be drawn up for the management of the same. On September 28, of the same year, the governor-general decreed that an administrative commission consisting of the rector of the university and the professor of pharmacy should take charge of the college, and they were given complete authority to carry out the reorganization of the college decreed in 1875. The report of the commission submitted July 26, 1878, recommended that the office of director-administrator be made two separate offices, the office of director to be filled by the rector of the university of Santo Tomás, as director ex-officio, and that of administrator to be appointed by the governor-general upon the recommendation of the rector of the university of three names to be taken from the professions of medicine and pharmacy. This report was approved August 1 by a decree of the governor-general, which was in turn approved by royal order of March 24, 1880. The decree of August 1, 1878, charged the rector of the university to prepare regulations concerning the control and management of the college; and it appears that such regulations were issued by the governor-general, October 15, 1879, title 2 of which gives to the rector of the university, as ex-officio director, the control of properties and finances of the college.It is said that articles 6–10 of the decree of 1875, which directed that competitive examinations be held either at Manila or Madrid for the filling of vacant professorships, have not been observed, such vacancies having been filled by the governor-general on the recommendation of the rector.The administration of the college properties was kept separate from those of the university, although the accounts were both under the same direction of the rector of the university.The scholarships or fellowships of the college, before twenty in number, were reduced after 1875 to three and transferred to another institution.The income in normal times was about twenty thousand pesos, the foundation seemingly being about one-half million in gold.43

With the signing of the treaty of Paris, December 10, 1898, the American government found itself face to face with a delicate and difficult problem, namely, that of the settlement of the properties of the friars. Of this problem, the question of the ultimate disposal of the college of San José was properly a part, since it was under the direction of the Dominican university of Santo Tomás, it having become, as we have seen above, the medical and pharmaceutical adjunct of the university. The question to be solved in this case narrowed down to whether the college of San José was primarily a government or an ecclesiastical pious foundation [obra pia], and hence, whether it could be legally administered by the government or the Church.In 1899, General Otis forbade the rector of the university of Santo Tomás to continue to maintain a school of medicine and pharmacy in the buildings of the college of San José, and to use its name and income for that purpose—an order made at the instance of the president and directors of the Philippine Medical Association.Shortly after their arrival the commissioners were consulted by General McArthur, as to the proper course for him to take on the petition of the rector of the university asking him to rescind the order.As the issue involved the question of the control of Church property, the commission deemed it its duty to investigate it and to bring it to a legal settlement.44

The matter was therefore argued before the Commission, pro and con, from time to time between July and October, 1900, and the conclusions announced January 5, 1901. The ecclesiastical authorities took the position that the college is “truly an obra pia, that its trusteeship has always been vested in the Church, as represented by its legal agents either through the Society of Jesus, the kings of Spain as ecclesiastical patron, the clergy of the cathedral, or the university of Santo Tomás, under the direction of the archbishop.” The ecclesiastical argument is that the college “is essentially a religious foundation and therefore the United States have not the right to claim it as public property nor to intervene in its management, since they cannot succeed to the Spanish ecclesiastical patronage, they having proclaimed the separation of Church and State.” It is impossible also for the state to secularize the institution, an act which would be paramount to confiscation.45 Archbishop Nozaleda argues also that the college “is an ecclesiastical obra pia, founded by Esteban Rodriguez de Figueroa, with all the canonical and civil formalities demanded by the legislation in force at that time for such foundation.”46 Again, he says: “The college of San José is an ecclesiastical obra pia, and as such belongs to the patrimony of the Church.” An ecclesiastical obra pia he defines as “any foundation made through motives of religious piety, or with the purpose of exercising Christian charity, with the approbation and authorization of the bishop.”47 Against this Dr. T. H. Pardo de Tavera and others argued before the Philippine Commission that the college of San José was primarily of royal foundation;48 Felipe G. Calderon, a Filipino advocate, and the chief adversary of the ecclesiastics, in his pamphlets, also argued that the college of San José is official in its origin:49 their conclusions being that the civil government has power to intervene in the management of the college.50 The commission, being careful not to intimate any opinion that “should be used by either side in the case to be argued and decided as authority in that tribunal [i.e., the Philippine Supreme Court],” expressed “no other definitive opinion than that the petitioners [i.e., Pardo de Tavera, et al.] have presented a case of sufficient dignity and seriousness to warrant its full consideration by a court of justice.” In the words of the commissioners: “In order to decide the merits of this case, we should probably have to consider and settle a nice question of canonical law, and investigate and discuss the historical and legal relations of the crown of Spain to the head of the Catholic Church. Neither of these questions do we feel competent now to decide with the materials which are before us and with the time at our disposal nor do we need to do so. We are not a court. We are only a legislative body. It is our expressly delegated function in just such cases as this to provide a means for the peaceful and just decision of the issues arising. Had we been able to decide clearly and emphatically that the petitioners had no rights here and that their claims were so flimsy as not to merit the assistance of the legislature in bringing them to adjudication in a court of justice, we might have properly dismissed the petition and taken no action thereon; but we are of opinion, all of us, that the contentions of the petitioners present serious and difficult questions of law, sufficiently doubtful to require that they should be decided by a learned and impartial court of competent jurisdiction, and that it is our duty to make legislative provision for testing the question. If it be true that the United States is either itself the trustee to administer these funds, or occupies the relation of parens patriæ to them, it becomes its duty to provide for their administration by a proper directory, whose first function will be to assert, in the name and authority of the United States, their right to administer the funds of the college against the adverse claims of the person now in charge, who claims to hold under and by virtue of the control over the funds by the Catholic Church; and this legislative action we now propose to take, not thereby intimating an opinion upon the merits of the case, but merely by this means setting in motion the proper machinery for the ultimate decision by a competent tribunal.” The Commission set aside $5,000 in United States money for the payment of the expenses of getting evidence, preparing the record, printing the briefs, and as fees for professional services; and that the case was to be heard before the Philippine Supreme Court, the United States being practically a party in the litigation. Further provision was made in case appeals from that court were to be made to the Supreme Court of the United States, for Congress to so provide in this case. As to the injunctive order of General Otis against the opening of the college, by the rector of the university, it was recommended to the military governor that it be rescinded. The persons appointed to conduct the litigation and to take charge of the college and its estates, should the decision and a decree of the court be in their favor, were as follows: Dr. T. H. Pardo de Tavera; Dr. Charles R. Greenleaf, Leon M. Guerrero, Dr. Manuel Gomez Martinez, and Dr. Frank S. Bourns. The concluding remarks of the Commission are the following: “There has been much popular and political interest in the controversy in which we have now stated our conclusions. The questions considered, however, have not had any political color at all. They have been purely questions of law and proper legal procedure, and so will they be in the court to which they are now sent.The decision of the right to control San José college cannot legitimately be affected by the political feeling which one may have for or against the friars.It is unfortunate that the public should clothe the settlement of an issue purely legal with political significance when it ought not to have and does not have one.But, however this may be, those charged with settling it can pursue only one path, and that is the path of legal right as they see it.”51 Congress provided for appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States on July 1, 1902, under the general terms of Section 10 of the so-called “Philippine Government Act.” A decision in the case had not been handed down in Manila up to the close of September, 1906.52

I

ERECTION INTO A UNIVERSITY

[The first portion of this division of the appendix is a translation of chapter xxxvi, of book i of Santa Cruz’s Historia, where it occupies pp.168–172.]1

Of the honorable apostolic and royal erection of the University of Santo Tomás of Manila

Another and very serious matter was transacted by that religious father, namely, the erection into a university of the college of Santo Tomás of Manila. That event is as follows. While that venerable father, Fray Juan Bautista de Morales, was in Roma during the years 1643 and 1644, negotiating matters touching the province, as its procurator, and the matters of China, father Fray Mateo de la Villa, who was also procurator of the province in that capital, wrote him from Madrid asking him to petition from his Holiness, Urban Eighth, who was then head of the Church, for the erection and foundation as a university in said college of Santo Tomás of Manila. He had gained for that purpose a favorable letter from his Majesty, Filipo Fourth the Great, our king and sovereign, in which his Holiness was asked to deign to concede his apostolic bull for that purpose.Father Fray Juan made his efforts, but by reason of all the matters and accidents which happened at that time, it was not accomplished.Consequently, he went to España without negotiating it that said year of 44.In that year, on the last day of July, the pontiff Urban Eighth, passed to the better life.Innocent Tenth having been elected September 15 of the same year, another letter was obtained from the king, our sovereign Filipo Fourth, for his Holiness.Since father Fray Victorio Riccio, a Florentine who had come [to España] in order to go to this province, was in Madrid, and was a very suitable person since he was an Italian, to be entrusted with that and other matters which were left pending in Roma by father Fray Juan, it was thought best to send him thither.He accomplished that as well as the other things, which have been continued in the service of the order and of this province.He is a great missionary of China, of whom this history will tell at the proper time the many things that there are to tell, for at present he is prior of the convent of Santo Domingo in Manila.The letter of his Majesty to the supreme pontiff Innocent is as follows:

[This letter will be found in VOL.XXXV, pp.199, 200.The letter to the count of Ciruela, which is not given by Santa Cruz, will be found in the same volume, pp.201–203.]

The said father Fray Victorio went to Roma with that letter, and although it reached the hands of his Holiness, yet he could not obtain that haste which he desired, for the ambassador was in disgrace with the pope because of some trouble which he had had with certain Portuguese which cost blood and deaths.His Holiness was very angry at that trouble, and it was necessary for the ambassador to leave Roma.But the father, not losing courage, as he had many powerful friends in that capital, as he had been raised there and had started for Filipinas from Minerva, exerted himself and obtained the opportunity to pay his respects to his Holiness and to lay his proposition before him, to which the pontiff answered in formal words: “In the time of our predecessor the same instance was made by the king of España, but it was not granted.How now do they return to insist again?”And it was so that the first letter of his Majesty was brought, and that benefit which was striven for was not obtained on account of the occupations and for other reasons which his Holiness must have had (in which the great providence of God in the government of the holy oracles of His vicars is to be noted, since a pontiff worthy of adoration had so singular an idea of Filipinas and of the university which was requested there) although the father left disconsolate.But by direction of a cardinal, his fellow countryman the father again renewed his courage, and, after waiting several months, again paid his respects to his Holiness, and gave him a memorial of his desire.His Holiness caused it to be received by his secretary, and the next day it was taken to the signatura,2 and a decree was made that in regard to the erection of this university, a committee [congregacion] of four cardinals and four prelates named there should be formed. The president of it was the most eminent Cardinal Saqueti, the father’s countryman who had aided him from the beginning.The said prelates informed, then, and visited by the father, and being informed of the advisability of what was asked, it was concluded in the said committee that it was fitting to concede that favor to the king of España.Therefore, his Holiness despatched his apostolic bull in regard to this erection, that bull being as follows:

[This bull3 will be found in VOL.XXXV, pp.203–208.]

This brief was presented to the royal Council of the Indias, and the gentlemen of that council having read it, ordered a testimony of its presentation to be given July 28, 1646. That was attested on the thirty-first of the same month by Diego Lopez de Leytona y Mendoza, chief official of the papers of grace, government, and war, of the secretary’s office of the royal Council of the Indias for the district of Nueva España. The fact that he was also the chief official of the said royal Council, and that credit must be given to him, was testified by the royal notaries, Diego Carreño Aldrete, and Antonio Gomez, on the said thirty-first of July of the said year. Likewise, the said brief was presented, and the testimony of its presentation, in the royal Council of the Indias before the members of the royal Audiencia of this city of Manila. They having read it, determined that the party of the university of Santo Tomás could make use of the said brief. Consequently, they so voted by an act on the eighth of July, 1648, of which testimony was given on the said day by Captain Diego Nuñez Crespo, assembly clerk of the said royal Audiencia of Manila. Likewise, the said brief was presented before the dean and cabildo of this holy metropolitan church of Manila with the said presentations of the royal Council and Audiencia. The said gentlemen considered it as presented, and allowed the college of Santo Tomás to make use of it, and its rector, now or in the future, in the form and manner which is contained in the said bull. The clerk of the cabildo, Fernando de Caravajal, attested that on the same day on which the said act was voted, namely, July 14, 1648.This university having been inaugurated, then, and erected with so great honor into a pontifical and royal institution, its rector and first chancellor, namely, father Fray Martin Real de la Cruz, by virtue of his apostolic authority, made the necessary statutes, following in them all the custom and practice of the royal university of Mexico (of which from its beginning it has esteemed itself as the close daughter, and in which it has found the just functions of a noble mother with the exchange of letters and favors which the latter has given to it).Thus the said father rector ordained them, August 28, 1648, and they are observed inviolably and are like those of the said their royal and always noble mother, which were determined after the style and form of the most celebrated university of Salamanca.

In 1651 this university and its rector wrote to the said university of Mexico giving an account of its erection, stating that in it was born their obligation of attentive respect as daughter of that royal university, since the king our sovereign had given that university to it as mother and mistress.Consequently, it yielded and dedicated itself to that university and in regard to this the father concluded his letter with all due consideration and affection.In the year of 53, that most noble and ever famous university wrote this our university the following letter, which was written in full cloister.

Very illustrious Sirs:

This royal university of Mexico was greatly favored by the letter of your Lordship the past year of 51, in which was expressed the appreciation and estimation which is right and which is fitting for so illustrious a cloister, and with the greatest pleasure received your adoption; which if it is the teaching of the Holy Spirit (Proverbs xvii), Gloria filiorum patres eorum, immediately before it had said: Corona senum filii filiorum4 Consequently, it will consider that royal university as its crown and glory, and as such will venerate it forever. It will give his Majesty (whom may God preserve) thanks for the favors which he concedes to your Lordship by his decree of the rights to enjoy the privileges which are enjoyed in this royal university. What may be necessary for it, in so far as documents and papers are concerned, and for the pretension of your Lordship, will be delivered to the reverend father master, Fray Francisco de la Trinidad, so that we may carry them and present them to his Majesty in his royal Council of the Indias. In all the other things which may offer themselves for the service of your Lordship for its greater luster and increase, this royal university and its entire cloister will assist it with all promptness. May God preserve your Lordship in all happiness, etc. Mexico, February 7, 1653. Master Fray Juan de Ayrolo y Flores, rector.

After his signature were those of eight doctors and masters and lastly that of the blessed secretary, Christoval Bernardo de la Plaza. This university erected with so fortunate beginnings with all that luster worthy of all estimation, has continued to advance. There have been and are very learned persons who have studied there, who have occupied prebends and dignities in the holy church of Manila, and in other churches of our España, and it has had three sons, most worthy bishops, one of whom ascended to the archiepiscopal see of this city, of whom we shall treat in due time.

II

ROYAL DECREE GRANTING TITLE OF “ROYAL” TO THE COLLEGE OF SANCTO TOMAS

The King.Inasmuch as Fray Sebastián de Valverde, of the Order of Preachers, and procurator-general of the province of Santísimo Rosario of Filipinas, has represented to me, among other matters, that since the establishment of the college of Santo Tomás in the city of Manila, and especially since, at the instance of Felipe IV, a public academy or university was erected in it by his Holiness, Innocent X, in the year one thousand six hundred and forty-five,5 in behalf of his order, not only has it redeemed its obligation in the public instruction with well-known benefit to those vassals, in which the religious have filled the chairs at the expense of the private property of the above-mentioned college, but also, at the same time, in order to inspire in the minds of its pupils the illumination of the holy doctrine of the angelic doctor St. Thomas, which some factional spirits in that capital, in whom still lives the seed of the suppressed doctrine,6 are attempting to confuse with useless projects, have endeavored likewise to infuse into their hearts the fidelity, loyalty, and love due my royal person—and one of the most signal and noble proofs that attest this truth is the promptness, with which the present rector, Fray Domingo Collantes, in this last war, in observance of the suggestion of that governor, raised four companies of fifty soldiers apiece among the collegiates and students, on whose clothing and support he spent some thousands of pesos from the beginning of the war until the peace was made, and at the same time placing at the disposition of the same government all the grain of the harvest and the cattle of its estates—and inasmuch as he has petitioned me that, in order that this signal example of the fidelity and generosity with which the above-named college served me and continues to serve me, may be remembered by the inhabitants of those islands, I deign to signify to it my royal pleasure and kindness by admitting it under my sovereign protection and patronage, and by granting to it the title of “very loyal;” therefore, my Council of the Indias having examined the above petition, together with the information given in regard to it by the general accountant’s office, and the explanation of my fiscal, I have resolved in the conference of the tenth of January of this year, to concede, among other things, and as I concede by this my royal decree, the sole name of “royal” to the above-named college of Santo Tomás of the city of Manila, with the distinct condition and declaration, that it shall never have the right of petitioning assistance from my royal treasury. Therefore, by this present, I order and command my governor and captain-general of the above-mentioned islands, the regent and auditors of my royal Audiencia in the islands, and all other ministers, judges, and justices of those provinces, and I request and charge the very reverend bishop of that metropolitan church, the venerable dean and cabildo in vacant see, and all other ecclesiastical prelates and judges to whom this pertains, to observe, fulfil, and execute, and cause to be observed, fulfilled, and executed, exactly and effectively, my herein expressed royal resolution, as and in the manner herein set forth, without violating it, or permitting it to be violated in any way, for thus is my will.Given in El Pardo, March seven, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-five.7

I the King

By command of the king our sovereign:

Antonio Ventura De Taranco

III

HISTORICAL ACCOUNT

[Below follows an interesting account of the university of Santo Tomás, by the Dominican friar, Evarista Fernandez Arias, from his Discurso leido en la apertura de sus estudios (de la universidad) el dia 2 de Julio de 1885—i.e., “Discourse read at the opening of its studies (of the university) July 2, 1885” (Manila, 1885).Its author was a professor of the university.]

The university of Santo Tomás, of Manila, graced with the titles of royal and pontifical by the Catholic kings and the supreme pontiffs, holds the first place among all the educational institutions of the Philippines on account of its antiquity, its history, and its importance.It was established in 1619, under the name of College of Santo Tomás, having, as its basis, a holy legacy from his Excellency, Fray Miguel de Benavides, of the Order of Preachers, second archbishop of Manila, who is considered as its true founder.By this legacy, the sum of 1,600 pesos was turned over to the fathers of his order, of the province of the Santísimo Rosario, who, accepting it, in accordance with his purposes and intentions, immediately proceeded to carry the plan into effect.Thus, after various contingencies, on the day of the festival of the Assumption of the Virgin, in the year mentioned, after having been authorized by the general government of these islands, and by both the ecclesiastical and the secular chapters, Fray Baltasar Fort, its first rector, proceeded to the inauguration of its studies by giving fellowships to twelve young men belonging to the most distinguished families of Manila.The permission granted by the general government and other authorities of this capital, was formally confirmed by his Catholic Majesty, Felipe IV, in his royal decree of November 29, 1623, in which he said of this institution: “It has afforded and affords great advantages to the young, the preaching of the gospel, and the instruction of the children of the inhabitants.”

The chronicles of those times show that the number of young men, mostly children of Spaniards, who attended the schools of the Dominican fathers was not small; but the difficulty of not being able to receive academic degrees was an obstacle to the progress of the studies.For this reason, Pope Paul V was asked to authorize the order to confer the customary degrees upon the pupils of this college.This permission was granted for ten years, upon the expiration of which time, it was necessary to again apply to the Roman pontiff, then Urban VIII, for the extension of the concession for a similar term of years.This uncertain condition of affairs was not, as is evident, most conducive to progress in these studies, for which reason Felipe IV, desiring to regulate this concession consistently and permanently, requested, through his ambassador, an apostolic brief from the supreme pontiff, Innocent X, in 1645, which should confer upon the college of Santo Tomás (the title) and honors of a university, with all the privileges of those of the same class in the Peninsula, authorizing it to confer academic degrees in the schools of theology and philosophy.Afterwards, in 1734, this concession was extended by Clement XII,8 also on the petition of the king of Spain, to the schools of canonical and civil law, and to others that might in time be established.

The year following the erection of this university by Innocent X and Felipe IV, its first rector and chancellor, Fray Martin Real de la Cruz, who so distinguished himself in the conversion of the Cagayanes, framed the laws, which continued in force until 1785.The greater part of these were similar to the laws of the university of Mexico, to which his Catholic Majesty desired to conform them, as appears from his letter written on December 20, 1644, to his ambassador at Rome.

In the beginning the only courses were dogmatic and moral theology, philosophy, and the humanities; Latin and Spanish grammar, rhetoric, and poetry were included in the humanities, and the study of all the branches comprised in the works of Santo Tomás de Aquino formed a part of the courses in theology and philosophy.9 This was the custom in most of the universities existing at that time, a custom that responded perfectly to the necessities of that century, and more particularly to the special requirements of this country at that period. In the first stage of their civilization, education in the Philippines was based exclusively on religion; and the local necessities and the aspirations of the first Spaniards, echoing faithfully the sentiments expressed many times concerning this subject by the Catholic monarchs, demanded a literary center where the bishops and missionaries might find a solution for the many and varied doubts which arose in the exercise of their ministry; where the governors-general might receive ideas of profound and consistent methods of government for the direction of the towns and for their relations with neighboring nations, and where the alcaldes and encomenderos might learn the lessons of Christian charity and justice, which they not infrequently failed to observe. In what a satisfactory manner the university of Santo Tomás fulfilled this duty is shown by the illustrious names of Fathers Berart, Marron, Santa Cruz, Pardo, Sanchez, and the celebrated Father Paz, and many others whom it would take too long to mention, whose brilliant and wise writings contain discussions of all kinds regarding the practical life of these people.It is also shown by the royal decree of 1862, in which his Catholic Majesty, admitting this institution under his protection, says that degrees in theology and letters are given with all strictness and display to qualified persons in those islands, this being of notable utility in that it furnishes subjects capable of filling the offices of curates and prebendaries.

The eighteenth century arrived, and, with the coming of the Bourbon dynasty to the Spanish throne, new germs of civilization took root throughout the monarchy, and were felt as far as these remote shores. Then the faculty of jurisprudence and canonical law was established (the establishment of which the Dominican corporation had endeavored to secure years before), because with the increase of the native and mestizo population, and with the consolidation upon a religious basis of the social life of these peoples, there was not a sufficient number of lawyers for the administration of justice. Lawyers did not come from the Peninsula, and for that reason, if not for other better and more noble reasons, it was necessary to seek them within the bounds of the islands. Hence, faculties of jurisprudence and canonical law were established, with courses in Roman law and institutes and the sacred canons. The pupils could hope for the degree of licentiate in jurisprudence and canonical law after a four years’ course in these studies, and four other years called pasantía years, which were taken in connection with the law course, and were years of practice in the office of some lawyer. During these so-called pasantía years, the pupils were required to defend a proposition every week and sum up the opposing arguments, and were permitted to act as substitutes during the absence of any of the professors of the faculty.

The course of institutes and canonical law was the only course in law given in most of the universities of that period, the professors being charged with making the applications necessary to the Spanish laws and those of the Indias, explaining the points in which they differed from the Roman and canonical laws.

The instruction continued thus during the greater part of the eighteenth century, the university conferring degrees in theology, philosophy, and canonical and Roman law. The courses in moral theology and the humanities were pursued without the formalities of enrolment and without a fixed number of terms, until toward the end of that century. With the increase of the commerce and the intercourse of these islands with Europe, and under the influence of the government of Carlos III, it was decided in the university assembly of 1785, to extend the faculty of theology by the establishment of chairs in literature and sacred writings, and that of law by two additional chairs of canonical and Roman law. It was also decided to create the faculty of medicine, together with a chair of mathematics, applied to commerce and navigation in conformity with the necessities of the times. Father Amador, professor of canonical law, having been appointed to form the new laws, in accordance with the resolution of the assembly, concluded them during the same year, 1785. These laws, after being approved by the superior government of these islands, are now in force except in the points modified by subsequent laws. These laws provided that all professorships, with the exception of those belonging to the private patronage of the Order of St. Dominic, should be conferred by competitive examinations. It also prescribed rules for the conferring of academic degrees by the faculties of theology, canons, law, philosophy, and the new one of medicine, it being provided that, in order to secure the degree of bachelor of theology, canons, civil law, and medicine, it was necessary to have passed in four courses, and for philosophy in three, and that, after having obtained the title of bachelor, it was necessary to exercise the pasantía for four years in the schools of theology and law, and for three years in the other schools. Rules werealso provided for the courses, the enrolments, and the examination fees. These laws were taken to a great extent from those in force in the universities of Salamanca, Mexico, and Lima.

About that time the king of Spain confirmed the privilege of exemption from tribute for all those who had received the degree of bachelor, and also for the pupils of the university, in consideration of “the utility and necessity for this branch of the state to encourage these studies, without which no community can flourish; for, if it should be ordered, contrary to the practice observed up to the present time, that the tribute be paid, the schools would be deserted, to the general injury of these islands.”

Because of the indolence of the times and the lack of pupils, it became necessary to abolish the school of medicine and the class of mathematics and drawing, which were afterwards incorporated by the consulado, and the superior studies continued during the first part of the present century as they existed at the beginning of the eighteenth century.It was not until the year 1836, on the petition of the corporation of St.Dominic, that the chair of Spanish law was created, increasing the faculty of laws.

By a royal order of 1837, continuing the progressive course initiated in the instruction at the university, a commission, presided over by the director of the university, was appointed for the purpose of studying the method of extending the instruction, and making a report upon the manner of filling the chairs which should be created, at the same time preparing a plan of studies, conforming as far as possible with that in force in the Peninsula. The report of this commission was awaiting the decision of the court of appeals when a new royal order of April 2, 1842, provided for the appointment of a new commission, also presided over by the director of the university, and consisting of one associate justice of the royal court of appeals, a prebendary of the cathedral chapter, a member of the municipal council, and one of the economic association, for the purpose of preparing a new plan of studies in harmony with the necessities of the times. The new commission, having worked with great activity, presented its completed report, submitting a plan of laws for this university which included the college of San José, notwithstanding the opposition of its rector, who, as prebendary, formed part of the commission. According to this plan of studies, instruction in theology, philosophy, and jurisprudence was improved, chairs of medicine, pharmacy, and chemistry were created, and that of physics was extended. Upon the submission of this plan of studies to the supreme government of his Majesty, it was provided by another royal order of April 2, 1846, that funds be secured for the establishment of said change in the university, without injuring the interests of anybody, but respecting those existing in so far as possible.

In fulfilment of this decree, on the twenty-sixth of the following August, this superior government appointed another commission, to which was communicated a royal order of April 15, 1847, which appointed, as a member of the same, the rector and chancellor of the university; and another royal order of July 12, of the same year, which directed said commission not to include in the budget of studies “the property of the college of Santo Tomás, as it is the exclusive property of the Dominican fathers.”10

Unfortunately this commission was dissolved just before the completion of its work, on account of the absence of some members in the Peninsula, there remaining only one (in addition to the rector of the university), who later resigned his membership in the commission, under date of October 28, 1848. But by a royal order of April 19, 1849, the action of this superior government in not accepting said resignation was approved, and in the place of the absent members, Señor Montes de Oca was appointed and instructions given that another competent person should associate with them, in order that the work of university reform might continue. But as the commission did not hasten the matter with the speed desired by the government of his Majesty, another royal order was issued, under date of October 19, 1852, urging the commission to conclude the plan, and budget of studies, in accordance with the wishes and the interest of his Majesty for the welfare and prosperity of this colony. However, the difficulty of reconciling very great extremes, such as the preservation, in a new plan of studies, of everything already in existence that should be in harmony with the studies of the universities of Spain, the formation of a budget without injuring the interests of anyone, and a thousand other necessary considerations, placed under the charge of the commission by more than one royal decree, were more than sufficient causes to prevent the board from finishing its laborious contract and including its complicated work in the brief period desired. Hence, it was not until February 16, 1856, that its work was done, and the long-desired plan of studies concluded.This plan was at once sent to the superior government of these islands, in order that it might finally be forwarded when it should be deemed convenient.The papers were still in the hands of the secretary of the government in March, 1859, when a fire occurred in the town of San Miguel, where said secretary resided at the time, and unfortunately the papers, in the compilation of which so much valuable labor had been expended, were burned.So unfortunate an occurrence must naturally have delayed this matter, although by chance there was in the possession of the rector of the university a copy of all these works and the previous writings of the board which were used in the compilation of the desired plan.The rector of the university was requested by the government of these islands to furnish all the previous writings in his possession on the works and plan of studies which had been destroyed while in the possession of the secretary, and which should serve as a basis for the new papers treating of the same subject.

But before sending the report to his Majesty, for his final approval, the superior government received some copies of the plan of studies newly established in the universities of the Peninsula, together with a royal order directing that it be adapted in so far as possible to the plan for these islands which was to be presented for the approbation of his Majesty. This circumstance led to the suspension of the proceedings instituted, and obliged this superior government to appoint another commission, or, rather, to complete the old one, which had already become disintegrated by the absence of some of its members, to revise the work and the plan of studies formerly proposed, and to harmonize it, if possible, with the plan of studies, a copy of which was sent to the members of the board for the purpose indicated.

Thus, on April 5, 1861, General Lemery appointed the lacking members of said commission, in which figured, as in the former commissions, the director and chancellor of this university.The commission concluded its work on February 20, 1862.The plan of studies prepared by this last commission was presented on the same day to the superior government of the islands and was finally transmitted with a favorable report to the government of his Majesty without the sovereign approval for its establishment having as yet been given.

This lack of approval of the superior government did not prevent the consideration of the means of immediately carrying into effect the change in the studies, and soon afterwards, in 1865, secondary instruction was adopted with the degree of bachelor of arts, commercial expert, and surveyor, and chemical and industrial expert, as in the universities of the Peninsula.The classes were opened the following year, in accordance with a provisional program taken from that of Cuba.In 1867, this program was given the supreme approval.Secondary instruction having been happily inaugurated, the approval of the plan of superior instruction, submitted by the university to the government of his Majesty, was being awaited, when a decree arrived from the regent of the kingdom, Don Francisco Serrano, countersigned by the colonial minister, Señor Moret,11 which secularized the official studies, and, suppressing the existing colleges and the universities of Santo Tomás, converted them into the Philippine Institute and the university of the Philippines respectively, thus ignoring all the elements which they had accumulated in their teaching during three centuries of existence, and turning over the literary future of the people to the hazardous plan, inspired, notwithstanding the loyal patriotism of the minister, by a doctrine diametrically opposed to that which had served as a solid basis for welfare and progress. The corporations of Manila, the bishops, and the clergy, with a majority of the householders, protested against a measure which, although it fulfilled the hopes of the university in regard to new chairs and schools, deprived them of any value by separating them completely from the religious basis. These protests were heard by the governor of these islands, Señor Izquierdo, who provisionally resolved that the decree be not executed in regard to the secularization, but that it be carried out with regard to the new schools.This resolution was fully approved by the government of the Peninsula.Thus, in 1871, the schools of medicine and pharmacy were established, and the other schools were extended.By a resolution of General Moriones, the governor of these islands, which was confirmed by his Catholic Majesty, it was decided to appoint a director of the college of San José, which was granted in perpetuity to the rector of the university, and of an administrator, on the recommendation of the said director, for the management of revenues.12

In 1876, the study of the profession of notary was inaugurated, and two professors were appointed to teach these subjects.Finally, in 1879 and 1880, the auxiliary courses of medicine and pharmacy, midwives, assistant surgeons, and practitioners in pharmacy were created.From this date, the university of Manila has had a complete course of superior and secondary instruction, better than some universities of the Peninsula.13

This is the brief history of the first and most important educational institution of these islands,14 in which it may be seen that, without the violence of certain schools, with the moderation and firmness demanded by reforms in the branch of public instruction, this university combining perfectly scientific interests with religion and patriotic interests, has been able to rise to the height required by the circumstances of the period, and has fulfilled the aspirations of all true lovers of Christian and Spanish civilization.