Royal ordinances formulated by the superior government and royal
assembly of these islands, February 26, 1768, for the proper direction
of the governors, corregidors, and alcaldes-mayor of their provinces,
relief of the natives, and observance of the laws; ordered to be
observed and complied with, by royal act of the same date. Ordered
to be printed and distributed by his Excellency Don Rafael María de
Aguilar, governor-president and captain-general of the islands by
the authoritative decree with which they begin. [118]
[Under date of Manila, September 11, 1801, Governor Aguilar orders
the printing of one hundred copies of the ordinances formulated
February 26, 1768, and the distribution thereof to the alcaldes-mayor,
corregidors, and governors of the provinces. [119] By royal decree of
January 17, 1797, an order was given for the revision, correction,
and modification of those ordinances; but it has not been done, and
only one copy of them is known to exist, and that is not attested. The
ordinances are to be registered in the proper places. Copies are to
be sent to the bishops and provincials of the orders, so that they
may urge the obedience of the ordinances. Each alcalde-mayor is to
pay the cost of the printing of the copy sent him. This decree is to
precede the printed ordinances. [120]]
[Raón revises the ordinances of Governor Pedro Manuel de Arandía,
[121] in consequence of royal decrees of December 4 and 23, 1760,
ordering ordinances for the direction of the alcaldes-mayor. The
ordinances follow, mainly in synopsis.]
1. [Alcaldes-mayor and other justices are to receive their titles
in the usual form, after giving bonds and taking the necessary oath
to perform their duties lawfully, to administer justice without
self-interest, and impartially, not to take excessive fees or accept
bribes, to observe these ordinances and those of the Recopilación,
and to promote the welfare of the provinces.]
2. [Since the conduct of the superiors furnishes an example to
inferiors, alcaldes-mayor and other judicial officers must furnish
a good example to the natives, by carefully observing the laws and
rites of religion, and by showing the due respect and veneration
to all ecclesiastics. Those of evil disposition shall be rigorously
punished in accordance with their offenses.]
3. [Under no consideration shall the Indians be ill-treated by the
judicial officials or anyone else, and the laws of título x, book vi,
of the Recopilación shall be strictly observed. If the alcaldes-mayor
are unable to prevent ill-treatment of the Indians, they shall report
the same to the superior government, according to law lxxxiii, título
xv, book ii, and law iii, título x, book vi; or to the fiscal of the
Audiencia, according to law vi, título xviii, book ii.]
4. [The alcaldes, encomenderos, or any other person, shall not collect
gold or money, or accept a loan, or present, from the Indians, or
collect more than the just amount from them (law xiv, título xxix,
book ii, and laws xlviii, xlix, título v, book vi). Personal services
must be paid, as well as the food purchased from them, at the prices
of the tariff. If the Indians are forced to buy the products that
they sell, they shall buy them at suitable prices.]
5. [The tribute shall be collected only when due, and to the proper
amount, both in kind and in money, according to the instructions given
out by the royal accountancy. Especial care shall be taken in the
examination of the lists and ages of the Indians (law xxiii, título
v, book vi), in order that unlawful exemptions from the tribute may
not occur, thus wronging the royal treasury. Offenses either against
Indians or the royal treasury shall incur a fine of four times the
amount, besides a special fine of 200 pesos.]
6. [Exemptions from polos are more common than from tribute. With
good reason some have been conceded to villages which have churches to
build or to some private persons for distinguished services especially
in times of war. [122] All such concessions must be examined by the
alcaldes-mayor, in order to ascertain whether they are to the prejudice
of the rest of the people, and to inform the superior government
thereof. No further exemptions must be granted under penalty of
a fine four times the amount of the exemption--except to cantors,
sacristans, and porters; to governors, lieutenants, and officers of
justice, during their term of office; and to cabezas de barangay,
their wives, and eldest sons, and all others exempted by the superior
government since 1764. All others conceded before that date shall be
revoked until confirmed by the government. Exemptions in the provinces
of Cavite, Tondo, Laguna, Bulacan, Pampanga, and Bataan, shall be
conceded directly by the superior government; in all other provinces
through the alcalde-mayor. The Indian claiming exemption from any
payment must present himself with his proofs before the alcalde-mayor.]
7. [Collection of tribute in kind is often severe upon the Indians,
because of epidemics (law xiv, título v, book vi), locusts, failure of
crops, and other misfortunes. At such times it is quite proper that
the Indians be not molested for what they do not possess (law xxii,
título v, book vi). However, since the Indians often sham, when it is
to their advantage to sell their crops, the alcalde-mayor shall see to
it that neither the Indians nor the royal treasure suffer unjustly. If
it is necessary to collect in money what ought to be collected in kind,
an additional charge of five per cent must be made, in order to cover
the increased cost to the government of the products elsewhere for the
storehouses, and in order that the Indians may not avail themselves
unjustly of excuses from paying in kind when that is to their advantage
(law lxv, título v, book vi; law xvi, título ix, book viii).]
8. [This is similar to old ordinance 20 (q.v., ante, pp. 204, 205). To
it is added that the alcaldes shall send to each village an account,
authorized by the provincial notary, of the distribution of the
purchase or bandala so that this may be presented at the residencia,
and compared by the judges with the orders given for that purpose,
in order to ascertain whether the two tally, and whether there is
any excess.]
9. [Whenever it becomes necessary to purchase more products than the
amounts regularly fixed, orders to that effect must be issued by the
superior government. Extraordinary purchases thus made shall be paid
for at the prices current in that particular province where they are
bought, and not at the regular price established for royal purchases.]
10. [By law xliv, título v, book vi of the Recopilación, and by
ordinance 30 (q.v., ante, p. 210) of the old ordinances, it was
ordered that the Indians were to pay the tribute in their own villages,
while the cost of transportation to the chief cities of the provinces
was to be met by the royal treasury. But the above law treats of
tributes in general, and hence includes those of private encomiendas,
and is contrary to the laws regarding the royal tributes, namely,
law x, título ix, book viii, and law lxiii, título v, book vi. These
laws declare that tributes shall be paid in the chief cities of the
provinces, or if paid elsewhere, cost of transportation shall he paid
by the Indians, and not by the royal treasury. This ordinance therefore
amends old ordinance 30, which will prevent the frauds committed
by the alcaldes under the name of transportation expenses. Besides,
this expense, being so moderate, will not be hard on the Indians.]
11. [This ordinance was intended for the simplification of the accounts
of the alcaldes-mayor, and for the prevention of frauds to the royal
treasury. By entering in the accounts the amount of the tribute in
both money and kind (it being paid in both), there was a confusion of
accounts, many back accounts, and frauds through the loss of vessels
or pretended fires, etc. The alcaldes-mayor are ordered to compute
all the accounts in money, although the tribute shall be collected
as heretofore. No certification that the collections have not been
made will be received, as such documents are very suspicious. When
alcaldes-mayor take office, they shall sign a contract to send in
their accounts, and to store in the magazines the amount of the
products necessary for the royal service, the value of which shall
be reported in money. The rations that are given to the troops or
crews of vessels in the various provinces shall be computed also in
money, at the price established in each province. This regulation,
in accord with the tenor of ordinances 4 and 5 formulated by Arandia,
shall be enforced on the appointment of the new alcaldes-mayor to
the various provinces.]
12. [The factor of the royal treasury shall make a chart of the
products of each province which are needed for the annual provision
of the royal magazines, and of the prices in each province, according
to the appraisals of the tribute and of the freight that must be paid
for transportation, in order to avoid confusion and doubt regarding
the same. The freight is charged according to the distances and the
risk in transportation. The chart shall also give the amount of the
stipend for each province that is paid in kind, computed in money,
as well as the prices for the food furnished to the royal vessels,
and the rations for the troops. The alcaldes are to take receipts for
all that they shall deliver, and place the same in their accounts in
money value according to the chart.]
13. [Since the products of the royal bandala or purchase are to be
brought to the royal magazines, another chart, expressing the prices
paid in such purchases, transportation charges between villages, and
sea freights to the royal magazines, shall be made for each province,
in order to avoid fraud and confusion.]
14. The pay of their stipends to the curas and ministers of the
missions, as well as the [payment for the] other ordinary expenses of
each province, shall be made by the alcaldes-mayor, according to the
instructions of the royal officials, and the orders of the superior
government, and they shall be bound literally by those orders.
15. [The payment of the stipends of the curas and missionaries in
money and not in kind is advised, in order to avoid all contentions
such as are wont to occur between them and the alcaldes-mayor. The
former always collect in the method most convenient to themselves,
which is often to the prejudice of the royal treasury. Since there is
no longer a reason, as at the beginning, for paying the stipends in
both money and kind, law xxvi, título xiii, book i, of the Recopilación
ought to be observed, according to which the stipend should be paid in
money. The practice of paying the stipends in the villages hitherto
practiced, and not compelling the curas and missionaries to have
recourse to the royal treasury (according to law xix, of the above
título and book), should be continued.]
16. [The alcaldes-mayor shall send annual reports to the superior
government whether the sacrament has been administered in their houses
to sick Indians, whether this has been neglected by any curas and
missionaries, or whether the latter have caused the sick to go to the
churches to receive it. If they have been thus remiss, the stipends
shall not be given them, and if paid them by the alcaldes-mayor shall
not be credited to them (which is in accordance with law xxvi, título
xiii, book i, of the Recopilación, and the royal decree of June 11,
1704, which is, however, not to be observed in general).]
17. [The Indians are to have the administration, teaching, and
instruction necessary, but are not to be molested and vexed unjustly
by the curas and missionaries (see Recopilación, título xiii, book
i). They must not be assessed anything, or such assessment shall be
discounted from the stipends of the curas and missionaries.]
18. [In view of the poverty of the royal treasury, and the opulence
of the curas and missionaries, who receive excessive stipends--since,
although a village may have but one parish priest, he may collect
two, three, four, or more stipends, according to the number of
tributes--it is ordered that but one stipend be paid in each village,
notwithstanding its size (in the same manner as if it had only five
hundred tributes): The money saved thereby shall be paid out to the
benefit of the public cause.]
19. [Law i, título iv, book vi, of the Recopilación, recommends that
the communal fund of the native villages be an object of especial
attention, and that one real from each whole tribute be paid into
it. The collection for this is to be made by the alcaldes-mayor under
bond, and they must report and send amounts to the royal treasury,
distinctly stating the amount belonging to each village. The royal
officials are to enter this account under separate headings, as
provided by laws ix and xi of the above título; and this fund must be
reserved for the purposes expressly stated by the superior government.]
20. [When the amount of the communal funds has reached a sufficient
figure, one of the auditors especially appointed by the superior
government shall with the fiscal and royal officials purchase annuities
or invest the money in sea or land enterprises. The gain therefrom
shall be applied to the maintenance of seminaries for Indians of
both sexes, "which ought to be established in each province for the
education and secular and Christian instruction of their natives,
as the only means by which they can be instructed perfectly in the
mysteries of our holy faith, and so that they may be good Christians
and better vassals." This is according to laws xvii-xix, título iii,
book i, of the Recopilación.]
21. [Neither the alcaldes-mayor nor any other person may, without
special government permission, spend anything from the communal funds,
outside of the common obligations of each village--namely, expenses for
cantors, sacristans, and the porter of the churches; the schoolmaster;
the election fees of the gobernadorcillos, and their salaries; and
the three per cent paid for the collections of the communal funds.]
22. [Each village shall have a chart showing the condition of its
communal funds. This shall show receipts and the fixed expenses as
above outlined.]
23. [Each alcalde shall leave his successor a record of said chart,
taking a receipt for the same in order to present it to the royal
accountancy. This shall be compared later by the royal officials with
the accounts as handed in by his successor.]
24. [Villages of more than 500 tributes shall have eight cantors,
two sacristans, and one porter, each of whom shall be paid from
the communal funds the customary amount of rice annually, namely,
4 fanégas of palay of 48 gantas. Villages of 400 tributes shall have
six cantors; 300, five; 200, four; and no village shall have less
than the last figure. All churches having a cura or missionary shall
have two sacristans and one porter. There has been much abuse in this
matter, and the alcaldes-mayor are cautioned to have especial care
in enforcing this ordinance, under penalty of a fine of 200 pesos.]
25. [It is important that each village have good teachers to instruct
the Indians in the Spanish language; but the monthly salary granted to
teachers by the communal fund, namely, one peso and one cavan of rice,
is very little. Consequently, the alcaldes, with the aid of the curas
and missionaries, are ordered to regulate the salaries in proportion
to the tributes, reporting the same to the superior government and
the royal accountancy, so that better teachers may be secured and law
xviii, título i, book vi, of the Recopilación, may be better realized.]
26. [The law enacted by Governor Arandía, arranging for the expenses
of media-anata and title of certain poor and old notables to be taken
from the communal funds of the villages, in order that such men might
serve as gobernadorcillos and the villages not be deprived of their
services, is to be observed, the only condition being that the poverty
must be very great, and such men very useful to the community.]
27. [No Indian tanores shall be set aside for the service of the
curas, missionaries, alcaldes-mayor, or any other person, except those
mentioned in ordinance 24. Those serving as cooks and servants shall
not be exempt from tribute, polos, or personal services; nor shall
they serve against their will. They shall receive the pay fixed by
law, and accustomed to be paid to private individuals, according to
law lxxxi, título xiv, book i, of the Recopilación.]
28. [If the curas and missionaries need rowers for the administration
of the sacraments, and the alcaldes-mayor, for matters of the royal
service, they shall not pay the Indians for such service, and shall
allot said rowers by polos. Otherwise, each rower shall be paid
one-half real per day and his food between Manila and Mariveles;
beyond, the pay shall be regulated according to the tariffs of the
various provinces.]
29. [Eight baguntaos shall be chosen in each large village each week
to accompany the most holy sacrament, when it is taken to the houses
of the sick, and to aid in the mass, and other matters of the divine
service. Villages of five hundred tributes shall have six baguntaos,
and smaller ones, four. They shall receive no pay, but shall not
be employed in other matters, unless they are paid therefor, under
penalty of deprivation of office to the gobernadorcillo or judicial
official who permits it; and the alcalde-mayor who is aware of this
and does not remedy it, shall pay the amount due such Indians, and
a fine four times as great.]
30. [Girls and women must not be employed in the missions in
pounding rice among the men; neither shall they be employed to
sweep the cemeteries of the churches, or the houses of the curas and
missionaries; for this results often in great sin, and is contrary
to the laws of the kingdom, especially law xi, título xiii, book i,
of the Recopilación. Alcaldes-mayor shall not permit this under a
charge of the same in their residencia, and a fine of 500 pesos, in
accordance with the ordinance of November 23, 1757, which was enacted
because of the many complaints. Those suitable for such duties are
the old and crippled who have been exempted from tribute, and the
schoolboys (of whom the curas may make use freely so long as they are
schoolboys, but no longer.) Alcaldes-mayor shall not employ women;
and gobernadorcillos shall not make use of the services of schoolboys
to the detriment of their instruction.]
31. [The Indians shall not be required to supply the curas,
missionaries, or alcaldes with fish. If the latter permit this, they
shall have to pay for the fish at a just price, and a sum four times
as great as a fine, and shall be deprived of office perpetually,
as transgressors of law xii, título xiii, book i, and law xxvi,
título ii, book v, of the Recopilación.]
32. [In order that curas and missionaries may not be compelled to go
without cooks and necessary servants because the Indians are unwilling
to serve them, the gobernadorcillos of the villages shall furnish men
for such service (not to exceed four in the large villages). From
the stipend of the curas and missionaries, they shall be paid one
real per week, and be given their food. In villages too small to
warrant this expense on the part of the ecclesiastics, the village
shall maintain the servants, and they shall not become an expense on
the royal treasury.]
33. [Similar to ordinance 22 (q.v., ante, p. 206). This ordinance adds
that deprivation of office shall be the penalty to the secular person
violating its orders, while the ecclesiastical person who violates
it shall be proceeded against according to law.]
34. [Similar to ordinance 9 (q.v., ante, pp. 197, 198). The prices
in Tondo and the coast of Manila are as follows: "one hen, one and
one-half reals; one dumalaga, three cuartillos; and one chick, four
granos." This ordinance is in accordance with law i, título xvii,
book iv.]
35. [This ordinance cites and reiterates ordinance 42 of the old
regulations (q.v., ante, p. 219), and is in accordance with law xliii,
título vii, book i of the Recopilación.]
36. [Alcaldes-mayor and census-takers shall not exact the two reals
from the natives which they are accustomed to take as a fee for
enumerating them, under penalty of a fine of 500 pesos, and a sum
four times as great as that they shall be proved to have taken. This
ordinance shall be a special charge in the residencia.]
37. [Alcaldes-mayor shall be governed by law xxix, título viii,
book v, of the Recopilación in regard to fees for suits and other
matters. The government secretary shall send a list of all fees that
may be received to all the provinces, which shall be translated into
the native languages and published by proclamation, and posted in the
court, so that the Indians may know their rights and make the proper
complaint at the time of the residencia. The employees of the royal
treasury are liable for the fees which they also exact unlawfully,
and which they are accustomed to take from the cabezas de barangay
and the other natives.]
38. [Similar to ordinance 8, of the old ordinances (q.v., ante,
pp. 196, 197).]
39. [Similar to ordinance 24, of the old ordinances (q.v., ante,
pp. 206, 207). This ordinance in its several parts is in accordance
with laws ii and xxi, título vi, book vii, of the Recopilación.]
40. [This ordinance forbids alcaldes, justices, gobernadorcillos,
and officials of the villages to impose any tax on the Indians. It is
similar to ordinance 5 of the old ordinances (q.v., ante, p. 195), and
is in accordance with law vi, título xv, book iv of the Recopilación.]
41. [No tax shall be imposed on the Indians such as has been the
custom, for taking clay from any common place with which to make
vessels, or for the manufacture of salt, or an annual payment for
each beast or tree that they own, or other unjust impositions. The
alcaldes-mayor shall report all such exactions.]
42. [Similar to ordinance 11 of the old ordinances (q.v., ante,
p. 198), which is in accordance with law xxii, título xiv, book i,
law xi, título xvi, of the same book, and law xxxvi, título iii,
book iii, of the Recopilación.]
43. [Similar to ordinance 14 of the old ordinances (q.v., ante,
p. 199).]
44. [Because of the great losses resulting from loans to the Indians,
all loans in excess of five pesos are prohibited. The Indians,
through their great carelessness, and indolence, are prone to seek
loans, esteeming the present moment only, and being unmindful of the
future. In return for the loan, it is customary for the Indian to
give his land in pledge, and the creditor enjoys the usufruct thereof
until payment of the sum borrowed is made. This is usury and a virtual
signing away of the land, for the payment is seldom made, and hence,
the land is lost permanently. Such contracts are declared null and
void, and those making them shall lose the amount of the loan, and
be fined a sum four times as great. It is forbidden to the Indians to
sell their land by law xxvii, título i, book vi of the Recopilación.]
45. [It is against law to have Indian slaves, and any so-called
by usage shall be set at liberty. The alcaldes-mayor shall send
transgressors with the records of their cases to the royal Audiencia.]
46. [This ordinance cites ordinance 41 of the old ordinances (q.v.,
ante, pp. 217, 218). Since the method there outlined of collecting the
three reals for the religious festivities, works prejudice, because
the Indians generally believe that the holy sacrament of penitence
is to be bought--as, under the system of collection by the priests,
confession is often denied until payment is made--it is decreed that
collection in the future shall be made by the alcaldes-mayor. The
proceeds shall be deposited in a chest with three keys, one to be
in possession of the father, another in that of the alcalde-mayor,
and the third in that of the gobernadorcillo. It is quite proper that
this tax be made, and that the royal treasury be exempt from payment
of these church festivals, expenses which are increasing daily. This
will result in good to the Indians morally and religiously, and to
the royal treasury.]
47. [This ordinance merely reiterates the orders of old ordinance 31
(q.v., ante, pp. 210, 211).]
48. [Inquiry shall be made as to whether any Bilitaos and Casonos are
exempt from the tribute, personal services, and other contributions
of the Indians; and, if so, they shall be made to render them,
and the alcaldes-mayor allowing such shall be punished. To make
that investigation, and the investigation of idolatry, maganitos
[i.e., idolatrous feasts], and other sins, several Indians of good
life shall be secretly appointed by the alcaldes-mayor. With the
approval of the curas and missionaries, Indians guilty of sins shall
be severely punished.]
49. [Ordinance 43 of the old ordinances (q.v., ante, p. 219), is
reënforced. In addition, it is ordered that alcaldes-mayor shall not
allow public houses for gambling in their jurisdiction; for the unjust
tolerance of games of chance, which are forbidden by the laws, works
injury to the Indians, spiritually and materially. This prohibition
shall be published by proclamation, with its penalty, namely, fifty
lashes to the Indian timaua for the first violation, and a month's
imprisonment to the chief, and loss of the sum at play; for the second
and third offense, the penalty shall be increased. This shall be
made a charge in the residencia of the alcaldes-mayor and ministers
of justice. The cooperation of the father ministers in communicating
notices to the alcaldes-mayor of those who engage in gaming is asked.]
50. [The terms of old ordinance 40 (q.v., ante, pp. 216, 217), are
reiterated briefly, and, if they are not observed in the future by
alcaldes-mayor and other ministers of justice (for they have not been
observed in the past), each violation will carry with it a fine of 100
pesos, while the violation shall be made a charge in the residencia,
and inability to secure other posts in the provinces.]
51. [The orders of old ordinance 44 (q.v., ante, pp. 219, 220)
are briefly restated, and the penalties extended specifically to
corregidors and justices who fail in the observation of the royal
decrees of that ordinance. Proclamations are to be made in the
jurisdictions where brandy is manufactured, and after three days,
transgressors are to be proceeded against and the penalties for
violation of the ordinance to be enforced. Manufacturers, sellers,
and owners of the instruments used in the manufacture of brandy
shall receive two hundred lashes and be thrust into the galleys for
five years; for the second offense, they shall serve ten years; and
for the third, another ten, and when that time is up, they shall
not leave until they receive the express consent of the superior
government. Their goods shall also be confiscated. [123]]
52. [Under no consideration shall more than the two gantas of unhulled
rice be collected in Zamboanga, [124] under penalty of paying a fine
four times as large.]
53. [The territory of native reductions and villages is declared
communal, and at the time of the erection of any village, lands must
be apportioned to the Indians, according to law viii, título iii, book
vi of the Recopilación. No land-tax or rent is to be paid for such
land, it being the royal will (law xliv, título xii, book iv) that
the Indians have lands allotted to them for planting and working, as
ordered in laws xxi and xxiii, título i, book vi, and law xiv, título
xii, book iv. [125] These lands may not be sold without permission,
some advantage gained thereby, and the intervention of the royal
fiscal, as prescribed in law xxvii, título i, book vi, law xxxvi,
título xviii, book ii, and law xvi, título xii, book iv. If claim
is made to the lands by any Spaniard or mestizo, or any secular
or ecclesiastical community, they shall prove their claims in a
short limit of time before the alcaldes-mayor, who shall forward the
records to the royal Audiencia for its decision. If their titles are
not presented within that limit, the Audiencia shall also judge the
legitimacy of the claim. It has always been the royal purpose that
lands shall not be sold or apportioned to the injury of the Indians
and their reductions; and it is prescribed by laws vii, ix, xvii,
and xviii, título xii, book iv, that lands given to the injury of
the Indians shall be restored to their owners. Lands belonging to
Indians who die without heirs revert by law xxx, título i, book vi,
to the king; and it is prohibited by law x, título xii, book iv, that
lands allotted to explorers or settlers be sold to ecclesiastical
communities or persons, under penalty of being confiscated and
allotted to others. This ordinance is to be observed by alcaldes and
ministers of justice under severe penalties, and it is to be published
by proclamation in the villages, for it is of great importance to
the state that all the Indians have the necessary lands. Individual
mention is to be made of those villages that do not have such lands
and the government will provide them so far as possible, giving the
lands to those who possess them with just title. In addition to the
lands which the Indians ought to have in their private capacity, each
village ought to possess communal lands which are to be cultivated for
the common benefit, and the products of which are to be incorporated
in the communal fund--from which roads can be repaired, highways
and bridges built, the royal buildings repaired, and other necessary
works carried on without any burden to the Indians.]
54. [Indians employed on any of the public works shall labor only
from the rising to the setting sun, with one and one-half or two
hours for rest at midday. The rest of the time they must be made to
work diligently. If any pressing necessity requires, however, such
as the making of rigging, or other things for the royal service,
alcaldes-mayor are empowered to lengthen the hours of labor, making
the work as easy as possible for the Indians, and increasing the pay
proportionally with the hours. Likewise, if the hours are diminished,
the pay shall be proportionally diminished.]
55. [Much trouble is caused by the actions of various officials in
regard to the allotment of Indians for the cutting of timber and
other royal services, because they accept a money payment of five
pesos, three reals from many who are thereby excused from taking
part therein--a sum which is kept by the said officials. Besides,
they collect from the royal treasury the amount of the rations that
the total number of Indians would use. In order to stop this practice,
it is commanded that all the Indians allotted to any royal service,
or their substitutes, take part in it. This is the only way in which
to prevent the frauds practiced by the cabezas de barangay and the
foremen of the cutting gangs. Alcaldes, justices, and officials of
the villages are to obey this ordinance strictly, under penalty of
deprivation of office, a fine four times as great as the amount
of the loss occasioned by them, and a further fine of 500 pesos,
imposed on the alcaldes. The latter shall get a statement from the
father chaplain and the foreman of the cutting gang, of the number
of Indians of his province who take part in the cutting, and shall
report the same to the superior government]
56. [The Indians are prohibited from wearing gold and silver ornaments
on their clothes, unless the gold and silver is wrought by a goldsmith
or by a silversmith, under the penalty that the Indian timaua wearing
such shall be punished with fifty stripes, and confiscation of the
clothes so ornamented; while the chief shall be imprisoned for one
month, and his clothes so adorned shall be confiscated. The second
offense shall be double this, besides some money fine.]
57. [Similar to old ordinance 10 (q.v., ante, p. 198). Stress is
laid on the rivers coming to Manila from the provinces of Laguna,
Pampanga, and Bulacan.]