CHAPTER XXII

CHAPTER XXIIIn which are contained the indulgences and favors conceded by the supreme pontiffs to the brothers and sisters of Santa Misericordia of the city of Manila, which are copied from the original briefs, relics, with which it is enriched; with its authentic royal decree which exempts and preserves it from visits by the ecclesiastical ordinaries, in imitation of the royal house of Lizboa; the chaplaincies and becas of which it is patron, the number of brothers of which this venerable brotherhood is composed and those who serve this present year in the Board of Santa Misericordia; and the report of the alms which are given annually.The purveyor and deputies who compose the illustrious Board of Santa Misericordia at present are as follows: General Don Benito Carrasco y Paniagua, purveyor (an office he has held three times previously); secretary-in-chief for the kingour sovereign of this noble city and its deputation, with active voice and vote by privilege in its most noble ayuntamiento; secretary of the board, Captain Don Juan Baptista de Uriarte (author of this small work), regularly-appointed regidor for his Majesty of said noble ayuntamiento, who as ex-treasurer took charge of the office of secretary, in accordance with the rules, in the absence of Sargento-mayor Don Joseph Antonio NuÃ±o de Villavicencio, general treasurer of the bulls of the Holy Crusade, accountant regulator, regularly-appointed regidor of this noble city and special notary of the Holy Office, as he has been promoted to the post of accountant, a royal official of the royal treasury; treasurer, General Don Miguel de Allanegui, accountant of accounts and results of the royal treasury of these islands, and familiar of the Holy Office; chapel-steward, General Don Joseph Verelo de Urbina; purse-steward and attorney-general, Captain Don Antonio de Olivarria; prison-steward, Sargento-mayor Don Joseph de Vega y Vic; steward of the plate, who looks after the gathering of alms, Captain Don Simon de Amechezurra; and deputies of the board, General Don Antonio Sanchez Zerdan, and the sargentos-mayor, Don Joseph Beltran de Salazar, regularly-appointed regidor for his Majesty of this noble city, Don Frutos Delgado, Don Antonio Lopez Perea, also senior regidor of the city, and Captains Don Domingo Allende and Don Sebastian de Arramburu.[An act of May 22, 1728, orders a compilation to be made of the indulgences and other things, in order that the high estimation of the popes and sovereigns for the brotherhood may be apparent.Indulgences have been granted by Urban VIII, Clement XI (September 20, 1717), and Innocent XIII; and the latter has also approved the Institute of the brotherhood. The latter own various relics. One reliquary, bearing the papal arms, and conserved in an elaborate golden pyx which is deposited in a tabernacle on the altar of the assembly room of the brotherhood, contains a bit of the wood of the holy cross, a bit of the swaddling clothes in which the child Jesus was wrapped, a bit of a bone of St. Isabel the mother of John the Baptist, a bit of a bone of St. Ignatius Loyola, and a bit of a bone of St. Pasqual Baylon. Other relics are another bit of the wood of the cross, a bone of St. Felix, pope and martyr, a letter of St. Pedro Baptista, O.S.F., who was martyred in Japan, and a shinbone of St. Christina, virgin and martyr. In addition, the brotherhood bears the title of Apostolic syndic of the seraphic Order of St. Francis, and as such its brothers enjoy all the privileges and exemptions conceded to that order by apostolic bulls, and all of the indulgences, privileges, etc., for all the provinces of Nueva EspaÃ±a subject to the obedience of the father commissary-general of the order. The royal decree of June 20, 1623, confirms the rules and regulations of the brotherhood. In consequence of this decree, the brotherhood presents a petition to the governor asking him as royal vice-patron to confirm the rules and regulations. This is done by special act on September 4, 1625 by Fernando de Silva. They have already been approved by Francisco Tello, and Gabriel de la Cruz, schoolmaster of the cathedral, January 24, 1597. The royal decree of September 7, 1699, inserted in the decree of June11, 1708, grants exemption from government or religious visit. Notwithstanding this decree, the effort has been made without success to subject the brotherhood to visit. The closest of supervision has been exercised by the brothers themselves. All the documents mentioned above are given by our author.]Chaplaincies with collationThere are twenty-nine chaplaincies with collation, of which the Board of Santa Misericordia is patron. They were founded by different benefactors, so that in accordance with the conditions and clauses which were provided in their foundations, the board appoints the chaplains who are to serve them. Such appointees taking the appointments which it sends to them (in which the obligation which falls to each one is made known to them) present themselves before the proper persons within the term which the holy Council of Trent prescribes, for the approval and collation of those chaplaincies. It is intimated to them at this time that they must inform the board promptly that they have fulfilled their so necessary obligation for the good government which is demanded in this. An account must be kept in a separate book of chaplaincies, in the form which is always usual.Lay chaplainciesThe lay chaplaincies, of which the board is also patron, number ten. They are filled in accordance with the clauses of their foundation by the chaplains whom the board appoints to serve them; in whose despatch a different style is followed since they are lay.Becas of collegiatesIn the royal college of San Joseph of this city, Captain Diego Gonzalez de Arcos founded two becas with a capital of 4,000 pesos, making the Board of Santa Misericordia patron of them, with the condition that the sons of [men from] Estremadura, and especially those of Villa de Don Benito be preferred. Their vacancies are reported by the reverend father rector of the said college.Number of brothers in this venerable brotherhood and other circumstancesThe founders and brothers of this brotherhood, considering the work and business in which they had to employ themselves continually in fulfilment of the works of charity, prudently decided and decreed by a chapter of the ordinances that there should be 250 brothers for the due fulfilment of all the ordinances, in whom good report, sane conscience, honest life, fear of God, observance of His commandments, and prompt obedience to all that should be of service to God and to the brotherhood, and the relief of oneâ€™s neighbor had to be included. They declared that they should not be single, unless they had reached the age of thirty, but that being virtuous persons and of the said qualities, they might receive dispensation and be received as brothers if they were twenty-five years old or upward. But no one who was not an oldtime Christian, and no one who had any obligatory duties that could prevent him from serving in the brotherhood [could be a member]; neither could those who did not know how to read or to write. Among said 250 brothers would be always the management and government of the house, and the election of the officers, with obligationto serve God by those who should be elected and appointed by the purveyor and brothers of the board if there were no legitimate obstacle to prevent that. Before they should be admitted as brothers, the secretary of the house was to enter in the book of the brotherhood that its ordinances should be submitted to them, so that having seen and read them, they might determine whether they could fulfil them. And if they were questioned by the board in regard to them, and were found with a mind resolved to observe them and to serve according to the rules in the brotherhood, an oath was to be taken from them on the holy gospels in a missal before the purveyor and brothers of the board, to the effect that when they should hear the signal of the house, or the bells, with the sign that had been arranged for the summoning of the brothers, they should come to the house to perform the works of charity in accordance with the orders that they should receive from the purveyor and brothers of the board; and also if they were summoned in the name of the aforesaid and there was no legitimate obstacle. The above was to be a matter of conscience. They were also to swear to keep the secrets of the board and the rules, when they should be summoned by the board, and were obliged, notwithstanding their oath, to recite fourteen Pater Nosters and fourteen Ave Marias for the deceased brothers, and, having done that, they were to be received as brothers, and their names to be inscribed in the book of the brotherhood.Annual alms given by the house of the Santa Misericordia of the city of ManilaSince we have to furl the sails to this discourse,because of the limits of time, and make an end to this small work in these last chapters, I thought it important to first make an extract (although with much labor) of all the alms and sums of pesos, produced by the funds which are administered by the house of Santa Misericordia, during the years whenâ€”all being complete, and no disaster of earthquakes coming upon them, or shipwrecks or other accidents, which depend on timeâ€”it distributes to the benefit of all this community. I was also moved to this interesting task by making charts of all the funds and their pious purposes, by having met in the first part of the life of the venerable and most reverend father master, Fray Simon de Roxas, a great servant of God and a member of the Order of the Santissima Trinidad de Redemptores [i.e., the Most Holy Trinity of Redeemers].3written during the year 670by the very reverend father master, Fray Francisco de Arcos, preacher and theologue of his Majesty, and of the tribunals of his royal conscience, etc., in which he refers to a paragraph of a letter which Juan Baptista LabaÃ±a wrote during the voyage from Portugal of Don Phelipe III (of happy memory), in which he cited folio 16; and in the life of the said venerable father, a description of the alms which the royal house of Santa Misericordia of the court of Lisboa distributed in the year 619, and of those which regularly and annually it distributes in the pious ends which are contained in the said chapter, is found in book 8, chapter x, pp. 418â€“420. It states that those alms are about 30,000 ducados annually. Inasmuch as chapter xi of this work states that the alms distributed by this house of Santa Misericordia of the city of Manila amounted to about 70,000 pesos, I have determined to prove the said proposition part by part, passing over the circumstances which are found in the said chapter, and making a clear demonstration of their reality, without failing one jot in the truth, which is required in a matter of so great importance, and which has to yield in so great glory to the Spanish monarchy. It is a pity that in the circumstances of the present case, there should be many who opposed the truth as it did not issue so clear and apparent in all the books of the house which treat of this matter; and necessarily I am obliged to give it by imagining charts which are fitting and do not leave the least reason for doubt.This having been granted, therefore, I assert that the alms and sums of pesos received by the holy cathedral church and the sacred orders of this city, the beaterios, confraternities, the venerable tertiary order, the house for sheltered women, the hospice of San Jacinto, the colleges (without including that of Santa Misericordia, St. John of God and its infirmary), the province of Camarines, and the Indians of Marinas Islands, amount to 25,520 pesos. In the alms given for masses, 5,777 pesos are also distributed as a suffrage for the blessed souls of purgatory; among the poor prisoners of this city, 2,691 pesos; as a benefit to the school of Santa Isabel, which belongs to the brotherhood, in the divine worship of its church, the salary of its chaplains, servants of the house, support, clothing and other things which are spent for the girl collegiates (the number of those at present are 58 inmates, rectress, and portress, 9 wards, and 6 slave women, who serve in it), and repairs of said school (in which alone this present year about 6,000 pesos have been spent), they give and apply 10,700 pesos; as dowries for the said girl collegiates and other orphan daughters of noble parents of this city, 16,000 pesos; for the relief of the necessities of poor Spaniards, widows, self-respecting poor, 6,936 pesos. Besides these sums 3,000 pesos are set aside for the benefit of the above-mentioned purposes which, with somewhat more, are produced by the sums at interest, and also 1,200 pesos which are yielded by the encomienda which his Majesty applied to the Board of Santa Misericordia in the provinces of the Ylocos and Leite. Therefore totaling up the eight items of pesos above applied, the amount is 71,824 pesos produced by thefunds administered by this house, as is adjusted with the greatest exactness. One may see by the sums that result to the benefit of so many pious ends, the reality and truth of the said proposition, and consequently, the great succor of silver for the relief of the needs of its neighbor. Surely I believe that in this small work of rich treasures, an extraordinary splendor for the house must shine forth (with the new discovery of so abundant a mine, which has been buried in silence in the extensive field and space of 134 years); a prodigy which looks to Spain for the non-moderation of this great house of Misericordia in the most remote parts of the world. I believe that without injury to the greater (if it can be that there is another which exceeds it), it merited as panegyrist of its glories (although with more time) a nature suitable to its worth and greatness. Lastly placed in the royal crown of EspaÃ±a, it will be one of the most precious stones which beautify that crown with its rich splendor, for the greater honor and glory of God our Lord.

The purveyor and deputies who compose the illustrious Board of Santa Misericordia at present are as follows: General Don Benito Carrasco y Paniagua, purveyor (an office he has held three times previously); secretary-in-chief for the kingour sovereign of this noble city and its deputation, with active voice and vote by privilege in its most noble ayuntamiento; secretary of the board, Captain Don Juan Baptista de Uriarte (author of this small work), regularly-appointed regidor for his Majesty of said noble ayuntamiento, who as ex-treasurer took charge of the office of secretary, in accordance with the rules, in the absence of Sargento-mayor Don Joseph Antonio NuÃ±o de Villavicencio, general treasurer of the bulls of the Holy Crusade, accountant regulator, regularly-appointed regidor of this noble city and special notary of the Holy Office, as he has been promoted to the post of accountant, a royal official of the royal treasury; treasurer, General Don Miguel de Allanegui, accountant of accounts and results of the royal treasury of these islands, and familiar of the Holy Office; chapel-steward, General Don Joseph Verelo de Urbina; purse-steward and attorney-general, Captain Don Antonio de Olivarria; prison-steward, Sargento-mayor Don Joseph de Vega y Vic; steward of the plate, who looks after the gathering of alms, Captain Don Simon de Amechezurra; and deputies of the board, General Don Antonio Sanchez Zerdan, and the sargentos-mayor, Don Joseph Beltran de Salazar, regularly-appointed regidor for his Majesty of this noble city, Don Frutos Delgado, Don Antonio Lopez Perea, also senior regidor of the city, and Captains Don Domingo Allende and Don Sebastian de Arramburu.[An act of May 22, 1728, orders a compilation to be made of the indulgences and other things, in order that the high estimation of the popes and sovereigns for the brotherhood may be apparent.Indulgences have been granted by Urban VIII, Clement XI (September 20, 1717), and Innocent XIII; and the latter has also approved the Institute of the brotherhood. The latter own various relics. One reliquary, bearing the papal arms, and conserved in an elaborate golden pyx which is deposited in a tabernacle on the altar of the assembly room of the brotherhood, contains a bit of the wood of the holy cross, a bit of the swaddling clothes in which the child Jesus was wrapped, a bit of a bone of St. Isabel the mother of John the Baptist, a bit of a bone of St. Ignatius Loyola, and a bit of a bone of St. Pasqual Baylon. Other relics are another bit of the wood of the cross, a bone of St. Felix, pope and martyr, a letter of St. Pedro Baptista, O.S.F., who was martyred in Japan, and a shinbone of St. Christina, virgin and martyr. In addition, the brotherhood bears the title of Apostolic syndic of the seraphic Order of St. Francis, and as such its brothers enjoy all the privileges and exemptions conceded to that order by apostolic bulls, and all of the indulgences, privileges, etc., for all the provinces of Nueva EspaÃ±a subject to the obedience of the father commissary-general of the order. The royal decree of June 20, 1623, confirms the rules and regulations of the brotherhood. In consequence of this decree, the brotherhood presents a petition to the governor asking him as royal vice-patron to confirm the rules and regulations. This is done by special act on September 4, 1625 by Fernando de Silva. They have already been approved by Francisco Tello, and Gabriel de la Cruz, schoolmaster of the cathedral, January 24, 1597. The royal decree of September 7, 1699, inserted in the decree of June11, 1708, grants exemption from government or religious visit. Notwithstanding this decree, the effort has been made without success to subject the brotherhood to visit. The closest of supervision has been exercised by the brothers themselves. All the documents mentioned above are given by our author.]Chaplaincies with collationThere are twenty-nine chaplaincies with collation, of which the Board of Santa Misericordia is patron. They were founded by different benefactors, so that in accordance with the conditions and clauses which were provided in their foundations, the board appoints the chaplains who are to serve them. Such appointees taking the appointments which it sends to them (in which the obligation which falls to each one is made known to them) present themselves before the proper persons within the term which the holy Council of Trent prescribes, for the approval and collation of those chaplaincies. It is intimated to them at this time that they must inform the board promptly that they have fulfilled their so necessary obligation for the good government which is demanded in this. An account must be kept in a separate book of chaplaincies, in the form which is always usual.Lay chaplainciesThe lay chaplaincies, of which the board is also patron, number ten. They are filled in accordance with the clauses of their foundation by the chaplains whom the board appoints to serve them; in whose despatch a different style is followed since they are lay.Becas of collegiatesIn the royal college of San Joseph of this city, Captain Diego Gonzalez de Arcos founded two becas with a capital of 4,000 pesos, making the Board of Santa Misericordia patron of them, with the condition that the sons of [men from] Estremadura, and especially those of Villa de Don Benito be preferred. Their vacancies are reported by the reverend father rector of the said college.Number of brothers in this venerable brotherhood and other circumstancesThe founders and brothers of this brotherhood, considering the work and business in which they had to employ themselves continually in fulfilment of the works of charity, prudently decided and decreed by a chapter of the ordinances that there should be 250 brothers for the due fulfilment of all the ordinances, in whom good report, sane conscience, honest life, fear of God, observance of His commandments, and prompt obedience to all that should be of service to God and to the brotherhood, and the relief of oneâ€™s neighbor had to be included. They declared that they should not be single, unless they had reached the age of thirty, but that being virtuous persons and of the said qualities, they might receive dispensation and be received as brothers if they were twenty-five years old or upward. But no one who was not an oldtime Christian, and no one who had any obligatory duties that could prevent him from serving in the brotherhood [could be a member]; neither could those who did not know how to read or to write. Among said 250 brothers would be always the management and government of the house, and the election of the officers, with obligationto serve God by those who should be elected and appointed by the purveyor and brothers of the board if there were no legitimate obstacle to prevent that. Before they should be admitted as brothers, the secretary of the house was to enter in the book of the brotherhood that its ordinances should be submitted to them, so that having seen and read them, they might determine whether they could fulfil them. And if they were questioned by the board in regard to them, and were found with a mind resolved to observe them and to serve according to the rules in the brotherhood, an oath was to be taken from them on the holy gospels in a missal before the purveyor and brothers of the board, to the effect that when they should hear the signal of the house, or the bells, with the sign that had been arranged for the summoning of the brothers, they should come to the house to perform the works of charity in accordance with the orders that they should receive from the purveyor and brothers of the board; and also if they were summoned in the name of the aforesaid and there was no legitimate obstacle. The above was to be a matter of conscience. They were also to swear to keep the secrets of the board and the rules, when they should be summoned by the board, and were obliged, notwithstanding their oath, to recite fourteen Pater Nosters and fourteen Ave Marias for the deceased brothers, and, having done that, they were to be received as brothers, and their names to be inscribed in the book of the brotherhood.Annual alms given by the house of the Santa Misericordia of the city of ManilaSince we have to furl the sails to this discourse,because of the limits of time, and make an end to this small work in these last chapters, I thought it important to first make an extract (although with much labor) of all the alms and sums of pesos, produced by the funds which are administered by the house of Santa Misericordia, during the years whenâ€”all being complete, and no disaster of earthquakes coming upon them, or shipwrecks or other accidents, which depend on timeâ€”it distributes to the benefit of all this community. I was also moved to this interesting task by making charts of all the funds and their pious purposes, by having met in the first part of the life of the venerable and most reverend father master, Fray Simon de Roxas, a great servant of God and a member of the Order of the Santissima Trinidad de Redemptores [i.e., the Most Holy Trinity of Redeemers].3written during the year 670by the very reverend father master, Fray Francisco de Arcos, preacher and theologue of his Majesty, and of the tribunals of his royal conscience, etc., in which he refers to a paragraph of a letter which Juan Baptista LabaÃ±a wrote during the voyage from Portugal of Don Phelipe III (of happy memory), in which he cited folio 16; and in the life of the said venerable father, a description of the alms which the royal house of Santa Misericordia of the court of Lisboa distributed in the year 619, and of those which regularly and annually it distributes in the pious ends which are contained in the said chapter, is found in book 8, chapter x, pp. 418â€“420. It states that those alms are about 30,000 ducados annually. Inasmuch as chapter xi of this work states that the alms distributed by this house of Santa Misericordia of the city of Manila amounted to about 70,000 pesos, I have determined to prove the said proposition part by part, passing over the circumstances which are found in the said chapter, and making a clear demonstration of their reality, without failing one jot in the truth, which is required in a matter of so great importance, and which has to yield in so great glory to the Spanish monarchy. It is a pity that in the circumstances of the present case, there should be many who opposed the truth as it did not issue so clear and apparent in all the books of the house which treat of this matter; and necessarily I am obliged to give it by imagining charts which are fitting and do not leave the least reason for doubt.This having been granted, therefore, I assert that the alms and sums of pesos received by the holy cathedral church and the sacred orders of this city, the beaterios, confraternities, the venerable tertiary order, the house for sheltered women, the hospice of San Jacinto, the colleges (without including that of Santa Misericordia, St. John of God and its infirmary), the province of Camarines, and the Indians of Marinas Islands, amount to 25,520 pesos. In the alms given for masses, 5,777 pesos are also distributed as a suffrage for the blessed souls of purgatory; among the poor prisoners of this city, 2,691 pesos; as a benefit to the school of Santa Isabel, which belongs to the brotherhood, in the divine worship of its church, the salary of its chaplains, servants of the house, support, clothing and other things which are spent for the girl collegiates (the number of those at present are 58 inmates, rectress, and portress, 9 wards, and 6 slave women, who serve in it), and repairs of said school (in which alone this present year about 6,000 pesos have been spent), they give and apply 10,700 pesos; as dowries for the said girl collegiates and other orphan daughters of noble parents of this city, 16,000 pesos; for the relief of the necessities of poor Spaniards, widows, self-respecting poor, 6,936 pesos. Besides these sums 3,000 pesos are set aside for the benefit of the above-mentioned purposes which, with somewhat more, are produced by the sums at interest, and also 1,200 pesos which are yielded by the encomienda which his Majesty applied to the Board of Santa Misericordia in the provinces of the Ylocos and Leite. Therefore totaling up the eight items of pesos above applied, the amount is 71,824 pesos produced by thefunds administered by this house, as is adjusted with the greatest exactness. One may see by the sums that result to the benefit of so many pious ends, the reality and truth of the said proposition, and consequently, the great succor of silver for the relief of the needs of its neighbor. Surely I believe that in this small work of rich treasures, an extraordinary splendor for the house must shine forth (with the new discovery of so abundant a mine, which has been buried in silence in the extensive field and space of 134 years); a prodigy which looks to Spain for the non-moderation of this great house of Misericordia in the most remote parts of the world. I believe that without injury to the greater (if it can be that there is another which exceeds it), it merited as panegyrist of its glories (although with more time) a nature suitable to its worth and greatness. Lastly placed in the royal crown of EspaÃ±a, it will be one of the most precious stones which beautify that crown with its rich splendor, for the greater honor and glory of God our Lord.

[An act of May 22, 1728, orders a compilation to be made of the indulgences and other things, in order that the high estimation of the popes and sovereigns for the brotherhood may be apparent.Indulgences have been granted by Urban VIII, Clement XI (September 20, 1717), and Innocent XIII; and the latter has also approved the Institute of the brotherhood. The latter own various relics. One reliquary, bearing the papal arms, and conserved in an elaborate golden pyx which is deposited in a tabernacle on the altar of the assembly room of the brotherhood, contains a bit of the wood of the holy cross, a bit of the swaddling clothes in which the child Jesus was wrapped, a bit of a bone of St. Isabel the mother of John the Baptist, a bit of a bone of St. Ignatius Loyola, and a bit of a bone of St. Pasqual Baylon. Other relics are another bit of the wood of the cross, a bone of St. Felix, pope and martyr, a letter of St. Pedro Baptista, O.S.F., who was martyred in Japan, and a shinbone of St. Christina, virgin and martyr. In addition, the brotherhood bears the title of Apostolic syndic of the seraphic Order of St. Francis, and as such its brothers enjoy all the privileges and exemptions conceded to that order by apostolic bulls, and all of the indulgences, privileges, etc., for all the provinces of Nueva EspaÃ±a subject to the obedience of the father commissary-general of the order. The royal decree of June 20, 1623, confirms the rules and regulations of the brotherhood. In consequence of this decree, the brotherhood presents a petition to the governor asking him as royal vice-patron to confirm the rules and regulations. This is done by special act on September 4, 1625 by Fernando de Silva. They have already been approved by Francisco Tello, and Gabriel de la Cruz, schoolmaster of the cathedral, January 24, 1597. The royal decree of September 7, 1699, inserted in the decree of June11, 1708, grants exemption from government or religious visit. Notwithstanding this decree, the effort has been made without success to subject the brotherhood to visit. The closest of supervision has been exercised by the brothers themselves. All the documents mentioned above are given by our author.]

Chaplaincies with collationThere are twenty-nine chaplaincies with collation, of which the Board of Santa Misericordia is patron. They were founded by different benefactors, so that in accordance with the conditions and clauses which were provided in their foundations, the board appoints the chaplains who are to serve them. Such appointees taking the appointments which it sends to them (in which the obligation which falls to each one is made known to them) present themselves before the proper persons within the term which the holy Council of Trent prescribes, for the approval and collation of those chaplaincies. It is intimated to them at this time that they must inform the board promptly that they have fulfilled their so necessary obligation for the good government which is demanded in this. An account must be kept in a separate book of chaplaincies, in the form which is always usual.

Chaplaincies with collation

There are twenty-nine chaplaincies with collation, of which the Board of Santa Misericordia is patron. They were founded by different benefactors, so that in accordance with the conditions and clauses which were provided in their foundations, the board appoints the chaplains who are to serve them. Such appointees taking the appointments which it sends to them (in which the obligation which falls to each one is made known to them) present themselves before the proper persons within the term which the holy Council of Trent prescribes, for the approval and collation of those chaplaincies. It is intimated to them at this time that they must inform the board promptly that they have fulfilled their so necessary obligation for the good government which is demanded in this. An account must be kept in a separate book of chaplaincies, in the form which is always usual.

Lay chaplainciesThe lay chaplaincies, of which the board is also patron, number ten. They are filled in accordance with the clauses of their foundation by the chaplains whom the board appoints to serve them; in whose despatch a different style is followed since they are lay.

Lay chaplaincies

The lay chaplaincies, of which the board is also patron, number ten. They are filled in accordance with the clauses of their foundation by the chaplains whom the board appoints to serve them; in whose despatch a different style is followed since they are lay.

Becas of collegiatesIn the royal college of San Joseph of this city, Captain Diego Gonzalez de Arcos founded two becas with a capital of 4,000 pesos, making the Board of Santa Misericordia patron of them, with the condition that the sons of [men from] Estremadura, and especially those of Villa de Don Benito be preferred. Their vacancies are reported by the reverend father rector of the said college.

Becas of collegiates

In the royal college of San Joseph of this city, Captain Diego Gonzalez de Arcos founded two becas with a capital of 4,000 pesos, making the Board of Santa Misericordia patron of them, with the condition that the sons of [men from] Estremadura, and especially those of Villa de Don Benito be preferred. Their vacancies are reported by the reverend father rector of the said college.

Number of brothers in this venerable brotherhood and other circumstancesThe founders and brothers of this brotherhood, considering the work and business in which they had to employ themselves continually in fulfilment of the works of charity, prudently decided and decreed by a chapter of the ordinances that there should be 250 brothers for the due fulfilment of all the ordinances, in whom good report, sane conscience, honest life, fear of God, observance of His commandments, and prompt obedience to all that should be of service to God and to the brotherhood, and the relief of oneâ€™s neighbor had to be included. They declared that they should not be single, unless they had reached the age of thirty, but that being virtuous persons and of the said qualities, they might receive dispensation and be received as brothers if they were twenty-five years old or upward. But no one who was not an oldtime Christian, and no one who had any obligatory duties that could prevent him from serving in the brotherhood [could be a member]; neither could those who did not know how to read or to write. Among said 250 brothers would be always the management and government of the house, and the election of the officers, with obligationto serve God by those who should be elected and appointed by the purveyor and brothers of the board if there were no legitimate obstacle to prevent that. Before they should be admitted as brothers, the secretary of the house was to enter in the book of the brotherhood that its ordinances should be submitted to them, so that having seen and read them, they might determine whether they could fulfil them. And if they were questioned by the board in regard to them, and were found with a mind resolved to observe them and to serve according to the rules in the brotherhood, an oath was to be taken from them on the holy gospels in a missal before the purveyor and brothers of the board, to the effect that when they should hear the signal of the house, or the bells, with the sign that had been arranged for the summoning of the brothers, they should come to the house to perform the works of charity in accordance with the orders that they should receive from the purveyor and brothers of the board; and also if they were summoned in the name of the aforesaid and there was no legitimate obstacle. The above was to be a matter of conscience. They were also to swear to keep the secrets of the board and the rules, when they should be summoned by the board, and were obliged, notwithstanding their oath, to recite fourteen Pater Nosters and fourteen Ave Marias for the deceased brothers, and, having done that, they were to be received as brothers, and their names to be inscribed in the book of the brotherhood.

Number of brothers in this venerable brotherhood and other circumstances

The founders and brothers of this brotherhood, considering the work and business in which they had to employ themselves continually in fulfilment of the works of charity, prudently decided and decreed by a chapter of the ordinances that there should be 250 brothers for the due fulfilment of all the ordinances, in whom good report, sane conscience, honest life, fear of God, observance of His commandments, and prompt obedience to all that should be of service to God and to the brotherhood, and the relief of oneâ€™s neighbor had to be included. They declared that they should not be single, unless they had reached the age of thirty, but that being virtuous persons and of the said qualities, they might receive dispensation and be received as brothers if they were twenty-five years old or upward. But no one who was not an oldtime Christian, and no one who had any obligatory duties that could prevent him from serving in the brotherhood [could be a member]; neither could those who did not know how to read or to write. Among said 250 brothers would be always the management and government of the house, and the election of the officers, with obligationto serve God by those who should be elected and appointed by the purveyor and brothers of the board if there were no legitimate obstacle to prevent that. Before they should be admitted as brothers, the secretary of the house was to enter in the book of the brotherhood that its ordinances should be submitted to them, so that having seen and read them, they might determine whether they could fulfil them. And if they were questioned by the board in regard to them, and were found with a mind resolved to observe them and to serve according to the rules in the brotherhood, an oath was to be taken from them on the holy gospels in a missal before the purveyor and brothers of the board, to the effect that when they should hear the signal of the house, or the bells, with the sign that had been arranged for the summoning of the brothers, they should come to the house to perform the works of charity in accordance with the orders that they should receive from the purveyor and brothers of the board; and also if they were summoned in the name of the aforesaid and there was no legitimate obstacle. The above was to be a matter of conscience. They were also to swear to keep the secrets of the board and the rules, when they should be summoned by the board, and were obliged, notwithstanding their oath, to recite fourteen Pater Nosters and fourteen Ave Marias for the deceased brothers, and, having done that, they were to be received as brothers, and their names to be inscribed in the book of the brotherhood.

Annual alms given by the house of the Santa Misericordia of the city of ManilaSince we have to furl the sails to this discourse,because of the limits of time, and make an end to this small work in these last chapters, I thought it important to first make an extract (although with much labor) of all the alms and sums of pesos, produced by the funds which are administered by the house of Santa Misericordia, during the years whenâ€”all being complete, and no disaster of earthquakes coming upon them, or shipwrecks or other accidents, which depend on timeâ€”it distributes to the benefit of all this community. I was also moved to this interesting task by making charts of all the funds and their pious purposes, by having met in the first part of the life of the venerable and most reverend father master, Fray Simon de Roxas, a great servant of God and a member of the Order of the Santissima Trinidad de Redemptores [i.e., the Most Holy Trinity of Redeemers].3written during the year 670by the very reverend father master, Fray Francisco de Arcos, preacher and theologue of his Majesty, and of the tribunals of his royal conscience, etc., in which he refers to a paragraph of a letter which Juan Baptista LabaÃ±a wrote during the voyage from Portugal of Don Phelipe III (of happy memory), in which he cited folio 16; and in the life of the said venerable father, a description of the alms which the royal house of Santa Misericordia of the court of Lisboa distributed in the year 619, and of those which regularly and annually it distributes in the pious ends which are contained in the said chapter, is found in book 8, chapter x, pp. 418â€“420. It states that those alms are about 30,000 ducados annually. Inasmuch as chapter xi of this work states that the alms distributed by this house of Santa Misericordia of the city of Manila amounted to about 70,000 pesos, I have determined to prove the said proposition part by part, passing over the circumstances which are found in the said chapter, and making a clear demonstration of their reality, without failing one jot in the truth, which is required in a matter of so great importance, and which has to yield in so great glory to the Spanish monarchy. It is a pity that in the circumstances of the present case, there should be many who opposed the truth as it did not issue so clear and apparent in all the books of the house which treat of this matter; and necessarily I am obliged to give it by imagining charts which are fitting and do not leave the least reason for doubt.This having been granted, therefore, I assert that the alms and sums of pesos received by the holy cathedral church and the sacred orders of this city, the beaterios, confraternities, the venerable tertiary order, the house for sheltered women, the hospice of San Jacinto, the colleges (without including that of Santa Misericordia, St. John of God and its infirmary), the province of Camarines, and the Indians of Marinas Islands, amount to 25,520 pesos. In the alms given for masses, 5,777 pesos are also distributed as a suffrage for the blessed souls of purgatory; among the poor prisoners of this city, 2,691 pesos; as a benefit to the school of Santa Isabel, which belongs to the brotherhood, in the divine worship of its church, the salary of its chaplains, servants of the house, support, clothing and other things which are spent for the girl collegiates (the number of those at present are 58 inmates, rectress, and portress, 9 wards, and 6 slave women, who serve in it), and repairs of said school (in which alone this present year about 6,000 pesos have been spent), they give and apply 10,700 pesos; as dowries for the said girl collegiates and other orphan daughters of noble parents of this city, 16,000 pesos; for the relief of the necessities of poor Spaniards, widows, self-respecting poor, 6,936 pesos. Besides these sums 3,000 pesos are set aside for the benefit of the above-mentioned purposes which, with somewhat more, are produced by the sums at interest, and also 1,200 pesos which are yielded by the encomienda which his Majesty applied to the Board of Santa Misericordia in the provinces of the Ylocos and Leite. Therefore totaling up the eight items of pesos above applied, the amount is 71,824 pesos produced by thefunds administered by this house, as is adjusted with the greatest exactness. One may see by the sums that result to the benefit of so many pious ends, the reality and truth of the said proposition, and consequently, the great succor of silver for the relief of the needs of its neighbor. Surely I believe that in this small work of rich treasures, an extraordinary splendor for the house must shine forth (with the new discovery of so abundant a mine, which has been buried in silence in the extensive field and space of 134 years); a prodigy which looks to Spain for the non-moderation of this great house of Misericordia in the most remote parts of the world. I believe that without injury to the greater (if it can be that there is another which exceeds it), it merited as panegyrist of its glories (although with more time) a nature suitable to its worth and greatness. Lastly placed in the royal crown of EspaÃ±a, it will be one of the most precious stones which beautify that crown with its rich splendor, for the greater honor and glory of God our Lord.

Annual alms given by the house of the Santa Misericordia of the city of Manila

Since we have to furl the sails to this discourse,because of the limits of time, and make an end to this small work in these last chapters, I thought it important to first make an extract (although with much labor) of all the alms and sums of pesos, produced by the funds which are administered by the house of Santa Misericordia, during the years whenâ€”all being complete, and no disaster of earthquakes coming upon them, or shipwrecks or other accidents, which depend on timeâ€”it distributes to the benefit of all this community. I was also moved to this interesting task by making charts of all the funds and their pious purposes, by having met in the first part of the life of the venerable and most reverend father master, Fray Simon de Roxas, a great servant of God and a member of the Order of the Santissima Trinidad de Redemptores [i.e., the Most Holy Trinity of Redeemers].3written during the year 670by the very reverend father master, Fray Francisco de Arcos, preacher and theologue of his Majesty, and of the tribunals of his royal conscience, etc., in which he refers to a paragraph of a letter which Juan Baptista LabaÃ±a wrote during the voyage from Portugal of Don Phelipe III (of happy memory), in which he cited folio 16; and in the life of the said venerable father, a description of the alms which the royal house of Santa Misericordia of the court of Lisboa distributed in the year 619, and of those which regularly and annually it distributes in the pious ends which are contained in the said chapter, is found in book 8, chapter x, pp. 418â€“420. It states that those alms are about 30,000 ducados annually. Inasmuch as chapter xi of this work states that the alms distributed by this house of Santa Misericordia of the city of Manila amounted to about 70,000 pesos, I have determined to prove the said proposition part by part, passing over the circumstances which are found in the said chapter, and making a clear demonstration of their reality, without failing one jot in the truth, which is required in a matter of so great importance, and which has to yield in so great glory to the Spanish monarchy. It is a pity that in the circumstances of the present case, there should be many who opposed the truth as it did not issue so clear and apparent in all the books of the house which treat of this matter; and necessarily I am obliged to give it by imagining charts which are fitting and do not leave the least reason for doubt.This having been granted, therefore, I assert that the alms and sums of pesos received by the holy cathedral church and the sacred orders of this city, the beaterios, confraternities, the venerable tertiary order, the house for sheltered women, the hospice of San Jacinto, the colleges (without including that of Santa Misericordia, St. John of God and its infirmary), the province of Camarines, and the Indians of Marinas Islands, amount to 25,520 pesos. In the alms given for masses, 5,777 pesos are also distributed as a suffrage for the blessed souls of purgatory; among the poor prisoners of this city, 2,691 pesos; as a benefit to the school of Santa Isabel, which belongs to the brotherhood, in the divine worship of its church, the salary of its chaplains, servants of the house, support, clothing and other things which are spent for the girl collegiates (the number of those at present are 58 inmates, rectress, and portress, 9 wards, and 6 slave women, who serve in it), and repairs of said school (in which alone this present year about 6,000 pesos have been spent), they give and apply 10,700 pesos; as dowries for the said girl collegiates and other orphan daughters of noble parents of this city, 16,000 pesos; for the relief of the necessities of poor Spaniards, widows, self-respecting poor, 6,936 pesos. Besides these sums 3,000 pesos are set aside for the benefit of the above-mentioned purposes which, with somewhat more, are produced by the sums at interest, and also 1,200 pesos which are yielded by the encomienda which his Majesty applied to the Board of Santa Misericordia in the provinces of the Ylocos and Leite. Therefore totaling up the eight items of pesos above applied, the amount is 71,824 pesos produced by thefunds administered by this house, as is adjusted with the greatest exactness. One may see by the sums that result to the benefit of so many pious ends, the reality and truth of the said proposition, and consequently, the great succor of silver for the relief of the needs of its neighbor. Surely I believe that in this small work of rich treasures, an extraordinary splendor for the house must shine forth (with the new discovery of so abundant a mine, which has been buried in silence in the extensive field and space of 134 years); a prodigy which looks to Spain for the non-moderation of this great house of Misericordia in the most remote parts of the world. I believe that without injury to the greater (if it can be that there is another which exceeds it), it merited as panegyrist of its glories (although with more time) a nature suitable to its worth and greatness. Lastly placed in the royal crown of EspaÃ±a, it will be one of the most precious stones which beautify that crown with its rich splendor, for the greater honor and glory of God our Lord.

This having been granted, therefore, I assert that the alms and sums of pesos received by the holy cathedral church and the sacred orders of this city, the beaterios, confraternities, the venerable tertiary order, the house for sheltered women, the hospice of San Jacinto, the colleges (without including that of Santa Misericordia, St. John of God and its infirmary), the province of Camarines, and the Indians of Marinas Islands, amount to 25,520 pesos. In the alms given for masses, 5,777 pesos are also distributed as a suffrage for the blessed souls of purgatory; among the poor prisoners of this city, 2,691 pesos; as a benefit to the school of Santa Isabel, which belongs to the brotherhood, in the divine worship of its church, the salary of its chaplains, servants of the house, support, clothing and other things which are spent for the girl collegiates (the number of those at present are 58 inmates, rectress, and portress, 9 wards, and 6 slave women, who serve in it), and repairs of said school (in which alone this present year about 6,000 pesos have been spent), they give and apply 10,700 pesos; as dowries for the said girl collegiates and other orphan daughters of noble parents of this city, 16,000 pesos; for the relief of the necessities of poor Spaniards, widows, self-respecting poor, 6,936 pesos. Besides these sums 3,000 pesos are set aside for the benefit of the above-mentioned purposes which, with somewhat more, are produced by the sums at interest, and also 1,200 pesos which are yielded by the encomienda which his Majesty applied to the Board of Santa Misericordia in the provinces of the Ylocos and Leite. Therefore totaling up the eight items of pesos above applied, the amount is 71,824 pesos produced by thefunds administered by this house, as is adjusted with the greatest exactness. One may see by the sums that result to the benefit of so many pious ends, the reality and truth of the said proposition, and consequently, the great succor of silver for the relief of the needs of its neighbor. Surely I believe that in this small work of rich treasures, an extraordinary splendor for the house must shine forth (with the new discovery of so abundant a mine, which has been buried in silence in the extensive field and space of 134 years); a prodigy which looks to Spain for the non-moderation of this great house of Misericordia in the most remote parts of the world. I believe that without injury to the greater (if it can be that there is another which exceeds it), it merited as panegyrist of its glories (although with more time) a nature suitable to its worth and greatness. Lastly placed in the royal crown of EspaÃ±a, it will be one of the most precious stones which beautify that crown with its rich splendor, for the greater honor and glory of God our Lord.

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