Reclaiming the Lost Archive of San Agustin Library

= Monacillos: That the children of the Mestizos would become them =

= Testimonies about: That the Mestizos and natives
of Vetuz and of Pasay become monacillos in
the service of the church.

=Chinese-Mestizos: That their children become monacillos
of the church and that they do not oppose
it =

There are two such [items], the first is this one, and the other is that which follows,
and is confirmatory =

It pertains to the shelf outside the wall
Box number 9, papers of the Tagalogs
5th Folder =

This page is not translated, please help translate this page

Seal: four [and] one quarter,
years one thousand seven hundred and thirty one

and thirty two.

{Left margin: Petition}

Very illustrious lord =
Fray Pedro Orense of the Order of Our Father St. Augustine,
and parish priest
of the town of Malate,
before your lordship, I present myself and I say
that the right of my parish makes it appropriate
for me to be given two such written legal assessments
and their accompaniments with
the decree and so on, about the fact that
the natives and Mestizos of Vetuz
and of Pasay have come to the agreement that their children would serve
as altar boys in this church.
This decree being the result
of what the prosecutor of his majesty said.
The date of said decree being the first of this present month of August,
thus =
I ask and beg your lordship to consider it useful
that I present myself,
and to instruct according to what I requested,
as it is justice that I hope for
from your lordship, etc. = Fray Pero Orense

{Right margin: Decree}

Manila, August fourteen of one thousand seven hundred thirty-two =
Do
as the supplicant asks=
Signed by his lordship=
Allanegui

In execution of what is mandated and ordered by the
decree and petition above, I asked and retrieved
the documents that he ordered and
requested for. The contents of one and
the other are as follows.

{Left margin: Petition}

Our most reverend provincial father = The
captain Don Francisco Nicolás,
current governor of this town
of Malate, the village headmen and other
principales who sign below
on our behalf, and in behalf of this town’s común,
before
your most reverend self with due humility,
we present ourselves and we say
that there are only sixteen boys
from among our children who can serve
as altar boys. Thus on a
weekly basis, only one altar boy and no more may serve,
given that the rest usually fall
sick, who number four in total.
And this week
there are only three, and one of them recently

finished schooling. As such
we cannot comply with
the six altar boys [required] of us by the most
reverend father minister. And on
this [matter], in Pasay as well as in Vetuz and in the rest
of the district of this jurisdiction, there are enough
baguntao children, from the Mestizos
as well as from Tagalogs, and other nations,
to whom, when possible, our children
bring vestments
and everything else necessary for the administration
of the sacraments, the blessing of the sick,
and the last rites. As a result,
some (as has happened)
made our children sick
given the extreme fatigue of walking
across such wide expanses
and at very uncomfortable hours
given the extreme heat waves from the sun
or coldness from the rain. [All this] without the said Mestizos'
nor the rest
of the nations recognizing that we are not
their slaves, nor have we obliged ourselves
to serve them given that they do not serve us
in the least.
[They] go as far as to [have our children] become bantayes
for the fires, not wanting to come [themselves].

[They] make use of the pretext that they [live]
far from this town, something that they
should shut up or feel guilty about given
how senseless and unjust it is [that they] live
so far from the church.
Thus your reverence, with your habitual
piety, should find it useful to order
that all the permanent residents and inhabitants
within this administration send
their children to be sacristans, with the sole
exception of the eighty designated [families]
of the hacienda of Pasay, given that
the high government has exempted
their children from
becoming sacristans because they are [already] busy
serving the church
and convent of San Pablo of the city of Manila.
For all the above =
we ask and beg your most reverend self
to find it useful that we
presented ourselves and to order what we have
requested. And we swear in such a way
not to stray from the right path and from what
is necessary etc. = Francisco Nicolás =
Juan Feliz Punsalan =
Manuel Bagsic de Leon = Joseph de Valencia =
Pedro Cervantes

Pangaya = Juan de la Cruz =
Juan Perez = Baltasar Perez =
Santiago de Robles =
Juan Hipólito = Juan Benítez Paglingasan =
Juan Gonzales =

{Left margin: Decision.}

Malate, April twenty-second of year one thousand seven hundred thirty-two =
Although
I regard the request of the petitioners to be very just,
given that I do not
have their document in hand, I hereby permit
the father prior
of this our convent to
present himself whether before the lord
governor or the lord prosecutor of his majesty
so that through this means
they can achieve their aims.
That is what was instructed by our most
reverend father provincial Fray Felix de Trillo
of which I certify =
Trillo = Fray Miguel Vivas =
Secretary.

{Left margin: Petition.}

Very illustrious lord = Fray Pedro Orense
of the order of our father father (sic) St. Augustine,
prior and
doctrinal minister of the pueblo of
Malate, jurisdiction of Tondo,
before your lordship as the best

placed legally [for this], I present myself and say
that my provincial, being on visitation,
ordered me to come to your lordship so that, in consideration
of the just request of the Indio
natives of said town, that I present
appropriately, your lordship may consider it good to give the
instructions that you find appropriate.
After all, it is certain that there are no more than
sixteen boys who can
serve as altar boys for the service
of the church. And it is necessary to
change them each week,
and to give them a month of rest.
And most of the time there are only
two altar boys in a week
because one or the other is sick
such that
there is no one to assist in
the eucharist and in the other functions
that fall to them such as bringing the viaticum
to the sick and administering to them
the last rites.
And it has happened that
altar boys have fainted
on the road for being little boys
of tender age and having
gone on foot to assist me in the administration

of the holy sacraments
of extreme unction in the rush
usually called for by these cases and by the distance of
almost a league where we go.
These situations having not moved the Mestizos
nor the rest who live so far from the church
to help out by sending their children to become altar boys
so that they would reciprocally help
one another at least in the
service of the church and the general welfare of
everyone. Certainly there is no doubt that without these
altar boys, it would be necessary to put some halt [to this]
so that the holy sacraments are not delivered
to the sick without due decency.
[The opposite] would be to the detriment of the
sick [already] in extreme danger.
Thus = To your lordship I ask and beg
that you find it useful that we presented ourselves with
the writing of said natives and your decsion,
and command according to what I have asked given that
it is justice that I hope from your lordship. And in what is
necessary etc. = Fray Pedro Orense

{Left margin: Decree}

Manila, April, twenty-three of one thousand seven hundred and
thirty-two = Reviewed by the lord fiscal
of his majesty = Signed by his lordship. Allanegui

{Left margin: Response of the lord fiscal of his majesty}

The fiscal of his majesty has seen
this report and as his instruction
on this matter he commands
your lordship to inform the governor
of the province of Tondo, Manila
April, twenty-eight of the year one thousand seven hundred thirty-two =
Licenciado Vedaya

{Right margin: Decree}

Manila, April, thirty of one thousand seven hundred thirty-two =
From the office of the assessor to Doctor
Don Joseph Correa Villarreal = Signed
by his lordship = Allanegui

{Assessor's opinion}

Very illustrious lord = The point
made by the father minister
of the town of Malate prompted
by the petition of the natives is
very much in accordance with justice. The work should
be distributed equally
among all beneficiaries. Your lordship can
order the provincial governor
of the jurisdiction of Tondo to oblige
the children of the natives and Mestizos
who reside in Vetuz and Pasay
to come serve in the
church each in their turn
in the ministry
as altar boys. And that their
parents or relatives cannot
stop them in any way.
Your lordship above all will command
what you find most pleasing to
your superior self which, as always, will be
the best. Manila
May, six of one thousand seven hundred thirty-two =

Doctor Don Jose Correa Villarreal.

{Left margin: Decree}

Manila, May six of one thousand seven hundred thirty-two

= [The assessor's opinion having
been given and the alcalde mayor of Tondo having been notified],
comply in accordance with
the assessor's opinion =
Signature of his lordship = Allanegui

{Left margin: Annotation}

In the place of Anloague on the sixth of May, of year one thousand seven hundred thirty-two,
I the present scribe, receiver
and lieutenant of the principal scribe
of this high government,
notified Captain Don Joseph Ruiz, provincial governor
and war captain
for his majesty over
the province of Tondo of
the assessor's superior decree
above.
In response, he said:
The necessary compliance
ordered by said superior
decree holds. To which he
responded and signed and I
certify = Joseph Ruiz =
Domingo Cortez de Arquiza,
receiving-scribe.

{Left margin: Petition}

Very illustrious lord = The común
of Mestizo farmers of the site
of Pasay under the doctrinal jurisdiction of the church

of the town of Malate, jurisdiction
of Tondo, prostrate themselves at the feet of
your lordship. We present ourselves and say that
at the order of our provincial governor,
we were notified on the
eleventh day of last May
of the present year, of two superior decrees,
of your lordship: one, a petition instructing
our children to serve
the church as altar boys. And because
this petition presents
that which we enjoy from two sworn decrees
about the same
matter [from] the year one thousand seven hundred and two,
and the other of one thousand seven hundred and eleven,
as ascertained
from the said document attached in the appropriate
form, we present [ourselves]
with all solemnity,
alleging in them the immemorial custom
that
Mestizos and farmers
have never been obliged
in the same way, given
that we cultivate
leased land and at the cost
of fatigue we pay the rent
and the royal tribute
to his majesty, may God keep him, and

and the personal services and the parish fees,
which are anyway doubled,
and annual alms without
having any recourse for such heavy
work other than the help of our children
in the conflict we find ourselves
against locusts, which for weeks
attack our crops,
[resulting in] more work
than in other periods, [rendering us] unable
to leave the fields
and in all these conflicting hungers
that we suffer. = And also
our father prior obliges us
to send all our
sons and daughters away from home
to the church to pray
the doctrine and to hear mass
on Fridays and Saturdays
[despite] living at
such a distance and [despite the fact that] these
roads they pass usually
do not lack of
people with bad intentions
who leap-out to strip [our children] of their clothing and to do
other injuries. And it is well-known that

this has happened and still happens because
the immediate surroundings of said place are
thickets and mangroves [which are] home to
and center of thieves. In fact,
on Sundays and during fiestas, with everyone being
at mass, said thieves have come out
to commit their atrocities.
Thus, it was removed. The dalagas and baguntaos do not go
on Fridays and Saturdays, with the relevant litigation having
been presided while the prior
of the town was the reverend father
Fray Juan Serrano, who was [the priest]
who imposed [the requirement]. [It was removed] because of the notable problem
that falls on the
poor farmers that deprives them
two days a week from their
fields, with their children being in charge of
taking the animals for pasture and
helping them in cultivating
and in other tasks that come up. And because
farmers are exempted
from mass on feast days when
there is an urgent necessity to
end up without [the mass], [for instance] due to the detriment
or the loss of their crops.

All this we leave to the high understanding
and just kindness of your lordship.
For all of the above = To your lordship we ask
and we beg that, given the
documents, that we present with due veneration,
and valuing
your lordship's habitual mercy,
you find it good to command
though your superior decree as
we ask of you, we who hope
for the generosity and greatness
of your lordship etc. = Simón de los Santos =
Fernando Núñez =
Juan Dizon = Francisco Feliz =
Diego de la Cruz = Luis Eusebio =
Francisco Naval = Juan Adriano =
Manuel Esguerra =
Domingo de la Cruz = Domingo de la Cruz =
Gabriel Ayson =
Juan Lona.

{Right margin: Decree}

Manila, July, sixteen the year one thousand seven hundred and thirty-two =
Seen by the lord fiscal of his majesty =
Signature of
his lordship = Allanegui

{Left margin: Decree of the lord fiscal of his majesty}

The fiscal of his majesty
has seen the point made by

and asked by the común of Mestizos
and farmers of the place called Pasay,
within the doctrinal jurisdiction of the town of Malate,
and the [political] jurisdiction of Tondo, with
the documents with which they justify
their point
and petition the content of everything
in reiteration = He says that
the documents that the argument refers to---
of the
two decrees the prosecutor only found
that of twenty-seven October of seven hundred and eleven, and this one,
hereby basing its
decision on that given
in another superior decree of
the fourth of September of the same year
that is not included
in said documents, cannot be
brought to the attention of
his judgment. And for the same
reason, not finding
the other decree among said documents
of the year one thousand seven hundred and two
that they mention
in their petition, it is recognized
that there is no basis
for their argument. And if

the said común of Mestizos understood
the witnessed decision
of the provincial governor of Tondo
dated seventeenth of October of seven hundred and two
to be a decree, that would not help their case either,
in fact, to the contrary.
His ruling mandated not to
introduce
new expenses nor new
requisitioned contributions and subsidies
of the said nation and their
children, unless it followed the custom
that these had in the
rest of the districts in which they are parishioners.
It did not exempt them
in what is in fact precisely their
Christian obligation and
that which they have to assist the reverend
father doctrinal minister
of said town. Knowing this,
given that the point and petition made by said común is directed to
their sons and daughters not coming
on Fridays and Saturdays to what is

precisely [their] Christian obligation
to be taught and instructed
in the praying of the Christian doctrine
as well as their children not coming to the
church as altar boys---an explicit obligation
in the assistance of the said
minister to divine worship---it is
evident that the said argument
is directly opposed to the
ruling of the said decision. And [it is evident] that [their] only
intention is to avoid that their children
perform their obligations as Christians.
[Instead] diligently, as good
parents and Christians, they should [be] stimulat[ing]
and oblig[ing] their children to do
[these obligations] whatever they may be. And your lordship should find it good
to command that they comply with the
same that the común is resisting.
[This command should come] with the warning that
any change
made by this superior government
[if] contravened will result in the due
punishment of those [people]
who have contravened. Manila, July twenty-four of year one thousand seven hundred thirty-two
= Licenciado Vedaya

{Left margin = Decree}

Manila, July, twenty-nine of one thousand seven hundred thirty-two

= Place this
with the decisions about this matter and [inform?] the
assessor about them = Signature of his lordship =
Allanegui

{Left margin: Decree of the assessor}

Manila, August, first of one thousand seven hundred thirty-two =
Observe the ruling
of the superior decree of the fifth of May of this year,
and the provincial governor of the jurisdiction
of Tondo is to make the Mestizos and naturales
of the place called Pasay comply urgently
and punctually with what is
commanded, making their children come
to the service of the church whenever
it is their turn and they are notified
by the father minister of the town
of Malate with the warning that in the contrary
action will be taken against them
as necessary. This ruling was given by his lordship the lord
brigadier of the royal army, governor and captain general of these
islands and president of the royal audiencia of the same, in the assessor's prescence =
Signature of his lordship =
Doctor Correa = Allanegui.

{Left margin: Annotation}

In the place of Anloague, extramuros
of Manila, on the ninth of August, of year one thousand seven hundred and thirty-two,
I, principal scribe
of high governance and war of these islands, made
known the high assessor's decree in the pages preceding
this one to Captain Don Joseph Ruiz, provincial governor and
captain at war of the jurisdiction of Tondo, who having been informed
said = That he heard it and will
comply. And he signed, of which

I certify = Don Joseph Ruiz = Miguel de Allanegui.

{Left margin = Annotation}

In the city of Manila, on the thirteenth of September, of one thousand seven hundred thirty-two years,

I, principal scribe
of high governance and war of these
islands, through Nicolás de Soto y Zúñiga,
interpreter among this
royal audiencia, notified about the superior decree
of the assessor of the pages prior to this one for the
effects therein ordered: Domingo de la Cruz,
Francisco Naval, Simón de los Santos,
Domingo de la Cruz e Ignacio Galindo,
Mestizo farmers. [They were informed] of the contents
of these decisions. Being informed, they said
that they humbly beg his lordship the
most illustrious lord president governor and captain general
find it good to order that they be given [copies of] these
decisions to represent what their rights afford them,
without this in any way being
in opposition to what is ordered in the said high decree,
that was what was responded and the said Domingo de la Cruz signed it
and the others did not because they said
that they did not know how [to sign]. And the said interpreter likewise signed of
which I certify = Domingo de la Cruz =
Nicolás de Soto y Zúñiga = Miguel de Allanegui =
Corrected = Malate y abril, veintidós =
Made valid.

This is a copy of the originals which remain in the office of
high governance and war of these
Philippine islands where I corrected

and put together this copy sent to me and in
compliance with the said order and request propelled by what was said above,
I give due precedence in this city
of Manila on the nineteenth of the month of September of one year thousand seven hundred and thirty two,
being witnesses
Captain Don Diego de Monterroca y Miranda, Don Miguel de Mercado
and Don Diego de Tapia, present of which I certify.

In the [f de que] I certify – Miguel de Allanegui