New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-10-24
THE FRIARS DEFENDED.
ARCHBISHOP CHAPELLE ON AFFAIRS
IN THE PHILIPPINES.
REPLY TO A STATEMENT SAID TO HAVE
BEEN MADE BY GENERAL FUNSIoN-
CHURCHES NOT DESIGNATED
BY AMERICAN SOLDIERS.

"a
New Orleans. Apostolic Delegate to Cuba Porto
ptoo and the Philippines made the following
statement to-day:
In answer TO General Funstons statement,
made in an address to the students OF STANFORD
University, that IF Congress would drive out
the friars and cOnhscate every inch OF Cnurcn
nroperty the bottom would drop out OF the ~
surrection within one week; the nnaDitants u
Luzon are completely under the Church. l
deem it proper to make the Following Puo"'
statement
knowing what I do from the most reliable au-
thority Of General Funstons Droad mihueuness
and sense Of fairness, J do not pehsve ina ~, ~
has been quoted correctly. he may nave stateu
that the insurgents demand this as CONDITION
of peace but that he gave these as MS own sen
timents | cannot credit. From my own eMo ,it
ence / know how easy II Is TO be misquoteu'
All | can say is, il General Funston dld MAKE
this statement he manifested dense ignorance
of the work done by the reneious oiSe,a o 90 IL
archipelago. on the very face OF II. however, II
shows quite plainly that IL d.d not come rom
one as well posted as General Funston should De
on affairs in Luzon. He is quoted as SAYING.
THE inhabitants Of LuZon are completely undSr
the Church" Now, would ask, now can 'nlS
be possible when every priest twth the excep-
ton Of few natives in the island OK A ur,"i
outside Of the walled city OF Manila is prs
oncr Of the insurgents? For the last eighteen
months this state of affairs has existeu: am am
during all this period more than three huhuleu
and fifty friarS have been undergoing unneaiu
Of tortures in nsurgent dungeons TINS peine a
fact II is hard for me to see how the ISLANDS
though just the opposite were the case
GREAT BODY OF NATIVES FRIENDLY.
That the insurgents have asked as one of their
terms of peace the expulsion Of the friars ana
the confiscation TO the insurgents Of all Churcn
property is a fact well known but we are tViu
by the Government officials land know IL 10 DE
fact from other reliable sources) that the IN
/ surgents represent only one tribe out Oh 'ne
| eighty-five tribes peopng the archipeiago 80
| the sentiments voiced by the insurgents ABOUT
mo VI md
as the sentiments of the great Dody OF me
| natives, any more than they can be taken as the
sentiments Of the natives toward our people ana
Government.
Whatever the natives or have they owe 70
the friars. BY them they were lifted out or say
agery and brought under the blessed and renh-
ing influences Of Christianity. BY them they
were educated not only in the schools, put IN
! the fields and the workshops were taught by
them the very industries which are now the
source Of their prosperity. Mr.. Peyton' the
agent of the Episcopal Foreign Mission Associa-
ton, tells that the natives are the most
moral and religious people on the race or 'ne
globe" Now the men who taught them TO be SO
cannot be such men as some narrow MINDED
people would try TO have us believe. The Kew
/ DR.. Abeel. a Scotch Protestant missionary also
testifes that nearly the whole population or
the Philippine archipelago has been converted to
the Catholic faith BY the Spanish monks. ana
/ a wonderful improvement in their social condi-
ton has been the result" He then goes on TO
show that If any doubts this Improvement
it can easily be made manifest by comparing
Of the same blood-the fanatcal Moro.
As TO the coniscaton Of the estates. you might
well talk Of conflscdting the estates or inc
Vanderbts, the Astors and other millionalres
whose estates have in the OF years grown
so wonderfully. There would be just as much
right and justice In one case as In the other
! The estates Of the religious orders have been
acquired in the usual way by purchase and in
the course Of nearly four centuries have natu-
rally grown large; but II even unbiased Protest
ant witnesses are to be credited large as they
| all used for the betterment ana upl1t-
| ing Of the natives.
former British consul Ga Protestant. writ
| ing on this subject says:
wa. by means or these estates that the triafs
introduced agicuIture and settled HABITS OF Ie
OF these estates that they got them live IN vii
lagos and introduced among them the arts of civ
they acquired the power Of inducing them 70 labor
sA Str saesnafd against again
their original state Of savagery The natives are.
without which they would fall back to the customs
OF their ancestors tuteage that no one can ever
Of the monasterles be found carpenter shops,
tIrses 1fiSk and tile ards u.s. 10 eaca tns ma
them presented pleasing picture of happiness
were stu pagan and uncivilized
SUSPENSION OF JUDGMENT ASKED.
In a short time Will start for the Philippines,
and 1 will personally investigate all charges
made against religious orders. titles OF prop
erty. etc Until l have completed my work I
not to be too ready 10 swallow as facts the
opinions Of gentlemen whose previous training
and lack of opportunities TO get at the real facts
do not warrant their statements concerning the
Catholic ministers Of religion. The intellectual
capacity and the moral and social condition of
the people Of the archipelago TO be taken as
undisputed facts by sensible and just minds: nor
can they. therefore. be taken as an exact
presentation of a condition OF things In the
Philippines upon which the United States Gov
ernment could prudently and equtaby base it's
policy with regard 10 this archipelago. The
Church asks only justice, and will not coun-
tenance the retention of one inch of property
which is not now legitimately held
one word now on another subject I see that
II is said that the object of my visit the White
House on saturday was 10 protest against the
lootinS and Decorating of the churches in the
Philippines This not the case AS to the
lootinS and desccrating of these churches | am
informed by person whose word | cannot
doubt that this loOtng not done by our
American soldiers, but by the insurgents and
the Chinese. p L. CHAPELLE
Archbishop Of New-Orleans. Delegate Apos-
tOlic