The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-06-03

tates of both the lasety and he clergy.
hut The tenants of the latter complain
little the louder
The tenants make two complaints: First.
that the land they till and for which they
pay arnua. rents was wrongfuiiy acquired
by the landlords and belongs by right TO
the tenants. Secondly. They complain
that the landlords have treated the ten
ants cruelty and uniustly by eSacting ex-
cessive rents and therefore ro5oing them
of their hard-earned gains. Oddly enough,
the second complaint is the calise of the
first for had the landlords. religious and
otherwise, been considerate and just, the
people would not have complained at all,
being willing 20 sacrifice their rights for
the sake of peace.
Whether or not the first complaint is
true depends on how these large estates
were first acquired by their present own
crs II is undoubtedly true that some
were originally purchased in part or were
received as gifts from devout people. The
hacienda OF Naic, on the south shore of
the bay. twenty miles from Manila, was
purchased IN 1854 from a Spaniard and a
large pile of 1,arcFlinent-bound books con-
tanning the record of this and other prop
critics Of the Doninicans is shown. These
titles were never registered because the law
exenlpts from registry the land on which a
Roman Catholic Church stands and the
law was stretched TO cover all these
estates Of the Dominicans. Some years
ago, when some tenants of the friars re-
fused 10 pay their rents. claiming that the
land they occupied was their own and that
the frfars had no just claim upon II,
Spanish troops, under General Wey!er,
then governor, RACED the village and com
Initted many abuses. Another plantation
OF the Doninicans. called oriong, was a
gift,' and the papers of still another, the
1yoloInaooy, date back to sixteen hundred
and something.
THE LANDLORDS TITLE.
A plantation owned by the Augustinians,
just south Of Manila, rs said 10 nave been
received by them as a legacy from a Gu
ban woman VINO spen. her whole fortune
on the place In this case as in many
others the title of the landlord seems to
he clear, but the representatives of the
people, the tenants. say that although
they must admit the existence of docu-
mentary evidence Of acquisition and pos
session of the lands by the landlords, they
charge that fraud was used in the original
purchase and especially IN the extension
of the size of the holdings a t later date
The religious orders claim to have papers
showing that they have had possession OF
some of their estates for over one hun
=
royal commission was sent from Spain to
investigate the complaints made at that
time by tenants against these same Or
Gers and that the commission decided in
favor of the frairs. So that it will De
seen that something is to be said on the
side Of the landlord.
On the other hand the natives claim tilat
many tricks were resorted to by the
frairs tc extend their holdings Of land
and to include in them property that
14ghtfuliy belonged to the natives, but
little 10 which had been registered by the
latter. One plan of the religious orders
WIS to request from all the farmers 4
small annual contribution toward the
building of a church or its support. This
was readily granted by the average ma
tive and a receipt was given in Spanish
for the money or produce. Soon this
annual contribution was demanded as a
right instead of requested as a gift and
finally the claim was advanced that these
contributions were really the annual
rental for the land occupied by the native
and that the Church or the order was the
true owner of the property
The second charge, that the rents have
been extortonate, rs made against the
landlords of many of the plantations. but
it is very difficult to get definite infOrma-
ton. The natives say that the rent has
been gradually raised as the property has
increased in value under the careful Gull
tivat0n OF the tenant. THIS method of
dealing with him takes from the tenant
any incentive to try and Better the condi-
ton of his land. Foreman. in his book
on the PHILIPPINES. says: The Augustin-
ian and Dominican friars hold very vaiu-
able real property in the provinces near
Manila, which were rented out 10 the ma
tive agriculturalists on tyrannical condi-
tons. Leases We're granted for the term
of three years, but the receipts given for
the rent were very cunningly worded-
neither the amount of money paid nor
the extent of the land nor its situation
was mentioned on the document, so that
the tenant was. constantly at the mercy
of the landlord"
In contrast to this, it is said by an
English gentleman that the Dominican
friars have been very kind in their deal
ings with their tenants. He says that
if he were 10 obtain possession of the
lands held by the friars the rents would
be doubled. He admits, however, that
the friars in some cases rent the land to
middleinsn, Who sublet it to the farmers,
and that the farmers suffer in conse-