Sire:
Last year, sixteen hundred and five, during which I began to serve
your Majesty as fiscal of this Audiencia, and as protector of the
natives [27] of these islands by appointment of the Audiencia, I sent
a statement of everything of importance which within the short time of
my service I was able to discover. Since that time I have considered
with care and attention the things of greatest consequence to your
royal service, and have found that I ought to give your Majesty an
account and statement of the condition in which I found affairs,
and that in which they are at present.
I reported to your Majesty the uprising of the Sangleys in the year
sixteen hundred and three, leaving military matters to the official
reports which I knew were sent. I reported to your Majesty that it
was well to consider with care what was necessary to be done for the
good government and protection of this kingdom. Afterward I saw that,
just as if the said uprising had not occurred, permission for Sangleys
to remain in this city continued to be given. They were allowed to
have habitations, dwellings, and shops--a permission which has caused
much comment and discussion. The reason is that the Audiencia took
upon itself the administration of this matter, assigning it year by
year in turn to each auditor. With the course of time the permission
has been extended, not by the will of the auditor alone, but by the
decree and direction of the Audiencia itself. The Audiencia granted
of its own free will and pleasure, without the assent of the city
and its cabildo, permission to the Sangleys to remain. The city and
cabildo remonstrated, but the Audiencia granted licenses to as many
as it pleased. In the year sixteen hundred and four, there were 457;
and in the year sixteen hundred and five they had increased to 1,648,
as is shown by the official statement which I enclose. From this
it will be seen that during this said year of sixteen hundred and
five there came from China 3,977, and that 3,687 returned; so that
290 remained here, making with those of the previous year a total
of 747. There actually remained 1,648; hence it is evident that,
besides those who were registered, 901 came here. This has been done
by granting licenses to many to live and make their abode outside
of the city, among the mountains and in other places, where they
easily receive those who disembark before the vessel has come here,
or after the ships have set out on their return voyage.
In view of this disadvantage I petitioned the Audiencia that no Sangley
may have permission to be absent at any time, especially when the ships
are arriving or setting out. Although this demand was so just, they
did not take action as I requested; and affairs remain as they were
before. Inasmuch as the despatch of the vessels is not yet completed,
I do not now make a statement of the evil results which I expect to
follow, until I am able to state them with accuracy. All this results
from a failure to observe the ordinance of the Audiencia with regard to
the number which each ship may carry; for, although the number allowed
was limited to two hundred in the largest vessel, one ship of no great
size has brought about five hundred, so that this year six thousand
five hundred and thirty-three Sangleys have arrived, of which I send
a sworn statement. These, added to the almost two thousand of the
previous year who remained, make up a great number. This is within
two years and a half after so dangerous an uprising, and it promises
more danger to follow. Therefore, in order to set this matter right,
I reported that since this city and commonwealth could not allow and
did not desire the Sangleys to remain, and had remonstrated against
it (although it would be for their service) I therefore demanded,
since this was necessary for the safety of the kingdom, that not one
Sangley should [be allowed to] remain in these islands. I also asked
that the number of ships to come from China each year and the number
of men to be carried in them might be definitely stated, this number
being made as small as possible, and severe penalties being assigned to
anyone who should violate the rules. Although the community requested
that what I asked for might be conceded, and the city confirmed what
it had previously said (of which an account has already been given to
your Majesty), the Audiencia has commanded that this year one thousand
five hundred Sangleys shall remain. I fear that many more will stay,
since they are scattered in the provinces, in the rural districts, and
among the surrounding mountains, from which they could be brought out
only with difficulty. The reason for so many Sangleys being brought
in the ships every year is, that the penalties are so light and the
execution of them is so relaxed. As it is to the advantage of the
owners of the ships to get large returns from their vessels, they
are not troubled at being obliged to pay the small fine levied on
them by the city. In spite of the fact that the city declares that
it does not wish Sangleys to remain, they have built many shops on
the site of their old residence, named Parián, as will appear from
the official statement which I send; and in every one of these live
three of four persons, and in some are many. I opposed the building
of these shops and caused it to cease, because if they were not under
restriction the Parián would become very large. It is now as large
as before the uprising. This evil result follows from the fact that
your Majesty granted the city the income received from these shops;
and many ducados are received for them, as is manifest in the said
official statements. To remedy this wrong, it is desirable that your
Majesty command the number of shops to be definitely limited, and
direct that in one shop one man only may live, who shall have some
known occupation and be a Christian. It would be well also to limit
the number of ships which may come and the number of persons that they
may carry, commanding that when the number is full no more shall be
received into the port, and that no vessel shall be admitted which
carries more than the appointed number. It would be well to provide
also that if the city exceed these limits, in the number and kind of
the shops, the grant allowed for the same be revoked.
When I entered upon the functions of this office, I discovered a
serious irregularity in the succession to encomiendas of Indians. Your
Majesty commanded that such encomiendas should descend from father
to son or daughter, and, in default of children, to the wife of the
encomendero, definitely stating that the succession should come to an
end there. Yet without attracting the attention of anyone, important
as the matter is, the wife has succeeded to her deceased husband,
and then after she has married a second time and has then died, the
second husband has succeeded the wife, and so on _ad infinitum_. Thus
it has come about that nearly all the encomiendas are far from their
original assignment, the majority being in the hands of undeserving
persons. The result is that it is a marvel if an encomienda is ever
vacant; for none has been regarded as vacant unless the possessor
has died without being married or without issue. Since this wrong
is universal, and is of great importance--affecting, as it does, the
common interests of all the islands--I have deemed it proper to advise
your Majesty of it, in order that you may ordain that which shall be
most to your Majesty's service. This may be carried out by commands
given by your Majesty to the governor to declare all encomiendas vacant
in which the rule of succession shall have been transgressed. Then
since some of them are in the hands of deserving persons, in spite
of the improper way in which they have been obtained, they may be
regranted; while many others will remain unassigned and open for
granting to soldiers who have served, but who remain in poverty
and almost in despair of ever receiving a reward. The only reward
in these islands is the encomiendas; and, as they are perpetuated
in the way described, one is never vacated except in very unusual
circumstances--unusual, that is, for this country. Here, for a woman
to be of advanced age is not enough to prevent her marriage, so much
is the succession to her encomienda coveted. The reason for failing
to institute proceedings against all these people is, that they are
in possession; and if proceedings follow the law of Malinas the cases
can take no less time than would be consumed if your Majesty were to
command them to be declared vacant, as I suggest. As for those which
have been vacated during my term of office, I have begun to put a
stop to this improper custom, and shall continue to do so until I am
informed of your Majesty's commands. It is desirable that these be
sent very promptly and clearly, since correction of this evil will
be rendered very difficult if there is any uncertainty.
The same illegality occurs in another way: an encomendero dies, and
is succeeded by his wife; if she marries and has children, these
have succeeded her, and even, when they are married, their wives
or husbands succeed them. This is contrary to the statute that the
succession shall end with the wife of the first encomendero. For all
this your Majesty will make suitable provision.
By a section in a letter from your Majesty to Don Pedro de Acuña,
late governor of these islands, your Majesty commands that the wine
for celebrating mass which was provided to religious in charge of the
instruction of Indians on private encomiendas shall not be given by
the royal exchequer. This decree has caused resentment on the part
of those concerned. They instituted legal proceedings against the
execution of the command, claiming that the previous usage should
prevail, and affirming that the wine is thus furnished in Mexico
and Piru. I presented decrees showing that this is a grant made by
your Majesty to the religious of those provinces for a limited time;
and the Audiencia, on appeal, directed your Majesty's commands to
be executed. The encomenderos declare that your Majesty should meet
this expense, and are sending documents on the subject. I give this
information in order that your Majesty may be assured that this is
entirely an act of bounty on your Majesty's part, and that your Majesty
has many obligations and expenses on these islands, which must be met;
and that since your Majesty gives the wine on the royal encomiendas,
they can and should provide it on their own.
Your Majesty has commanded that no offices or places of profit
shall be given to those who hold Indians in encomienda. There are
some encomiendas so small that they are insufficient as a means of
support, and sometimes these are held by persons very well fitted
for such offices as are to be granted. It would be well if your
Majesty should command that which shall be most to your service on
this matter, that no doubt may exist. The fiscal my predecessor,
whenever offices were given to such encomenderos, was accustomed to
begin suit appealing from the governor's appointments; and he likewise
appealed and brought suit against some of those to whom the governors
made grants, on the ground that they were against decrees and the
instructions of the governor. This was a fruitful source of irritation,
the governors declaring that the offices are thus granted for the good
of your Majesty's service, although it appears that the appointees are
making gain of them. Since that which has occurred and that which may
occur is of moment, your Majesty will ordain according to your royal
pleasure, observing that the governors are subject to residencias,
and that it is difficult to bring a lawsuit with reference to every
one of their decisions made after this manner, or to undertake to
settle the question whether or no such decisions are proper.
This city of Manila is very near the villages of some Indians
who support themselves by agriculture. If there are any places
unoccupied they use them as sites for dwellings. They make use of
the grass to cover their houses and also to cover their fields,
for they always keep these covered thus during the time while the
crops begin to grow. These Indians have suffered great oppression,
for there have been established in the vicinity of this city more
than twenty-four cattle-farms. From very small beginnings they have
multiplied so greatly that in some there are more than four thousand
head, while all of them have more than a thousand. These cattle,
on account of their number, spread and wander out of bounds, and do
much damage. Finding this wrong in existence when I assumed office,
I began some suits to cause the cattle-farms to be abandoned. On one of
the farms, which belonged to Captain Pedro de Brito, near the villages
of Capa, Namayan, and Santana, the Audiencia on appeal decided that he
must keep his cattle within bounds; and that such cattle as might be
found straying might be killed by the Indians who found them in their
fields. Being a wretched race, they dare not do this, and suffer much
from this and other causes. There are some persons who charge Indians
with having wronged them, and who take the Indians into service that
they may work off the damage done. So far is this custom carried that
the service is converted into slavery. There is now a great abundance
of cattle outside of this district, and so many cattle-farms are not
needed. It would be well for your Majesty to command that all of them
within three leguas of towns and cultivated areas should be abandoned,
in order that this molestation may cease.
The province of Panpanga is twelve leguas hence. It is the most
fertile in all the islands, and the inhabitants have done more in
your service than have any others. It lies low and is bounded by
some mountains which slope down to it. The natives of the mountains
are called Zambales. They are a race that live like beasts, without
settled habitations; and they are so murderous that their delight is
cutting off heads. For this purpose they come down upon this province,
and, as its inhabitants are a race entirely devoted to agriculture,
they take them unawares, and have wrought and do work great outrages
upon them. The effort was made to put a garrison in their country,
and some Spanish troops were stationed there. Since the country is
rough and mountainous, it is impossible to march in it; and as there
is no certain day on which the attacks of the mountaineers can be
anticipated, it is impossible to prevent them. The Panpangans have
often asked for permission to destroy these others, by killing or
enslaving them; but no decision has been given them in all the years
during which the matter has been discussed. The remedy for the evil
is easy, for if they be given for a time as slaves to any man who can
capture them, this will encourage the making of inroads upon them. This
has not been done, because of your Majesty's commands not to enslave
any of the inhabitants of this archipelago and island. This would he a
temporary slavery, and by it much or all of this evil described would
be corrected; and the expense which it causes would be prevented. The
same thing happens in the mountains of Yllocos and in other regions,
for every day the mountaineers attack and murder members of the tribes
at peace--who, as they have no permission to kill them and no hope
of making use of them, permit them to return and harass them.
In this matter of slavery there has recently arisen anew a great
problem. This is that among these Indians there is a custom that while
[in Spanish law] the child follows the womb, among them it likewise
follows the father by half. Thus the son of a free mother and a slave
father was half slave, like the son of a slave mother and a free
father; so there were slaveries of the fourth and eighth part. The
former Audiencia, regarding this as absurd, commanded that the rule
should no longer be observed, and that the son of a free mother should
hereafter be free. This decision, being accepted without difficulty,
produced no opposition, and many were in the enjoyment of liberty who
had been married as freemen, and were such. But now, in a late case,
the Audiencia has decided that the old custom shall be observed. Hence
much disquietude has resulted; for, in addition to the infinite number
of suits as to freedom, there is now much trouble as to marriages. This
race is very fickle in that matter; and some who were married as
freemen are already talking of having their marriages annulled by
saying that they are slaves. Since in all these years there has been
no disturbance regarding this matter, I trust that your Majesty will
ordain that the disposition of the former Audiencia may stand.
On the death of Francisco Sarmiento, who held the office of government
secretary of these islands, and on the renunciation of it by Gaspar de
Azebo, who bought the office in the time of the former Audiencia, the
governor, Don Pedro de Acuña, granted the office to Antonio de Ordas,
who acted as his secretary. This was at a time when your treasury
was in very great need, and suffered most urgent demands upon it,
especially for the building of a ship to go to sea that year. The
governor planned to sell this office, and for that purpose the said
Antonio de Ordas surrendered it; but when they set about executing
the governor's purpose this city interposed with objections, and
presented a petition that it might not be sold but might be given
as a grant. The basis of their contention was that your Majesty had
commanded in one section of the instructions given to Gomez Perez as
to the sale of clerical offices that they should be thus managed,
and should be given as grants to the well-deserving. It was urged
that this should be understood of all such offices, not only of
government but of the court of the Audiencia. I opposed the city,
and found a special decree to the effect that these two offices should
be sold. This decree was issued in the time of the former Audiencia,
and in conformity with it this office was sold. Alleging that the
said Ordas, although he had already received that grant, renounced
it so that the office might be sold, and a way be found for meeting
urgent necessities, I succeeded in effecting the sale, which was made
for seventeen thousand pesos to Gaspar Albares, who paid down that
sum, with which many matters were attended to. It was distributed
in accordance with the decision of the Audiencia in meeting the most
important demands, and especially in paying for the building of the
said vessel, which would otherwise have been impossible. I also brought
forward the argument (which I refer to your Majesty) that an office
of such value is a very large grant in these islands; while those
who are entitled to receive favors--that is to say, soldiers--are not
fitted for such offices. I add that your Majesty is very poor here,
and needs to take advantage of all resources. Thus your Majesty will
command that which will be most to your service; for all these measures
have been taken on condition of receiving your Majesty's approval.
Among the irregularities which I discovered was the following. Although
your Majesty has commanded that clerical offices shall not be resigned
more than once, and that the resignations shall be confirmed within a
limited time, still, of four public notaryships which are in existence
here, three have been resigned three or four times, without receiving
any confirmation; but from the sales and resignations it has been
customary to place a third part in the royal treasury. I entered
an action to have them declared vacant; and after having carefully
considered the question, I found that if they were to be granted as
a royal bounty, and then were vacated, your treasury would be the
loser by being obliged to return the thirds which it had received. On
this basis, it is better that things should continue as they are. I
have arranged that if they should be vacated they may be sold; for
the demands upon the treasury are many. If this plan shall receive
your approbation I shall bring the cases to a conclusion; if not,
I shall suspend them until your Majesty gives such commands as are
most for the good of your service. When these notaryships have been
resigned they have brought eight hundred pesos, and latterly one
thousand two hundred. They are now worth more than three thousand,
so that with a single one it would be possible to pay everything due
for the thirds on all. This will remedy something of the much which
requires remedy. The same thing can be done with the clerkships of
registry, which will be worth more than eight thousand; and with
those of probate and of the estates of deceased persons, which will
be worth another good sum; and they have all been given for nothing.
It has been very unfortunate that the funds which your Majesty has
commanded and decreed to be set aside for special objects have been
employed for other purposes. This has been especially the case with
the fund for prebends and for the payment of troops, which should
be performed with the utmost regularity. I have done all I could
to put this in order; but since the current from the past was very
strong it was impossible to accomplish my purpose. The reason given
was that one fund ought to aid another. The evils resulting are
serious; for both ecclesiastics and soldiers perform their service,
and all they get is nothing but poverty. Hence they lament with reason
that their salaries are not paid to them. This is a reason that the
soldiers are wretched and poor, some of them going about begging for
alms. An attempt will be made to correct this when new officials of
your exchequer enter their offices; and more certainly your Majesty
will provide relief in this direction, so that the soldiers' pay may
not fall into arrears. If the Audiencia had not assumed authority to
set apart in the treasury the money which came [from Mexico] during
the preceding year, one thousand six hundred and five, for persons
who had died in previous years in the war with the Sangleys and in
other conflicts, to be used to pay the soldiers, it would have been
a very great misfortune. With this the matter was set right, and the
pay has been kept up; but your Majesty has been obliged to remain in
debt for the sum which was taken for this purpose.
The president and the auditors have likewise suffered in their
salaries, which are at the present time due them for more than a
year. Although for these salaries certain specified encomiendas had
been set apart, the returns from these have been mixed with other
funds. During the term of the former Audiencia, your Majesty commanded
that for this purpose certain encomiendas should be assigned to the
crown; but no more than six thousand pesos was thus realized. Since
the number of encomiendas above referred to will have to be vacated,
your Majesty can decree that some shall be set aside for this purpose;
then the treasury will be in a somewhat easier condition.
One of the most important institutions possessed by your Majesty in
these islands and in this city is the seminary of Santa Potençiana,
in which care is taken of orphaned and poor girls, the daughters of
conquistadors; there are in it more than a hundred. The seminary
prevents many evil results. The girls leave it, when entering the
married state, respected and instructed; and the seminary also serves
as a shelter for other women during the absence of their husbands,
and for many other good purposes. Your Majesty is its patron,
and hence, ought to remember it. During Easter week the house,
which was very well built, and roofed, was burned to the ground,
and its inmates were dispersed. Since it was under the patronage of
your Majesty, and on account of the good work that it was doing, the
archdeacon of this diocese and I determined to ask for subscriptions
in order to rebuild it. The city zealously entered into the work,
and we collected about two thousand five hundred pesos, with which
we immediately began to build the structure. God was pleased that
by the feast of Pentecost we were able to have the greater part of
the inmates sheltered, within narrow quarters but under a roof. The
work has been continued ever since, and I hope that soon it will be
established in its previous condition. Still the institution is very
poor, and is in great need. I trust that your Majesty will command
that some Indians be assigned it, or that some grant be made to it;
for great service is done to God by this institution, through its good
works and by preventing the evil which would result in the community
if its inmates were left without shelter.
This city was also in need of a hospital in which care might be
taken of Spanish women, of whom there are now many here. So great
was their need that some were cared for in a hospital maintained
by La Misericordia for the care of slaves. God aroused the zeal
of a conquistador of this country, by name Joan Ximenes del Pino;
and, encouraged by his own zeal, by suitable measures he bought a
building next to the royal hospital for the Spaniards, which could
be connected with the latter, and which he has given to the hospital
for this purpose, that women may be cared for in it. It cost him five
thousand pesos; and besides this he assumed the expense of putting it
into a proper state for this purpose, with which intent he placed in
my care a sum of money which is being spent. In view of the fact that
the expense is increasing, the said hospital will require some grant
of aid. I beg your Majesty to give it, for all these institutions
are under your protection.
The hospital of the Spaniards also suffers from inadequate service,
for lack of attendants; and it is necessary for your Majesty to provide
a remedy, which can best be done by sending for this purpose brethren
of St. John of God; [28] for although Franciscan friars live there
they attend only to the administration of the sacraments, and of
everything else there is a lack. [29]
Since men here are placed in danger they are continually giving
out, and when any of them die others take under their guardianship
the children of those who are left. Sometimes the guardians give
sufficient bonds, and sometimes not; but with the progress of time
these cases have grown steadily worse, and the poor minors lose their
estates. There are many thousands of ducados in the hands of guardians;
and although the alcaldes-in-ordinary have tried to make them render
accounts, no accounts have ever been finished during the three years
since they were begun, for they are all banded together. This is a
wretched state of affairs; hence, in order to correct this, it will be
well for your Majesty to give commands that the Audiencia shall take
charge of this matter. It should be committed to one auditor, for it
can be done in no other way. This community suffers from this evil.
The governor, Don Pedro de Acuña, being obliged to be absent from the
city on the expedition to Maluco, appointed as his lieutenant in the
governorship and in matters of war the licentiate Christoval Tellez
de Almaçan, second auditor of this Audiencia. As soon as the governor
left the city the licentiate Don Antonio de Ribera Maldonado asserted
that he, as the senior auditor, had the right to command in war and
the Audiencia to direct the government, in conformity with the decree
which declares that if the governor shall become unable to perform
the duties of his office, the Audiencia shall govern, and the senior
auditor shall perform the functions of captain-general. With regard to
this the Audiencia determined that the licentiate Don Antonio should
fill the office of captain-general, under certain limitations which
were set, while the governorship should remain as the governor Don
Pedro had left it. If it were necessary to carry out the decree, and
if the chief command in military affairs should have to be given to
the senior auditor, it ought not to be with limitations. Likewise the
Audiencia should assume the functions of the governor. Accordingly,
I give a statement of that which has happened, as I am looking to
the future. An explanation of the said decree is needed to determine
whether, when the governor is absent from the city without leaving
the jurisdiction, he shall have authority to appoint whomsoever he
chooses, or if the decree must necessarily be carried out. The decree
states that, in case the governor thus fails to act, it is necessary
to send a report of the facts to your Majesty, that you may take
suitable measures; and it seems to refer to the event of death. For
deciding this question, it must be considered that it might happen
that the abilities required for the conduct of military affairs would
be lacking in the senior auditor, while they might be found in the
one whom the governor should appoint. From this it will be clearly
seen that for the conduct of military affairs--especially in the
condition in which these islands and the new conquest of Maluco at
present are--it is undesirable not to be provided in this jurisdiction
with a person of much distinction and experience in the conduct of war.
Since your Majesty is at such a distance, and the remedy for
these difficulties must come so slowly, there is no one to correct
certain ecclesiastics. Their superiors sometimes pay very little
attention to the complaints made against them, and hence there
have existed and do exist serious acts of impropriety, especially
among the religious. Since there is no one who has authority to
investigate their cases or to write reports regarding these, matters
are in a most lamentable condition, and mainly to the injury of
the Indians. The religious make assessments on the natives under
the name of benefactions, and employ them at their will, without
limit. I have striven to find means to correct this, and have entered
suit against the agents whom they employ to carry out their plans;
these are called fiscals, and are cruel executors of the will of the
religious. I offered my plea, and accordingly the Audiencia decided
that none of them should have the right to hold Indians in service or
should collect any contributions; and a certain amount of abatement
of this unjust practice seems to have resulted. Those who are most
notorious in this matter, and who are worse than all the others,
are the members of the Order of St. Augustine. They are practically
incorrigible, on account of having as provincial Fray Lorenço de Leon,
a friar of much ambition and ostentation. He left these islands to ask
your Majesty for bounty, and now he is striving to go again, and for
that purpose has collected a large amount of money. He has even taken
the silver from some of the mission churches of his order; and when he
visited the province of Ylocos, he even carried away the monstrances
for the most holy sacrament from Ylaguan, Vantay, Candon, Tagudin,
and other places. It will be well for your Majesty to decree and grant
authority to the Audiencia, that it may cause official investigation
to be made into these matters and others which may arise, and that
it may proceed as do the viceroys of Piru and Mexico. For, so soon
as friars are interfered with in any respect, they begin to declare
that ecclesiastical censures have been incurred and disturbances are
raised, which give occasion for scandal to the common people. When
I saw this, I petitioned the said Audiencia for some correction of
the unlawful acts of the said provincial; and they directed that
the bishop of Nueva Segovia (who was present in this city) and the
vicar-general of this archbishopric should make an official report
in the matter. This they have done in a secret document, stating
the great transgressions of this friar. When I petitioned that some
decree should be passed in session of the Audiencia, it was decided
that a remedy should be provided; but I have not learned that anything
has been done. I inform your Majesty of this, that you may take such
measures as shall be necessary.
A great aid in making a beginning in correcting the unlawful
proceedings of these religious of the Augustinian order has been
the coming of the discalced friars of the order. They have been very
well received and several of the others have begun to join with them,
intending principally to escape the tyranny of their provincial. In
this way the others and he himself, will be corrected, when the good
result of their coming shall be evident in this effect, and in the
conversion of souls which your Majesty has so much at heart. I have
aided them in so far as to provide them with a house, where they
now are.
In the vicinity of this city, and within it, there are Indians without
number who have come from their native places to escape the labor of
tilling the soil and raising animals as they have been commanded. They
make their living by buying and selling provisions and other things,
to the great damage of this community. I have brought suit that
they may be compelled to return to their native places; and finally
they have been commanded to do so, a certain number of them being
retained for the service of each religious order; these are gathered
by the religious into villages. The execution of this decree is very
necessary, and your Majesty accordingly ordained it at the suit of this
city. Your Majesty will please command that this decree be enforced
without exception, especially by directing that these villages for the
service of the religious orders be broken up. Each order having been
allowed as many as thirty Indians, that number has greatly increased
by the protection given to them. The reason why they protect them is,
that the Indians serve them either for nothing or at less than the
ordinary rate of pay, and the sum allowed them for these Indians who
serve them is distributed among those who remain; but, in order to
get these servants cheaply, the religious contrive that there shall
be many of them. If those who are necessary are permitted to remain,
it is but just that the religious should pay them the regular rate.
Your Majesty has commanded that no one shall enjoy any positions
of profit in these islands without being resident here; and that
if encomenderos are absent they shall not receive the tributes. In
particular, your Majesty has decreed by your royal letters, at the suit
of this city, that the encomiendas of the mariscal Gabriel de Ribera,
who has long been absent, shall be vacated. The governor accordingly
vacated them, giving part of them to Don Jhoan Ronquillo, and placing
part of them under the administration of the royal treasury. After
this had been executed and settled, another royal letter arrived
in which your Majesty granted to the said mariscal the privilege of
receiving his tributes during his absence. When his attorney presented
this letter I opposed it, and declared that it had been obtained
by some improper statement, as I now allege, and as will appear by
the documents which I send. Nevertheless, they commanded that the
encomiendas in charge of the treasury should be returned to him,
bonds being taken; accordingly, they were given to his attorney,
because he himself did not come to demand the fulfilment [of the
Audiencia's decree]. With regard to this matter your Majesty will
take such measures as shall please you--considering that there are
many here who, although they have seen service, still suffer need;
and who are discontented that others should be rich and, even while
absent, enjoy what these men are protecting at so great risk.
The expedition against Mindanao having been arranged during the year
ninety-five with Captain Estevan Rrodriguez de Figueroa, who was
under obligations to carry it out, he began to do so, going thither
in his own person; but in the year ninety-six he died, at the first
assault. The army being unprovided with a commander, the governor of
these islands, Don Francisco Tello, selected one. For the continuation
of this expedition a very great expense was incurred by the command
of the said governor, with the assent and advice of Dr. Antonio de
Morga, his assessor and lieutenant. A suit from the heirs afterward
followed, on the ground that they were not obliged to continue the
expedition, and were not responsible for the expenses thereof. The
Audiencia, as a court of appeal, revoked the governor's command,
and declared the estate free from obligations. I appealed the case
to your Majesty, and sent the original documents. This I did, not
only that the principal case might be decided, but also because
the heirs claim that your Majesty should cause them to be paid for
the expenditure of their property. I offer the advice that even if
they were not obliged to carry out the conquest, your Majesty is not
their debtor, since you have commanded that such conquests are not
to be made on your account and at your cost. Hence these expenses are
owing by him who commanded them to be incurred. Since I have been in
your Majesty's service I have placed this matter in a clear light,
as was not previously the case. When claims were made for wages
and other expenses, the Audiencia commanded them to be paid from
the royal treasury; and thus many such payments have been made on
the account of those who really owed them. At the present time the
judges, being informed in regard to these claims, have decided that
they are not due from your Majesty. Accordingly your Majesty is not
only not obliged to pay them, but has a right to claim satisfaction,
for the expenditures from the royal treasury, from the property of
the governor Don Francisco; and, in case it is insufficient, from
the property of the assessor by whose advice they were incurred.
As to the provision of an incumbent for this office, it should be
noticed that most affairs in this country depend upon it--especially
the proper care of the Indians, which is most important; for with
this office is united that of being their protector. I have always
striven to attend to this matter carefully, as I have done in other
matters pertaining to your royal service. This I shall continue to do
in these islands until an appointment is made: and I petition your
Majesty to grant me, when that shall come, permission to leave this
kingdom, the governor that shall be in office making me a sufficient
allowance for my passage hence. God keep the Catholic personage of
your Majesty, with the increase of your realms. Manila, July, 1606.