Part 2 (1/2)

”In any case, I can a.s.sert without a shadow of doubt,” adds the general, ”what the Herald's readers have been previously told by its correspondents--that the people are very bitter towards the monks.” Whom does he mean by people? Had the general and the newspaper correspondents come in contact, during their brief stay in the Philippines, with the six millions of people till lately under the care of the religious Orders? It is true that those who have fomented the rebellion, and the thousands who have joined the insurgent ranks, are bitter towards the monks, or rather friars. But it is by this time a well-known fact that numbers have been drawn in through sheer terrorism, and that numbers of others have been tortured and killed owing to their refusal to join. Mr. Wilson's late experience on his sugar plantation bears ample witness to this. It is easy enough for a few thousand desperate and armed men to cow fifty times their number of peaceful and unarmed tillers of the soil. The millions, dumb so far, will be found, on closer investigation, to represent far different feelings towards the friars than the noisy rebels who, coming in contact with the American troops and correspondents, profess to represent the feelings of the great body of the nation.

In direct contradiction to the ”common report,” circulated by General Meritt, is a testimony to the virtue of the Spanish friars in the Philippines, published some years ago before the present troubles began, by the United States Government in a consular report. In this report Mr. Frank Karuth, F.R.G.S., who in his capacity as president of the Philippines' Mineral Syndicate had wide experience with the natives, and came into intimate relations with the friars in remote provincial stations, writes of the latter as follows: ”In these communes or parishes the priest, especially if he be a Spaniard, as is generally the case, exercises supreme power. He is the father and counsellor of his people, and helps them not only with spiritual advice, but also furthers their material interests. The Spanish priests, friars of strict orders, come to the islands for aye and good, and with scarcely any exception do their duties faithfully and devotedly.” Is not this testimony, given without any ulterior party motives, of more value than the evil reports poured into the ears of newspaper correspondents by the interested leaders of the Philippine rebels? (See Appendix II.)

A few quotations from Protestant travellers who visited the Philippines before the insurrection had bia.s.sed men's minds, and distorted plain facts, will go a long way in the refutation of these flippantly uttered and unspeakably gross calumnies. ”It is said,”

observes the wife of the American navigator, Captain Morrell, ”that in Manila there are more convents (both of men and of women) than in any other city in the world of its size; and the general voice of natives and foreigners declares that they are under excellent regulations.” And then she describes their inmates. ”They all seemed full of occupation. There is no idleness in the convents, as is generally supposed;” and this her own account of the various works accomplished in them sufficiently proves. Moreover, ”their devotions begin at the dawn of the day, and are often repeated during the whole of it, or until late in the evening, in some form or other. I was born a Protestant, and trust that I shall die a Protestant; but hereafter I shall have more charity for all who profess to love religion, whatever may be their creed.” Sir John Bowring, in 1859, speaks of their influence, an influence generally acquired only by men of holy lives. He says: ”They exercise an influence which would seem magical, were it not by their devotees deemed divine.” Dr. Ball, an American Protestant traveller, speaks highly of the character of the Spanish friars in the Philippines. Of one whom he met at Manila, he says: ”He has a fund of knowledge on almost every subject, speaks six or seven languages, and has declined an offer of the presidency of the seminary here, preferring to remain always in the capacity of missionary.” Mr. MacMacking, another Protestant, who spent some years in the islands, says, in 1861: ”Most of the priests I came in contact with appeared to be thoroughly convinced of, and faithful to, their religion in its purity.”

After reading these testimonies, we may well open our eyes in astonishment and wonder at the audacity of those who disseminate these flagrant lies about a body of men distinguished by learning and holiness. And yet no one, however holy and devoted his life may be, is safe from the tongue of the calumniator. Robert Louis Stevenson had to take up his pen in defence of the heroic martyr of the leper, Father Damien, vilified by a Protestant minister. Father Damien lived for years in that place of horrors, Molokai, among the lepers, and died a martyr of charity; and, while no Protestant minister was to be found heroic enough to follow his example, one of them, housed in his comfortable bungalow, and jealous of his fame, made unfounded charges against him. So is it ever with the world. And above all, nothing need surprise us in the words and acts of the Philippine insurgents and their abettors. As an instance of their power of concocting a story to bring the friars into disrepute, we give the following account of an attempted poisoning of Aguinaldo by a Spanish prisoner and eleven Franciscans, taken from the Republica Filipina, one of their journals--telegraphed at great expense to Europe by ”Reuter's Special,” and inserted in English papers. The story goes to show that his steward saw a Spanish prisoner, who was allowed a certain amount of freedom, tampering with a bowl of soup intended for Aguinaldo. The steward tasted a spoonful of the soup, and fell dead on the spot. On learning of the affair, the populace attempted to lynch all the Spanish prisoners, amongst whom were forty Spanish priests, detained as hostages; but through Aguinaldo's intervention, they were protected from violence. The next day at the sitting of the new National a.s.sembly, Aguinaldo's representative told the story of his narrow escape, and the members unanimously adopted the chairman's suggestion that they should go in a body to the president's house and express their sympathy and congratulations. To crown this farce, a special thanksgiving service was held in the church at Malolos that evening. The really silly part of the story is that eleven Franciscan priests, confined as prisoners, were alleged to have been involved in the conspiracy against Aguinaldo's life, and it was evidently on this supposition that all the priests were on the point of being ma.s.sacred. A few days afterwards the story was contradicted. After all the fuss and all the expense of the telegrams, it turned out that the steward did not fall dead, and that no priests were concerned in the supposed plot. Still the lie did its work, both in the Philippines and nearer home; for many heard it, and read about it, who did not see the contradiction.

We are not at present in a position to follow Senor Valdes in his statements regarding the dissensions between the native and European friars, the rigorous exactions and t.i.thes, ”the friars calling themselves owners of the land cultivated by the natives, claiming rents and t.i.thes which the real owners refused to pay,” but we believe them to be as baseless as his other accusations. Before he made them, the friars had already, in their memorial to the Spanish Government, taken notice of similar accusations, and asked for dates, names, and proofs. It is curious that no English travellers to these regions have taken notice of these supposed oppressions on the part of the friars. They are concocted with the design of expelling the friars from the islands, and confiscating their property, which they have lawfully acquired, and added to, by three centuries of industry. It is true they are rich in landed property, but their riches do not enable them to live individually in luxury. They are used by the Orders for the purposes of the Orders, in furthering education, maintaining hospitals, orphanages, and industrial schools, and in extending their missions not only in the Philippines, but also in China, Tonkin, j.a.pan, and Formosa. Is it not better, in the interests of the people, that they should continue in their possessions than that they should be robbed of them, turned adrift, and their property divided among needy adventurers? It is a significant fact that one of the first acts of the National a.s.sembly of the insurgents was to vote a pension of seventeen thousand dollars to Aguinaldo, enough to keep several religious communities in existence. These political heroes are anxious to enrich themselves at the expense of others, and to spend in luxury what has been gathered together through three centuries of frugal living.

A sample calumny of the kind, to which unbounded circulation has been given, and its sufficient refutation from an authoritative source, to which no such reproduction has been extended, may not be out of place by way of conclusion to our present remarks. Let the candid reader judge whose words--the Rev. Mr. Parkhurst's or Father McKinnon's--bear the ear-marks of personal investigation and conscientious endeavor after the truth--”the whole truth and nothing but the truth.”

These statements of Mr. Parkhurst were clipped from an article in The Cleveland Plain Dealer (Cleveland, O.); and the clipping was forwarded to Father McKinnon, who is at present in Manila, and has been appointed superintentent of all the schools in that city by General Otis, the commander-in-chief of the American army of occupation. Father McKinnon was requested to comment upon the extract. The clipping and the reply are herewith presented.

”The Rev. M. M. Parkhurst, who has lived in the Philippines for many years, says that when a couple wish to get married in the Philippines, they must first pay a fee of 6. or $30, to the priest, who otherwise will not marry them. As a native rarely earns more than $5 a month, he seldom has the necessary marriage fee, so that common law marriages are the frequent result. The baptismal fee, he says, is $25, and the death fee is $60 for an adult, and $10 for an infant. A poll-tax of $25 for each man, and $15 for each woman, is collected; and when a man builds a house, he must pay $10 for having a chimney blessed.”

To this Father McKinnon replies:--

”Responding to your favor with regard to quotation from the Rev. M. M. Parkhurst, I may say it is a lie from top to finish. I have been here now nearly six months, and have studied the religious question very carefully, and, I think, without prejudice. To do this I had every opportunity, not only here in Manila, but also in the outlying provinces, as I have been sent frequently into the interior of the island to treat with the insurgent leaders. I have conversed with all cla.s.ses of people, and I think I know pretty well just how matters stand. This statement of Mr. Parkhurst is in keeping with all the other statements made by irresponsible preachers concerning the condition of the Church here.

”Marriage here is like marriage any place else. If the parties are able to do so, they are supposed to pay something. If not able to pay, the priests here marry them gratis, just as you or I or any other minister of the Gospel would do in America. For rich or poor there is no fixed fee; that is left entirely to the contracting parties. For baptisms and deaths the rule is the same. Indeed, for baptisms, the priest rarely receives more than one dollar, and more often he receives nothing at all. For deaths they go even further than we do in America, as every parish church keeps a supply of coffins on hand to give gratis to those who are too poor to employ an undertaker. For the grandest funeral here no more than $25 is paid, which would be equal to $12 of our money. Even the fee of $2.50, charged for marriage license reverts not to the Church or Government, but to the orphan asylums.

”Speaking of orphan asylums, the Girls' Asylum here gives a dowry of $500 to every inmate upon her marriage. This is but a sample of what is done in the way of charity here. We hear great tales of the wealth of the monks, and inquire about the property, and find it is a large estate, the income of which is used to support some hospital, or other charitable inst.i.tution under the care of said monks. Nowhere in the world is charity in greater evidence than here. The magnificent hospitals and orphanages, schools of industry, etc., would be a credit to any nation. The amount expended thus every year is enormous. The monks individually are as poor as the proverbial church mouse. The islands have a population of over 8,000,000 Catholics. The priests number about 1,500; and considering the weakness of human nature, and the fact that many of them live alone out in the wilds far away from brother priests, it is not surprising that an occasional one falls. Even among the saintly (?) Parkhurst's brethren, I have heard of an occasional fall in civilized America. But here these are the exceptions. The main body of the clergy are good, holy men. The Archbishop is a man who would be an honor to any church in any country. He is a man of eminent learning and great sanct.i.ty. He is one of the kindest and most charitable men I ever met. Go to his house at whatever hour you will, and you will find it crowded with poor. For each he has a kind word and some substantial aid. Every cent he receives is given away in this manner. His personal magnetism is such that to meet him is to admire him. If I wished to use names I could give you many striking examples of this. In our army and navy we had some Parkhursts who were ready to believe or say anything about his Grace.

”For those whom I thought worth convincing that they were wrong, I arranged that at different times they should meet him. The result was the same in every case. Each would come away feeling that his Grace was a much maligned man. To-day, among the American officials in both army and navy, no man is more respected than the Archbishop of Manila. In my estimation, there are two reasons for the impression which has gone abroad concerning the Church here. Aguinaldo, knowing in his cunning that there were many Parkhursts in America, thought lying about the Church would be an excellent way to gain the sympathy of Americans. I have been all over the country, and find no poverty anywhere. For Indians I find them remarkably well instructed. The one who cannot read and write is an exception. There are public schools supported by the Government all over the country. Had Mr. Parkhurst desired to learn the truth, he could have done so from his brother ministers, who are chaplains here. I think they would have told him the truth, as I have found them to be a nice gentlemanly lot of men, ever ready to do me a kindness. Some of them I admire very much for their devotion to the sick and those in need.”

CHAPTER III.

THE REBELLION LARGELY THE WORK OF A SECRET ORGANIZATION.

Secret societies, and, above all, that great guild known as Freemasonry, are certainly foremost, if not controlling, factors in the warfare made upon throne and altar during the last one hundred and fifty years.

In saying this we do not intend to express any opinion for or against the sentiments of Protestant Freemasons in England and the United States, numbers of whom, no doubt, reprobate the anti-Christian spirit this a.s.sociation shows on the Continent and in Spanish America. They have been brought up to regard it as a perfectly harmless and beneficent inst.i.tution, and cannot understand the att.i.tude taken with regard to it by the Catholic Church.

It is quite true that Freemasonry may have in these countries kept to its original const.i.tution, which, we may admit, was of a beneficent nature. But what Catholic writers on the subject urgently insist upon is, that on the Continent it very soon a.s.sumed a political and dangerous character. For a long time it was not condemned by the Church, and many good Catholics of rank and position gave their names to it. It was only when its dangerous tendencies came to light that it received solemn ecclesiastical condemnation, and that Catholics were forbidden to join it. For more than a century this secret guild has been at the bottom of the revolutions that have desolated the modern world. Some years previous to the French Revolution, German envoys of the Society of the Illuminati advised the French Masons to form a political committee in each lodge; and in time, as Robison remarks, these committees led to the formation of the Jacobin Club. ”Thus were the lodges of France,” says this writer, ”converted in a very short time into a set of affiliated secret societies, corresponding with the mother lodges of Paris, receiving from thence their principles and instructions, and ready to rise up at once when called upon to carry on the great work of overturning the State. Hence it arose that the French aimed, in the very beginning, at subverting the whole world. Hence, too, may be explained how the revolution took place almost in a moment in every part of France. The revolutionary societies were early formed, and were working in secret before the opening of the National a.s.sembly; and the whole nation changed, and changed again and again, as if by beat of drum.”

In Spain, since its introduction it a.s.sumed a sanguinary and virulent character; it brought about revolutions and civil wars, embittered cla.s.ses against one another, wronged and starved the clergy, robbed, turned adrift, and banished the religious Orders.

There is, indeed, a good deal of difficulty in tracing all these evils to the action of the Freemasons; for on the Continent, especially in Spain, the society has been always of a more secret nature than in these countries. Members of the Craft in England and the United States are generally well known to belong to it; their halls and lodges in the larger towns are imposing and conspicuous; their emblems and badges are often seen in the light of day. But on the Continent we see very little of all this; it is a thoroughly secret society; the members and their movements are carefully veiled from sight. As we said before, Freemasonry, on its introduction to the Continent, at once a.s.sumed a political character. The Deists and free-thinkers of the last century utilized it as a potent means of combining against the Church, and of carrying on their evil propaganda. In this way they were aided by the Jansenists, with different motives it is true, but still, when it was a question of opposing the religious Orders, with a whole heart. The working of the society in Spain in this century has necessarily been more stealthy and insidious than in France, for there it was face to face with a truly Catholic population devotedly attached to the Church.

By means of atheistical French literature, the works of Voltaire and other unbelievers, translated into Spanish, brought across the border in large bales, and disseminated through the Peninsula, the Freemasons had already indoctrinated a large number of active and restless spirits with revolutionary and anti-Christian ideas, when the troubles and civil war of 1834 gave them the opportunity they desired of making an onslaught on the religious Orders. At such times the minds of men are in a ferment, and the most incredible reports may be spread abroad, and will be implicitly believed by the populace. Accordingly, on the awful visitation of cholera, which swept over Europe at that time, desolating cities and towns, and leaving thousands upon thousands of families in mourning, in Madrid the report was industriously spread by the Masons that the Monks and Friars had poisoned the wells, and were the cause of the sickness among the people. In a mad fit of rage the populace rose on all sides, rushed to the convents and monasteries, and murdered all the inmates they could lay their hands upon. This awful event is referred to in the Memorial.

Such a state of things may seem hardly possible in the nineteenth century; and yet a similar catastrophe nearly happened in Lisbon a few years ago, the circ.u.mstances of which were related to the writer by one of the Dominicans who was living there at the time. It appears that the Dominican nuns had opened a dispensary for the relief of the poor. Strange to say, the frightful report soon went abroad that the nuns were stealing children, and killing and boiling them down to make a healing ointment out of their remains. The city was in an uproar; it was unsafe for priests and nuns to be seen in the streets; and the populace who really believed the absurd story, being in a furious state of excitement, were on the point of burning down the convent, and maltreating the nuns.