Dotre Dame Scholastic -bl5Ce-9VA5l-5!£mPGR-VICT\yi2\/S- •ViVe-9VASI-CRAS-IMORlTV/R\/5' VOL. XXXVIII. NOTRE DAME, INDIANA, OCTOBER 22, 1904-. No. 6. THE RIGHT REVEREND FRANCIS AIDAN GASQUET, O. S. B., President-General of the English Benedictines. b6 NOTRE DAME SCHOLASTIC. them. I am informed that arrangements are The Girls o' Blarney. now being made to bring in French, Bel­ gian and American missionaries. The funds 'THERE'S a neat little village convenient to Cork, w-hich the SiDanish government was uiider AVhere tlie colleens are winsome and witty; . obligation to furnish for the salaries of the And in never a place from Pekin to New York 13arish priests, by reason of the Concordat Are the maids.even one half so prettv. with the Pope, are of course not now OcliI sure their eyes are so charmin" and bright, available; and this makes it important, from And sparklin' with mischief and fun, sir, a churchman's standjDoint, that as much of Just a glance and as sure as the (\ay follows night, the money as ]Dossible realized from the You're a captive before you can run, sir. friars' lands should be kept in the coffers of the Philippine Church. The truth is No rose in the garden of Eden Avas red As the li]js of these lasses so bonuA-; that the Church has been placed under the But. whisper, sir, whisper, liend closer 3-oiir head. iiecessitA'- of preparing a new j)riesthood and The taste—oh I 'tis sweeter than honcA'. of establishing the old church on a new foundation. The j)olic3'- of the Vatican looks Their cheeks are as soft as the velvetA- dowm, That's plucked from the eider-duck's bosom, now to the creation as soon as practicable And all the cute lads that come out from the town of a new- clergv bv the education of voung Leave their senses behind 'em or lose 'em. Filij)inos of good character in theological seminaries to be established for the j)urpose But their brogue, 'tis the richest that ever -vvas heard, So musical, soft and persuadin', in Manila, Eome and America. It trippingh- flows, like the song of a bird, The transfer of a people from a sovereigiitj^ From the lips of each Blarnev voung maiden. like that of Spain—^in which the Church and P. J. G. government and the State Avere so closety united that it is at times veiy difficult to distmguish the possessions and frmctions The Church and Our Government in the of each—^to a sovereigntv like that of the Philippines. United States, in w^hich the Church and the state must be separate, has presented a THE IIOX. WILLI.\M H. TAFT, U. S. SECRET.\KY OF WAR. number of most interesting questions for readjustment and settlement; and these (CONTIXUED.) questions have been much complicated b3'' The condition of the Roman Cathohc the political bearing -which the liostilitA'- of Church after the treaty of peace iDctween the people toward the friars' owmership of SiDaiii and the United States was a critical large argricultural holdings has had upon one; and \vhile it has somewhat improved, the situation. there still remains much to be desired before Let us take up, in order,'the classes of ques­ the Church can assume its proj)er sphere of tions arising betw^een the Roman Catholic usefuhiess. Many of the churches veere injured Church and the government of the PhilixDpine in the vi'-ar of the insiirrectiou, and many of Islands established by the United States: the parishes had to be abandoned for lack of First. The three ordersi—the Augustinians, priests. The native clerg^'-, consisting mainly the Recolletos a;nd the Dominicans—owmed of priests of limited education who had acted among them about 420,000 acres of land. as assistants to the friars,; have become Of this, 120,000 a:cres had been \exj recently the parish priests; and the leariiing and acquired by grant of the Spanish govem- character of manj- of them are by no means menti 60,000 acres of it lay^ in the remote as high as those of Catholic priests-of; other pro\'ince of Isabela and was granted to the countries. The friars w^ho were j)arish priests Augustinian Order, in order to secure its could not return to the parishes liecause of improvement; and a similar grant in the the enmity felt-against them; and it w^as Island of^ Mindoro w^as made to. the difficult to obtain priests from other lands Recolletos. The remaining 300,000 acres, •who could discharge the duties of minisfers however, had-been held by the Orders for of religion among people wdiom they did periods ranging from 50 to 200 y^ears. I not understand and w^lio' did not uiiderstand do not find any indication that this land was NOTRE DAME SCHOLASTIC, 87- acquired through tindiie influence as has been in their monasteries, to "the parishes where sometimes charged. The chain of titles seems thej^ had formerly exercised priestly func­ to show that it Avas all purchased either at tions, created disturbances that it .was private sale or public auction. The lands, difficult for the civil government to control.- esiDccialh^ those in the neighborhood of On political grounds, therefore, it seemed Manila, the friars highh'^ improved bj^ wise for the Church on the friendlv sug- irrigation at large expense. After the gestion of the government, to select other Revolution of 1896, the popular feeling ministers than the Spanish members of the against .the triars made the collection of Orders Avhich had aroused • siich political rents from their tenants impossible. antagonism among the people in the recent, The Insurgent Congress at Malolos, under history^ of the islands. Agtiinaldo, passed acts confiscating to the Third. Under the Spanish regime, when­ Filipino Republic all the lands of the friars ever either a civil or religious charity or in the islands; and many of the tenants school was founded and maintained, the based their refasal to pa^^ rents to the friars' immediate executive officers selected by the agents on the ground of this "nationalizing" government for the purpose of supervising of the lands, as it was called. and carrying on such ins-tittrtious w-ere In 1901, American civil goxQ.Taxa&nt was members of the clergy. There were several established, and courts were created for the large foundations, educational and chari­ jjurpose of determining civil rights. The table, with respect to A\^hich the claim was friars had meantime transferred their titles made, as soon as the United States govern­ to promoting companies, taking back shares ment assumed control, that they w-ere not in the corporations as a consideration for religious charities and so subject to the the transfers. With the restoration of tran­ control of the Roman CathoHc Church; but quillity'- in 1902, there was no just reason that thcA^ were realh' civil foundations, the - win'' the companies now owning the lands care and custody of which necessarily passed should not proceed to collect their rents and with the transfer of sovereign-ty from, the to oust the tenants if the rents were not Crown of Spain to the government of the _ paid. The tenants were siillen and not United States. This question has arisen disposed to recognize the titles of the friars A\'-ith respect to two hospitals, and the • or to paA-- their rents. A sj'stematic attempt College of San Jose. The union of Church to" collect the rents would involve eviction and State tinder the Spanish regime was suits against mam'- thousand tenants; so close that the decision whether a . judgment would doubtless follow the suits, particular foundation A\'as civil or rehgious and the executive officers of the courts must involves a. consideration of some of the then proceed to evict from their houses and nicest and most puzzHng points of law. homes thousands of farmers in the most Take the instance of the College of San Jose/ jDOpulous xDrovinces of the islands, and chieflA"- A Spaniard named Figueroa, who was among the Tagalogs, a tribe easih'- aroused, governor of the Island of Mindanao in to disturbance and insurrection. After four 1600, died and left a 'will bv "w-hich he gave 3'-ears of the difficult Avork of tranquillization a fund for the establishment and assistance it seemed impossible, Avere these evictions to of a school for the education oi ^ovais^ be instituted, to avoid a return to the dis­ Spaniards. In this will, he directed specifi- turbed conditions that had so injurious^ calh'-.that the school should not be subject = affected the interests of the islands between to ecclesiastical domination; but he provided' • 1898 and 1902. Something must be done that the pupils should have a Christian to avoid the manifest danger to the public education, and that the rector of the. school v peace and to w-ell-ordered government which should be the head of the Jesuit Ordeirvin ' Avholesale evictions of the character described the Philippines. In 1767,,as already said, ^ would involve. the Jesuits w-ere expelled from the islands- Second. It AA'^as found that the political \yj the King of Spain. After the Jesuits hostilit3'- toward the friars w-as so great on left, the Archbishop of Manila and the, the part of the people that anj-- effort to send governor-gieneral took possession; oi the ' them from Manila, where they- w-ere.housed property of "^the, College of San Jose and _: 88 NOTRE DAME SCHOLASTIC. divided it between them for Church and and a fe\A'^ houses of the w^ealtlw, are the governmental j)^^i"poses.