diced b Jos e S. Arc a, - non

they sought to have them directly sent from Italy, but Raimondi objected:The missionaries of the Vicariate of the Propaganda pass by Hongkong, arelodged with us, remain for several days and pay nothing. The letters from theVicars Apostolic come here, and are forwarded at the expense of the Procure. Weought to pay for our lodging by way of compensation. Your Excellency, thenought to recommend to those of the Propagation to continue the subsidy . . . .Otherwise, the Procure will be absolutely unable to pay its debts to the VicarsApostolic, and a satiation will be unavoidable."'It was a question, then, of trying to make do within the limits of theirpoverty. We find here that the less poor or he who administered better themeager funds available appeared rich. This was the situation of the PhilippineDominican Province. The Filipino Catholics probably, although muchpoorer, supported more missions abroad than any richer Christian nations.And he who had direct access to this generous people was richer, becauSe hehad possibilities for financial support. The wealth of the Philippine friars inHongkong, by contrast, had some value, but it was also because, as in theDominicans' case, it was properly administered and properly invested. Thiswas the rock of scandal and the reason behind their serious difficulties withRaimondi, who was himself not a bad administrator.Reixach demanded payment of his loan, but, unfortunately, it had beenmade to an entity that was producing only spiritual profits. This occasionedthe quarrel. In his view, the money could have been invested, for the sake oftheir own missions, in enterprises that guaranteed material benefits. Thisearned from his debtor the epithets "usurer," "immoral," and others thatspice the letters of Raimondi."8We must add there was a lack of total openness on both sides, perhapsdue to excessive prudence, or even sincerity. Reixach had been entrustedwith some kind of a secret project. During the greater part of the 19th century,the religious orders in Spain had been hit in various ways, in some casesdirectly to destroy them. They were saved because they had missions abroadwhere they administered schools and hospitals, especially in the Philippines.These mendicant missionary orders were the main and cheap support ofSpanish domination in the mission lands. They were the anachronisticguardians of the old moral order in a century of materialism which finallywould destroy their good name through skillful use of licit and illicitpropaganda, as well as political subversion. Once this bastion of spiritual andmoral prestige was breached, the Philippines could be kept only through theuse of force. But Spain did not have sufficient economic power to retain thePhilippines this way, above all if she was challenged by another nation.42