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The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898; Volume 50: 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 — John Shaqi

History

The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898; Volume 50: 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

Demarcation line of Alexander VI; Missions -- Philippines; Philippines -- Discovery and exploration; Philippines -- History -- Sources

The economies which the royal exchequer can practice, and the
    augmentations which it can receive, in what the curas and ministers
    of doctrinas collect from the king and the Indians.


1. In the paper of suggestions which I presented to the government
[here], and sent to the commander [50] Frey Don Julian de Arriaga with
my report of July 22, 1764, there was a discussion of the saving which
the royal exchequer will be able to make by paying to each cura and
minister of a doctrina one stipend only, and not so many as correspond
to every five hundred tributes. For, since the cura is only one,
it does not seem just, even when the curacy is one of two thousand
tributes, that four stipends be paid to him; but he should content
himself with one, the royal exchequer saving the rest. The amount of
this will reach annually some twenty thousand pesos, very nearly. I
have made representations on this point to the royal Audiencia,
in order that they may settle this by an ordinance.

2. Each stipend for a village or mission is fixed at a hundred pesos
in money, and two hundred cavans of rice; if all this be paid in cash,
and not in the said produce, regulating this [amount for the rice]
by the price in each province, the negotiations of the curas and
ministers with the alcaldes will be avoided, and the royal treasury
will save each year at least fifteen thousand pesos in the stipends of
curas, ministers and missionaries. It should be remembered that the
abuse of paying the stipend in rice was introduced in violation of
the law (ley 26, título 13, libro 1 of the Recopilación de Yndias),
as I have represented in the expediente [51] of ordinances which is
pending in the royal Audiencia.

3. The fabricas of the churches have for funds the fees from the
burials, and the eighth part of the occasional fees, with the others
which I have stated in the document which treats of this subject,
besides the [governmental] contribution of wine; and with the said
funds there is a superabundance for paying the cost of the wine for
masses and the oil for the lamps--which are set down as expenses
of the royal exchequer in the third and fourth items of statement
ii. These amount to nineteen thousand, one hundred and ninety-three
pesos, six reals.

4. In the aforesaid paper of suggestions, and in the report of June 5,
760, the reasons were set forth why the king should not pay the cost of
the missions which come from España to these islands; for the religious
orders are rich, although they deny it. Thus the royal exchequer
could save what is mentioned in the eleventh item of statement ii,
which amounts each year to forty-six thousand, five hundred pesos.

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