79
THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS , AND THE ISLE OF FRANCE.
At Manila convents occupy at leaft one third of the city. The Jefuits had formerlytwo churches here, thofe of St. Ignacius and Saint Jofeph ; thefe are flirt highlydecorated. The Dominicans have two colleges, and the Auguftins a convent. Therjg.-is alfo a convent of St. Clare for forty nuns, and a houfe termed the monaftery dfMercy, deftined for female orphans of Spaniards as well as of Creoles . Thefeorphans ultimately receive a bounty if they become nuns, and a portion if theymarry.
On leaving the city a bridge prefents itfelf, built in part of ftone in part of wood;it is wide enough to admit of two carriages abreaft, and ferves to join the city andthe different fuburbs ; there are twelve in number, to wit: Parian, Minondo, StaCruz, Ilao San Michael, San Sebaftian, Bagambaya, San Jago Ntra, Sra del Eremito,Tondo, Malati, and Chiapo.
Parian, which fronts the city, is reckoned the molt considerable ; it has feveral ftreets,and is inhabited by Chinefe, called Sangleyes, who all cf them are artizans, fmiths, ormerchants ; the number at prefent is three thoufand. It was vaftly more confiderablein 1603, but at that epoch twenty thoufand perifhed*. A very ftridt watch is keptover thefe Chinefe: an alcalde and a number of Spanilh officers have the fuperin-tendence of the police, and exact from them, as is faid, confiderable fums of money,chiefly at the new year. The Ample licenfe of playing at metooa (odd or even) beingpurchafed by them at the rate of ten thoufand dollars.
Minondo and Sta.Cruz are inhabited by Spaniards andlndians. The Spaniards, whofehoufes are conftructed in the fame ftyle as thofe of Manila , prefer a refidence in thefetwo fuburbs, on account of enjoying greater freedom, as the gates of the city are clofedat an early hour : as for the Indians, their dwellings are raifed on ports, the walls areof plaifter or matting, and the roof is covered with the leaves of the palm. Thismode of building is ungrateful to the eye, but it fecures the inhabitants of fuch dwell-ings from injury, by floods or earthquakes.
San Sebaftian likewife has fome good houfes. In this fuburb is a long caufewayraifed by the government, as a promenade for the inhabitants ; hither efpecially theladies of Manila refort much in their carriages. The Chinefe are faid to have defrayedthe expence of making this mall with money extorted from them for exemption fromfome obftructions purpofely ordained by the Spaniards : the mall is pleafant, is {hadedby a number of areka trees, and commands a fine profpedt over the country.
Tondo is the moft northern of the different fuburbs ; formerly it was a fmall town :its church was the firft conftructed by the Spaniards in this country.
A number of canals divide thefe different fuburbs, and greatly facilitate the tranfportof merchandize.
. The country about Manila is remarkably fine ; the foil appears to be very rich ; itis flat at firft, but afterwards rifes gradually. The villages are commonly furroundedby trees, and the beauty of the profpedt would be greatly heightened were the houfeslefs wretched. In every village is a {tone church, as well as a parfonage-houfe, forthe reftor, who is conftantly one of the monks. Thefe laft, who all of them areEuropeans, are very much refpedted by the Indians ; while the fecular clergy, who moftcommonly are Creoles , are held in contempt: hence the government (hews great de-ference to the rectors ; for, generally fpeaking, the Indian always confults them on en-tering upon any enterprize, and even as to paying his taxes. The monks who
* Pre-vious to the infurre&ion and fubfequent daughter of the Chinefe in 1603, by Acuna, the fuburbof Parian contained 30,000 Sangleyes.— Ed. Malo de Luque Hid. Polit. de los Eftab. Ultr. &c. Tom.yi. p.203, Madrid. 1790.
2 officiate