CHAPTER XXX.

INTELLECTUAL ADVANCEMENT.

1800-1887.

PUBLIC EDUCATION—EARLY EFFORTS AT DEVELOPMENT—COSTA RICA'S MEASURES—SMALL SUCCESS—EDUCATION IN NICARAGUA—SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES—NICARAGUAN WRITERS—PROGRESS IN SALVADOR AND HONDURAS—BRILLIANT RESULTS IN GUATEMALA—POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL—SCHOOLS OF SCIENCE, ARTS, AND TRADES—INSTITUTE FOR THE DEAF, DUMB, AND BLIND—UNIVERSITY—PUBLIC WRITERS—ABSENCE OF PUBLIC LIBRARIES—CHURCH HISTORY IN CENTRAL AMERICA AND PANAMÁ—CREATION OF DIOCESES OF SALVADOR AND COSTA RICA—IMMORALITY OF PRIESTS—THEIR STRUGGLES FOR SUPREMACY—EFFORTS TO BREAK THEIR POWER—BANISHMENTS OF PRELATES—EXPULSION OF JESUITS—SUPPRESSION OF MONASTIC ORDERS—SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE—RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.

During the last years of colonial rule the government displayed some interest on behalf of public education in Central America. It was, however, religious rather than secular, and the consequence was that liberal ideas were not countenanced. After the establishment of the republic, and while the liberal system prevailed, this important branch was not neglected.[XXX-1] Later, after the dissolution of the confederation, some of the states, having fallen under the rule of a despotic oligarchy, were lukewarm, to say the best. Costa Rica cannot be accused of neglect.[XXX-2] In 1856 she had public schools in all the towns, supported by the government, and in the chief places others receiving aid from the municipalities.[XXX-3] The university of Santo Tomás, at San José, has chairs of Spanish and Latin grammar, philosophy, mathematics, law, medicine, and pharmacy, and confers diplomas.[XXX-4]

The efforts of general and local authorities, as well as of private individuals, for the spread of instruction among the masses were never discontinued, education being more or less under ecclesiastical control till August 1881, when it was placed under the supervision of the national executive. Thus far educational results were far from satisfactory, the statistics in November 1883 showing, that throughout the republic only 14.70 per centum of the population could read and write.[XXX-5] Nevertheless, there are many well-educated men, who received their instruction in the schools, colleges, and university, and have attained good standing in the several learned professions, and in political life.

The labor to enlighten the masses continues unabated, with hopes of better success. No works of literary importance have been issued from the press in Costa Rica, and only a few newspapers, other than the official journal, are published.

[Sidenote: EDUCATION IN NICARAGUA.]

The advantage to Nicaragua of possessing an educated people has not been unknown, and efforts to that end have been made since early times, though without the desired results.[XXX-6] The general supervision was finally given the executive, and local boards in the departments. Since that time some progress has been made. The number of primary schools has been increased; and schools of agriculture, arts, and trades, new colleges, and a national library have been established. Teachers of both sexes have been brought from the United States and Europe. It is hoped that these efforts, persistently sustained, will yield the better fruits. Indeed, President Cárdenas' message of January 15, 1885, gave a hopeful account, though primary instruction still is quite backward for want of competent teachers.[XXX-7]

There are no data as to the number of those who can read and write, or as to the mental condition of the population. There is no national literature. Persons assuming to write for the public generally do it through a newspaper or loose sheet. Among this class are some who wield powerful pens.[XXX-8] Occasionally there appears a work in book form from the pen of Tomás Ayon, Gerónimo Perez, and others on history or politics.[XXX-9]

The Spanish language was introduced in Nicaragua, as in the rest of Spanish America, but a great number of Indian words are in daily use even by the educated classes.

Salvador, from the earliest days of her autonomical life, has been a warm advocate and supporter of public instruction.[XXX-10] As early as 1846 it was already progressing considerably under President Aguilar's administration.[XXX-11] Attendance having been made compulsory, and schools established to fill the requirements, primary instruction has been brought within the reach of nearly all Salvadorans.[XXX-12] The republic has a large number of educational establishments, to wit, three universities,[XXX-13] a seminary, a botanic garden, schools of agriculture, design, medicine, and military academy. There is also a national library at the capital.[XXX-14] A school of mechanics was ordered founded in 1885.

Salvador does not lack for men of good attainments in science and literature, nor for writers possessed of power and elegance, especially in diplomacy and other political topics.[XXX-15]

[Sidenote: EDUCATION IN HONDURAS.]

The spread of education among the masses in Honduras was until late years sadly neglected.[XXX-16] The state has two universities, one in Comayagua and another in Tegucigalpa, both having, nominally, chairs of law, medicine, and theology.[XXX-17] Most of the educated men of Honduras have received their instruction in foreign countries, or at the universities of the other states.[XXX-18]

The Lancasterian system of education was introduced in Honduras, as in the rest of Central America, early during the confederation system, and has been continued with some modifications. There may, possibly, be 400 schools in all the state, each with an average attendance of 25 pupils, making an average of 10,000 pupils of all classes in a total population of 350,000 to 400,000 souls. There are no libraries in the country worthy of mention, and hardly any newspapers other than the official journal.[XXX-19]

Greater interest has been manifested in public education in late years.[XXX-20] Larger appropriations have been made, and competent teachers procured.[XXX-21]

The retrogressive government which ruled over Guatemala for more than thirty years, down to 1871 when it was overthrown, not only failed to make adequate provision for the education of the masses, but endeavored to keep them in a state of ignorance and fanaticism. The new régime hastened to bring on a change, being convinced that without an educated people, democratic institutions would be impossible. Primary schools were accordingly established as fast as circumstances and the condition of the treasury permitted, in every town and village. In 1876 their number had already reached 600, and progress was uninterrupted after that.[XXX-22] Secondary and professional education have also been fostered. There are three national institutes of secondary instruction for males and two for females, a normal school for training teachers; also several of special instruction, namely, agriculture, design, arts, and trades; one for the deaf and dumb and two of law, one of medicine, and one of engineering. Since 1882 schools of music and elocution and a mercantile academy[XXX-23] have been added. Special mention should be made of the Politécnica, or military academy, in which a liberal education is afforded, comprising English and French, a thorough course of science, including mathematics and drawing, in addition to the specialties of the military profession.[XXX-24]

The national university, which during the old régime had been governed by the ordinances of Cárlos II., the Bewitched, who ruled in the latter part of the seventeenth century, was placed under regulations more in consonance with modern ideas. The establishment has been since imparting the highest order of instruction. The old Sociedad Económica, whose mission is to advance agriculture, and the fine and mechanic arts, likewise has undergone improvements.[XXX-25] The expenditure for public instruction has increased from year to year, as appears in the note below.[XXX-26]

Notwithstanding the retrogressive policy of the oligarchic rule, Guatemala was not devoid of men of ability and learning. Several works have issued from Guatemalan pens, the writers deserving special mention being José Valle, Domingo Juarros, Alejandro Marure, Pedro Molina and his sons, Francisco Barrundia, Lorenzo Montúfar, José Milla, and others, including the brothers Dieguez as poets.[XXX-27]

Newspapers as a rule have had a precarious life, though several of them often contained productions from able Central American pens. The government has at times afforded aid with subsidies.

[Sidenote: RELIGION AND THE CLERGY.]

It is hardly necessary to mention the fact that the catholic religion was the only form of worship recognized or tolerated in Central America during the Spanish domination. Its clergy enjoyed here the same privileges, and were subject to the same duties and restrictions, as in Mexico. In the short period that the country was an appendage of the Mexican empire, no change took place in the relations between church and state. But soon after the establishment of the Central American confederation, and while the liberal democratic party was in power, efforts were made to do away with the privileges of the clergy, and to bring them under subjection to the civil authority.[XXX-28] Pursuant to this policy several laws and measures were adopted against the clergy in general, and Archbishop Casaus in particular,[XXX-29] which irritated the anti-liberals and roused the ire of the clericals, who at once gave utterance to the most fanatical language; and there were even liberal-minded men who took up the cause of the friars and abused in the press some of the wisest measures.[XXX-30] Serious troubles ensued; but during several years the legislative action was sustained, and still more radical resolutions were adopted. In 1829 the archbishop and a portion of his clergy being detected in plotting against the government were forthwith sent out of the country. Two months later the general congress declared religious orders at an end in the republic.[XXX-31]

[Sidenote: RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.]

Finally, in 1832, religious freedom was proclaimed,[XXX-32] and it was moreover declared that the appointment to church dignities pertained to the nation, and should be made by the executive.[XXX-33] The church was thus brought low; but a reaction came erelong, and with the practical dissolution of the confederation, the serviles, then in power, undid what their opponents had done, and among other acts restored the privileges of the clergy, and also the monastic orders.[XXX-34] For all that, the church had been struck blows from which it never fully recovered. It is true that the masses still cherished a portion of their former religious bigotry, but from year to year it has been giving way to move liberal sentiments, and foreigners never encountered any difficulty to remain on the score of religion, so long as they respected the prejudices of the people.[XXX-35] The shameless immorality of the priests has tended to develop a feeling of indifference to religion, and to weaken the reverence formerly felt toward its ministers. Being shielded by the fuero eclesiástico from trial by the common courts, the clergy were practically exempt from deserved punishment, provided they were submissive to their superiors.[XXX-36] Superadded to which was the repeated interference of the clergy in political affairs, which had been so baneful that the people came to learn what was the proper orbit of church and state respectively.

Archbishop Casaus died November 10, 1845, aged eighty years.[XXX-37] During his absence, the archdiocese of Guatemala was in charge of Francisco de Paula Pelaez, archbishop of Bostra in partibus infidelium and coadjutor with right of succession, who became Casaus' successor[XXX-38] and held the office till his death, on the 25th of January, 1867.[XXX-39] The next occupant of the see was Bernardo Piñol y Aycinena, late bishop of Nicaragua, from September 1868. The expulsion by the provisional government, in 1871, of the jesuits, together with the confiscation of their estates, and the apprehension of further action against the clergy, prompted the archbishop and many of his subjects to promote a counter-revolution; their plans failed, and the archbishop, together with Mariano Ortiz y Urruela, bishop of Teya in partibus infidelium, was expelled from the country; neither of them ever returned.[XXX-40] The Guatemalans have been since without a pastor.

[Sidenote: THE CHURCH STRIPPED.]

The government soon after concluded to adopt radical measures in order to crush the power of the clergy,[XXX-41] which being accomplished, the government has since provided for the support of public worship and of the benevolent establishments. But freedom of conscience and of worship is fully recognized and protected by law.[XXX-42]

Bishop Barranco occupied the see of Honduras from 1811 to 1819.[XXX-43] It was then vacant until 1841, when Francisco de P. Campoy, a Spaniard, was made bishop. The tithes were restored for the support of the church; they amounted to a large sum, especially in Olancho. Campoy's death occurred on the 24th of September, 1849.[XXX-44] The next incumbent was Hipólito Casiano Flores, appointed in 1854, and consecrated in 1855.

Since the abolition of the monastic orders by President Morazan in 1829 there have been no convents in Honduras.[XXX-45] The clergy are mostly negroes, mulattoes or mestizos; their power for evil has been greatly curtailed.[XXX-46] The authorities and people are neither intolerant nor bigoted; on the contrary, they are very liberal in regard to religion. Freedom of worship exists by law, but the catholic is the religion of the state.[XXX-47]

The aristocrats, who in the early days of the Central American confederation, opposed the creation of a bishopric in Salvador, concluded, in 1842, upon its creation with a bishop who should uphold their ideas. Jorge Viteri y Ungo went to Rome on this mission, and its object was granted.[XXX-48] Viteri himself was made the first bishop[XXX-49] and took possession of his office on the 25th of September, 1843, after swearing allegiance to the state of Salvador. His career has been detailed elsewhere, as well as the cause of his banishment. After his departure the pope, at the request of the Salvadoran government, made Tomás Miguel Pineda y Zaldaña, bishop of Antígora, in partibus infidelium, guardian of the diocese, and upon Viteri's translation to the see of Nicaragua, he became the real bishop.[XXX-50] Zaldaña had troubles with the government, and left the diocese, but after the overthrow of President Gerardo Barrios returned, and ruled till his death on August 7, 1875.[XXX-51] His successor, José Luis Cárcamo y Rodriguez is represented to be intolerant and hostile to the supremacy of civil over ecclesiastical authority. However, freedom of thought and of religion has existed in the country since 1872, and in 1881 marriage was declared to be a civil contract.

The diocese of Nicaragua has had, from its creation till the present time, 41 bishops, though only 37 have ruled over it.[XXX-52] It was originally a suffragan of the archbishopric of Lima, but in 1743 was transferred to that of Guatemala. Since the decree of 1829, suppressing the monastic orders, there have been none in Nicaragua. There never was any nunnery.[XXX-53]

The government allows for the support of the church a sum exceeding $14,000 yearly.[XXX-54]

[Sidenote: CHURCH AND STATE.]

According to the national constitution, the Roman catholic is the state religion, but there is no law against other creeds. Treaties with foreign nations guarantee to their subjects or citizens the most perfect religious liberty, and worship in private houses, chapels, etc. They may also have their own cemeteries.[XXX-55] The relations between church and state are held under a concordat with the holy see of August 29, 1862. Since then there have been dissensions, but they were settled at Rome.[XXX-56] After several vain attempts, Costa Rica was finally made a separate bishopric by a bull of Pius IX., dated March 1, 1850, and since that time the see has been ruled by only two bishops.[XXX-57]

Under the concordat with the pope of October 2, 1882, the government of Costa Rica is bound to make the church an allowance of $9,000 yearly,[XXX-58] but it has almost invariably paid more than double that sum.[XXX-59]

The concordat places the clergy under restrictions. There exists in Costa Rica but little bigotry, except in the lower people. In fact, the educated classes merely acquiesce in the pretensions and formulas of the church.[XXX-60] The most perfect freedom of religion exists, and those not professing the catholic are protected in the exercise of their own forms of worship.[XXX-61]

[Sidenote: INQUISITION ABOLISHED.]

Harmony had prevailed for years in the relations of the state with the church, until Bishop Thiel and some of his priests undertook to assume a superiority over the government. Their attempts failed. President Fernandez expelled the bishop in August 1884,[XXX-62] and Vicar Antonio C. Zamora, who took charge of the diocese, restored friendly relations. After the death of President Fernandez, Bishop Thiel was recalled.

Before bringing the ecclesiastical subject to an end, I must add some remarks on church affairs of the Isthmus of Panamá. The diocese of the Isthmus has had, from its creation in 1514 till 1884, 45 bishops appointed.[XXX-63]

The inquisition was abolished in 1821. The bishop and his clergy were partly supported from the tithes, which at that time yielded about $25,000 a year. The number of clergy was then 89 secular and 25 regular.[XXX-64] Panamá had been well provided with religious buildings, most of which have since been completely ruined.[XXX-65]

There existed from the earliest days of the republic an intimate alliance between the national government and the ecclesiastical authorities, and they aided one another.[XXX-66] The clergy were quite wealthy, possessing many valuable estates, and mortgages on almost all the landed property in Colombia.[XXX-67] In the course of centuries the church became, if not the sole owner, the co-owner of all estates. It also derived a large revenue from first-fruits, tithes, fees, etc.

The republican government from a very early time understood that the immense power wielded by the church was incompatible with the spirit of the age, and began gradually, almost year by year, to curtail it, and to loosen the ties formerly existing between the civil and ecclesiastical authorities. In the decade from 1851 to 1860, the church lost much of its political sway, but still held the powerful lever of its great wealth. It was afterward deprived of that wealth, and its much-abused power ceased. This occurred during the war begun in 1860 by the liberal party under General Mosquera against the conservatives, in which the clergy took sides with the latter. Mosquera triumphed; and his first measure was to destroy the power of the church. He issued decrees confiscating its whole property.[XXX-68] That was, of course, accompanied with banishments of bishops and priests.[XXX-69] But afterward, when affairs became more settled, they returned poor and submissive to live on fees for the ministration of religious rites.[XXX-70] From all accounts the people had not lost much by the absence of the priests. The clergy, taken all in all, did not deserve any consideration, and with a few honorable exceptions, do not deserve it now, for they have taken no pains to enlighten the masses, and their discipline and morals have not been and are not exemplary.

[Sidenote: PANAMÁ CHURCH AFFAIRS.]

It was made unlawful to settle property on the church. Religious communities, such as friars, or monks, nuns, etc., were strictly forbidden.[XXX-71] Church and state have been since that time independent of one another, but by law no person can become a bishop or the guardian of a diocese who is not a native citizen of the republic. All religious sects not indulging in immoral practices are recognized and protected by the laws.[XXX-72] In Panamá the cemeteries are in charge of a commission deriving its powers from the civil government.