The royal hospital for the Spaniards possesses about
one hundred taes of gold in the encomienda of Darandum
in Ylocos, which was assigned to the said hospital
by Doctor Sande. DC pesos
It possesses, further, six hundred pesos, which were
granted to it by the president from the encomienda
which fell vacant because of the death of Don Luis
de Sahajosa, in Ylocos. DC pesos
It possesses one thousand five hundred fanegas of rice,
and one thousand seven hundred fowls, assigned by
the president from the tributes of Caruya and Lubao,
which belong to his Majesty. DLXX pesos
It possesses what your Lordship assigned it in the
encomienda of Bondoy Moron, which, it is thought,
will amount to more than eight hundred or nine
hundred pesos. IU pesos
----------------
IIU.DCCLXX pesos
With the above, the said hospital cannot even support the expenses
incurred for food and for services rendered by the Indians. It likewise
needs a doctor, medicine, nurses, and other services, as well as
exceptional delicacies, bed clothes, and tents. Indeed half the
money is expended in the anointings and sweatings which are applied
throughout the year.
There is also needed a chaplain, who is usually attached to the said
hospital, to administer the sacraments to the sick.
The building of the said hospital does not suffice for its needs. It
contains but one hall, where all classes of sick people are packed
together, to their own detriment. Another infirmary is greatly needed
for patients who suffer from buboes, and for anointings and sweatings;
there are many sick with this disease, since this country is well
suited to produce it. The said hospital also needs a room for the
convalescents, for lack of which many relapses are wont to occur.
We also need quarters for sick women, for many poor creatures do not
recover because they have no money, and no place where they can go.
Likewise, the said hospital is in need of a kitchen, utensils, and
quarters for its servants, all of which things are needful therein
for the suitable outfit and service of the said hospital.
The captain _Cuenca_, as director of the hospital.
Discussion and Conclusions of the Bishop Concerning the Matter
of Tributes
_Jesus_
Inasmuch as I understand that some of the encomenderos, and especially
those from Camarines, have gone, or desire to go, to ask permission
of your Lordship to collect from their encomiendas, in which they
never have, nor do they at present, maintain religious instruction,
I have deemed it best to send to your Lordship a brief statement
of what I and the theologians of this bishopric feel concerning the
collections in the aforesaid encomiendas, in order that your Lordship
may understand how and in what way they are to be licensed to make
these collections. [45] Although the king, our lord, has unburdened
his royal conscience by entrusting it to your Lordship and to myself,
I see no reason why we should weigh down our own souls and consciences
with what others are to eat and expend.
The encomiendas existing in these islands are, in general, divided into
two classes; for some of them have had and do still have religious
instruction, and others have never had it in the past, nor do they
enjoy it at present. The encomiendas which do not possess instruction
are themselves divided into two classes: the first consists of those
which have not had, and now have not, any religious instruction,
nor have they ever received from their encomenderos spiritual or
temporal benefits; on the contrary, their present condition is such
that it would seem the Spaniards had never gone thither to do aught
else than to reduce and conquer them in order to exact tributes. We
may even say that the encomiendas are in worse condition than if the
Spaniards had never come, for, with the harsh treatment and oppression
that they have received at our hands, they are at present further
from receiving the law of God than if they had never known us. The
second class consists of the encomiendas which, although they have
not been instructed, have received from their encomenderos, or by
means of them, some temporal advantages which tend toward spiritual
benefits, which prepare them so that they may be instructed, and
that one may live among them in security. In the first division are
included the encomiendas of Calamianes, which at present belong to
Captain Sarmyento; the islands of Cuyo, which belong to Captain Juan
Pablo de Carrion; the encomiendas which are in the islands of Mindanao
and Jolo, and on the coast opposite, Mindoro and Elin; the encomiendas
called Zambales, which extend from Maribeles to Pangasinan; in Ylocos,
the valley of Dinglas, and the encomiendas which extend from Ylagua to
Cagayan, and all those of Cagayan; and those which extend along the
farther coast from Cagayan to Mavban; and, finally, all those other
islands of like character, which I do not at present remember. In all
the aforementioned places, it has been hitherto impossible to collect
the tributes, and it will likewise be impossible in the future, should
they continue to maintain their present attitude; but whatever has
thus far been collected from them we are under obligations to restore.
In the other division are included all the remaining encomiendas of
the Pintados, with the exception of a few in Panay where there is
religious instruction. In the above division are included the islands
of Leite, Negros, Babao, Balon, and Bohol; and, in the island of Panay,
the encomienda of Captain Pedro Sarmiento; the encomienda of Axuy,
which belongs to his Majesty and to Francisco de Rribera; the tingues
[hills] of the river of Araud which belong to his Majesty and to
Captain Juan Pablo de Carrion and two or three other encomenderos;
the islands of Marinduque and Masbate, and all the others which
extend thence to the mouth of the channel; in Camarines, the islands
of Catanduanes and Lagunay, and those along the coast and many others
which are in this condition. In all the aforesaid places it may be
considered a general rule that religious teaching did not, and does
not exist--or at least has existed for so short a time that it is
practically the same as if it had never existed. Moreover, from all
the aforesaid places and from others like them, since they have been
in such condition that one could travel through them in security (and,
if ministers should come, their inhabitants could be instructed), it
has been possible to collect a certain amount of tribute, for aid,
and support, and expenses. Not all, or even half, of the tributes,
however, could be collected; if the encomiendas are rather large, only
the third part is obtained, and if they are small, only half. Moreover,
whatever collections were made from these encomiendas could not be
made until they had been prepared as aforesaid. Inasmuch as this
matter is a most difficult one, on account of the danger incurred
in collecting from the Indians what they do not owe, and when they
are not willing that it should be collected, and of depriving the
encomenderos of what is due them in case they have fulfilled their
obligations toward the Indians, this shall be the rule regarding
such action as has been taken hitherto by the confessors, namely,
that an encomendero who has simply made collections among the Indians,
without having done them any temporal or spiritual good, shall not be
entitled to collect any tributes; if, however, through his endeavors,
or by trading with them, they are so well-inclined that he can go about
safely among them, and they themselves can be instructed when they
have ministers, the encomenderos shall be entitled to collect from
them the portion which we have named above. In order that from this
time forth, the king in the royal encomiendas, and the encomenderos in
theirs, may, as has been stated, collect the third part or the half,
the following conditions must be observed:
First: That the encomenderos shall endeavor, with the utmost diligence
and care, to establish sufficient religious instruction in their
encomiendas. In case they are unable to do so, they shall write
to his Majesty, requesting him to provide the necessary number of
ministers to teach the Indians; and they shall ask this so earnestly
and effectively that his Majesty will feel himself under obligation
to send ministers. They shall likewise offer, if it be necessary, to
pay a part of the expenses which his Majesty shall incur in sending
the ministers.
Second: In case ministers cannot at once be found to instruct the
natives, orders shall meanwhile be given as to how the encomenderos
are to reside in their lands. This should not be done in the manner
which has been hitherto practiced, when some of the encomenderos
hoping thus to reduce their expenses go to live in their encomiendas
(indeed, I know not if there are any who act otherwise), and there
employ the Indians in the service of themselves, their families,
and their houses, taking away their possessions at the lowest price,
and treating them as if they were their slaves. They care nothing
for instructing the natives, or setting them a good example, or
preparing them to receive baptism; on the contrary they exasperate
the Indians with their harsh treatment, and cause them to abhor the
law of God. Such encomenderos as these should not reside in their
encomiendas: the governor ought to forbid them even to visit those
places, and should himself appoint such person or persons as would
fulfil toward the Indians the obligations which rest upon encomenderos.
Third: In the encomiendas of the king, and in those of the encomenderos
who, for the aforesaid reasons, ought not reside in their encomiendas,
such persons shall be appointed, with the approbation of the bishop
(to whom his Majesty has entrusted this care, and which of right falls
to him), as shall fulfil those obligations toward the aforesaid natives
which are incumbent upon encomenderos, conformably to the law of God
and to what his Majesty has provided and commanded in his laws and
ordinances--in order that in this manner the Indians may be pacified
and appeased; and so prepared that, when they shall have ministers,
they can receive instruction from them. Under these conditions and
limitations, the king in his encomiendas, and the encomenderos in
theirs, may collect from the said encomiendas something from their
current products, for help, maintenance, and expenses. That would be
a third part of the tributes, if the encomiendas are large and the
religious teaching sufficient therein; but if the encomiendas are
small it would be half, as has already been stated.
Among the encomiendas which maintain religious instruction
(although none, or very few, have enough of it), there are some whose
inhabitants, although including some Christians, are for the most part
infidels, and so ill-disposed and so unfavorably situated that it is
impossible for them to receive the instruction, since there are not
enough ministers in the said encomiendas. Even though instruction
exists therein, no tribute, or at least very little, ought to be
exacted of the infidels until they have ministers to teach them,
and the encomendero influences them to give consent, so that they can
be taught. In this class of encomiendas are included the tingues of
Silanga, Pasi, Tabuco, and Maragondon; those of Pangasinan, and others
in Ylocos; and the rest in the island of Panay. These encomiendas
are among those which have religious instruction: the others have
already been enumerated.
The encomenderos of these islands have fallen into an error, based upon
a misunderstanding of a decree of the king, in which he commands that
a fourth part of the tributes from the encomiendas shall be set aside
in order to construct churches and to provide for divine worship. They
imagine that by virtue of this decree those encomiendas which have
never had religious teaching may collect the entire tribute, after
setting aside a fourth part of it. Moreover, but a small number have
set aside this fourth part, and they have done it very seldom. It
is an unbearable deception for the encomenderos to hold this view,
for this decree does not refer to the encomiendas which, as we have
said, are deprived of religious teaching. As for the latter, not only
can the king not give them license to collect their tributes, but,
even were he here, he himself could not collect them. The aforesaid
decree, moreover, treats not of these, but of the encomiendas whose
inhabitants are already Christian. It is with regard to these that the
king commands that a fourth part of the tributes be appropriated for
the construction of churches; and that in place of the tithes which
they, as Christians, owe to the ministers for their maintenance, a
certain part of the tributes be appropriated in such wise as may be
here decided. Afterward, I shall satisfactorily prove that it never
entered the king's mind that the encomenderos would, by renouncing
the fourth part of the tributes, fulfil their obligations toward
their encomiendas.
The above is a summary of the contents of the opinion which I am
preparing, wherein may be found a more extensive treatment of what I
have here set down. In that document your Lordship will find complete
proofs of what is contained in this summary, accompanied by arguments
so cogent and convincing that there is neither room nor possibility
for doubt in this matter.
Two other points are to be found in the clauses furnished to me by
the secretary, Juan de Cuellar, drawn from the instructions which the
king, our lord, gave to your Lordship for the good government of this
land. In one of them there is a discussion of the two reals which his
Majesty ordered to be added to the tributes hitherto collected. It
also contains the views of the theologians of this bishopric, and
my own, concerning this increase. Your Lordship will find them all
in the document which, as I said above, I am preparing. Inasmuch as
the execution of that clause is not immediately pressing, it has not
seemed to me necessary to discuss it here.
The other clause deals with the means to be employed in establishing
religious instruction in the small encomiendas and districts where
the said instruction does not exist. Concerning this we shall have
but little to say at present, not because the affair is free from very
great difficulties, in undertaking to accomplish his Majesty's orders
as contained in the aforesaid clause; but because there is no present
occasion for anxiety regarding the establishment of this instruction,
inasmuch as there are no ministers to undertake the work. I will only
say that, if his Majesty does not decree that the small encomiendas
be made into a few large ones, it will be most difficult (and indeed
almost impossible) to establish therein religious instruction.
In conformity with this, your Lordship will see how you are to give
permission to the encomenderos who do not maintain instruction, so
that they may collect from their encomiendas, if your Lordship wishes
to make secure your own encomienda [46] which I, by this statement,
have enabled you to do.
May Jesus Christ, our Lord, bestow upon your Lordship the light of
His grace, so that in all matters you may be enabled to accomplish
His holy will, and secure the welfare and protection of these natives,
which they so sorely need. From our house, on the twelfth of January
of the year one thousand five hundred and ninety-one.
_Fray Domingo_, Bishop of the Filipinas.
Summary of the Decision Reached by the Bishop of these Philipinas
Islands, and the Other Theologians of this Bishopric, Concerning the
Collection of the Tributes Therein
_Jesus_
The first conclusion: From the encomiendas which have not had and
do not have religious instruction, and have never received from
the encomenderos any other benefit or advantage, either spiritual
or temporal, than the collection of the tributes, then being left
in their former condition (and such are most of the encomiendas in
this bishopric), the tributes should not be exacted. But in case
they have already been exacted, or shall be in the future, and the
encomenderos shall have done no more good therein than they have thus
far, those who have made these collections shall be compelled to make
restitution therefor to the natives of the said encomiendas. This
same obligation also binds those who, being obliged by their office,
and having the power to prevent this evil, shall give license, or
consent, or permission, that these collections be made.
Second conclusion: In the encomiendas which, although they may not
have had or at present have religious instruction (or so little,
and for so short a space of time, that no result can be observed),
have been pacified through the earnest endeavors and good works of
the encomendero, and whose inhabitants are so subdued as to permit of
travel and residence among them, and favorably disposed to receive
instruction in case there should be anyone to impart it to them;
the encomenderos shall be allowed to collect a certain portion of the
tributes--as, for example, the third part, if the encomiendas are of
average size (for, if they are large, it is a great deal to collect the
third part), and one half, if they are small--by which we understand
a population of three hundred Indians, or a less number. The tributes
thus collected are granted as aid for the encomendero's maintenance,
and for the expenses of said pacification.
Third conclusion: All that was collected from the Indians before they
were thus rendered willing to pay must be restored to them by those
who made such collection, or by those who permitted it, as is stated
in the preceding clause.
Fourth conclusion: All the rest of the said half or third part
which has been or shall hereafter be levied upon the Indians,
before they shall have received sufficient religious instruction,
must be restored by those who have made or permitted to be made the
aforesaid collections.
Fifth conclusion: From the encomiendas which have received sufficient
religious instruction and whose inhabitants are all, or for the
most part, Christians; or when those who are not Christians have
voluntarily held back from conversion--all of the tributes may be
collected, provided that care be ever taken that the infidels be
persuaded and not compelled or forced to make these payments: indeed,
as much concern should be had for them as for the others. Let it
be understood that the said infidels do not refuse or be adverse to
becoming Christians; for in this case the tributes may not be exacted
from them--or, at least, not all, and even then with their consent.
Sixth conclusion: In the encomiendas where there are infidels who,
through lack of adequate religious instruction, have not received
baptism, taxes should not in the past nor shall they at present
be collected in full, but according to the manner set down in the
second clause.
Seventh conclusion: Although all the inhabitants may be Christians,
if their religious instruction has been insufficient the encomenderos
are obliged to deduct from the tributes all that should be expended for
a sufficient number of ministers to impart the necessary instruction.
Eighth conclusion: In order that an encomienda may be said to possess
sufficient and adequate religious instruction, the minister should not
be burdened with the care of more souls than he can properly instruct
and direct in spiritual matters, so that he can give to all those who
are infidels suitable instruction in Christian doctrine--not merely
so that they know it by rote, but also so that they may understand
(so far as they are capable of this) the signification of the words,
and the mysteries contained therein. Thus, too, he will be able to make
each and every one of them understand all that is necessary for them
to believe, and know, and do, in order to be good Christians. All this
should be done before baptism is conferred upon them; and like efforts
should be made that no one shall die without the sacrament. When the
minister undertakes to baptize them, he must see that they know well
what it is, and are prepared for it, and understand what they are
receiving--namely, that they are dead to their past life, and are
commencing a new one, and from that time forth are new men. As the
inhabitants of many of these islands have received baptism without
the aforesaid solicitude and preparation, many sacrileges have been
committed; and, as a result, many and great misfortunes have ensued,
which we can now clearly discern, and yet but poorly remedy.
In order that the Indians, after their conversion, may have adequate
religious teaching, and be taught and instructed and guided in the
conduct of their souls, a minister should not have the care of more
Indians than he can know, visit, and minister to in such wise that
all may understand and comprehend the doctrine. Then, if anyone is
sick, the minister can know of it, and visit and console him in his
sickness; and if the sick man be poor, the minister can give him what
he may need, or shall find someone to do so, so that the sick man may
not die without confession or extreme unction. To the living who are
prepared for it, he can administer the eucharist, and can persuade
everyone to prepare himself so that he can receive communion, and
can labor with all earnestness in making known the great benefits
which are contained in the most blessed sacrament, and how much is
lost by those who do not partake thereof, and the obligation of all
Christians to receive it. The minister can thus also personally care
for the burial of the dead; and, in short, fulfil with solicitude and
concern all the demands and obligations of his office as a priest,
and in the care of souls. It is because the ministers in the Indias
are burdened with so many souls, that we observe so little Christianity
there, that so many die without the sacraments, and there are so many
infidels to be converted.
Ninth conclusion: As soon as the Indians shall have become Christians
the encomendero may with good conscience exact from them the tributes
which are imposed and regulated by his Majesty or by persons
commissioned by him; and the Indians are bound by conscience and
justice to pay them, if they have adequate religious instruction
and the encomendero fulfils the obligations imposed upon him by his
acceptance of the encomienda.
Tenth conclusion: The encomenderos are under obligation to observe,
exactly and faithfully, the instructions given them, that they may not
transgress these in regard to the kind of tributes to be paid, or to
the age or condition of those who must pay them--under pain of mortal
sin, and of making restitution for what they shall have exacted in
violation of law or beyond the amount assessed. The damages moreover,
which are sustained by the natives in compelling them to pay tributes
which they are not bound to pay, and the expenses incurred in making
the collections, should be at the cost of the encomenderos and not
that of the Indians.
Eleventh conclusion: It is grievous inhumanity and a sort of cruel
tyranny to seize the chiefs and keep them prisoners until they pay
the tribute of those who fail to do so; and it is a much greater
wrong to afflict and torture them while in durance. He who shall
make collections in this manner, or permit them to be thus made,
is, aside from the mortal sin which he commits, bound to restore to
the chiefs the tributes thus exacted from them; and would be most
fittingly punished by being deprived of the encomienda of which,
through his own wrong-doing, he has made himself unworthy.
Twelfth conclusion: Although the encomiendas are given to the
encomenderos in return for their services to the king, our lord, the
principal aim and object of his Majesty in giving them has not been,
nor can it be, only that the Indians should pay tribute and render
service to the encomenderos; but, on the contrary, that in return for
the tributes which are paid them, the encomendero shall be obliged
to provide the Indians with ministers to instruct and care for them,
to defend and protect them, to see that they are not ill-treated,
and to answer for them in all necessary matters. It therefore follows
that the encomiendas are and should be instituted rather for the
good of the Indians than for that of the encomenderos; and that the
encomenderos cannot be termed, nor are they, the lords of the Indians,
but their attorneys, tutors, and protectors.
Thirteenth conclusion: The tributes which the king, our lord, has
imposed upon the Indians are not, nor can, nor should they be, all for
his Majesty or for the encomenderos--to whom he allots them in order
that from this fund may be taken all that is necessary to support the
ministers of religious instruction, and for the embellishment of the
churches and divine worship.
Fourteenth conclusion: The encomenderos who, to avoid or lessen
expense, neglect to employ in their encomiendas all the ministers
needed to accomplish and fulfil what has been set down in the eighth
conclusion are in mortal sin, and cannot be absolved. Moreover, it
is not enough to say that their encomiendas already have ministers;
they must employ as many of these as are necessary to fulfil all the
duties there enumerated, according to the number of souls contained
in their encomiendas. And the said encomenderos are responsible
for all the injuries and evils referred to in the said conclusion,
if through their fault there are not ministers to do what should be
done. The minister or ministers, moreover, are responsible if, when
they have in their care so many Indians that they cannot properly
minister to them, they shall be unwilling to receive or to look for
other ministers to help them.
Fifteenth conclusion: The number of ministers required for each
community cannot be readily determined, since there are not in all
the encomiendas the same conditions existing; in some, the people live
closer together than in others; and where they are more scattered, or
more difficult of access, more ministers will be needed than when they
live nearer one another. When they are thus near, and well disposed,
five hundred Indians are a sufficient number for one conscientious
minister to take in charge; and when we shall have an abundant
number of ministers, they should be stationed in each encomienda,
in that ratio.
Sixteenth conclusion: If through lack of ministers enough cannot be
placed in each encomienda to give adequate instruction, such as can
be obtained at the time should be employed, and the encomenderos
shall remain under obligation to deduct from the tributes what has
been stated in the seventh conclusion.
Seventeenth conclusion: All that the Indians have expended in erecting
churches and houses for the ministers, and in their maintenance,
through the unwillingness of the encomenderos to pay therefor, the
latter are obliged to make good--the entire amount expended, for the
maintenance of the ministers; and of that expended for churches and
houses, their share.
Eighteenth conclusion: In order that, from this time forth, the
encomenderos who do not maintain religious instruction may collect from
their encomiendas the portion which is stated in the second conclusion,
the following conditions shall be observed: (1) They shall endeavor,
most assiduously and earnestly, to establish religious instruction
in their encomiendas, that such establishment shall not be delayed;
or, if it be not made, so that the lack cannot be imputed to their
negligence and indifference. And, inasmuch as we have not here
the requisite number of ministers, the encomenderos shall inform
his Majesty how great is the lack, and supplicate him promptly to
send ministers hither--offering, if it shall be necessary, to pay
a part of the expenses to be incurred in sending them hither. (2)
The encomenderos shall endeavor, personally or through the medium of
persons skilled and competent, in whom may be placed entire confidence
that they will deal with the Indians as God requires and the king
commands, to defend the Indians and protect them against the injuries
inflicted upon them. They shall strive to influence them, by good
works and example, to accept the law of God, most carefully preparing
them so that, when they have ministers of the Christian doctrine,
they can be instructed. They shall not act as do some encomenderos
(and most of them are of this sort) who visit their encomiendas
not for the good of the Indians, but for their own profit; and who,
through their presence, work more injury to the Indians by the many
grievances which they occasion, and the bad example that they set,
than the latter are advantaged in being thus pacified.
Nineteenth conclusion: It has been a very great error on the part
of the encomenderos in these islands who do not maintain religious
instruction to think that because they contribute a fourth part of the
tributes they may collect and keep for themselves the remainder. This
is based upon their misinterpretation of a decree of the king which
states the portion which is to be appropriated from the tributes for
the erection of churches and the support of the ministers (although
this decree has already been annulled by others). This decree did
not apply to the encomiendas which we here mention; for if the king
himself cannot levy tributes, he could ill permit others to do so,
excepting the encomiendas which we discussed in the ninth conclusion.
Twentieth conclusion: What has been already said in the preceding
conclusions concerning the encomenderos likewise applies to the
encomiendas which belong to the royal crown; for the king is under even
greater obligation than are the encomenderos to provide his Indians
with religious teaching; and to the same extent as they, he is bound
to make restitution of all that has been unjustly collected. It
follows from this that the officials of the royal exchequer, who
are charged with the collection, of the tributes for the king, are
obliged in conscience to observe and fulfil all that is stated in the
preceding conclusions, and to make restitution of all the tributes,
or such part of them as has been or shall be collected contrary to
the tenor of the said conclusions. This obligation is all the greater
for the governor than for the officials of the royal exchequer; since
he, by reason of his office, is bound to care for all the natives of
these islands, and not to permit them to be wronged, and to require
satisfaction from anyone who may wrong them.
Twenty-first conclusion: Former governors were under obligation, as
are those who rule both now and hereafter, to observe and fulfil, in
the repartimientos which they assign or shall assign, the provisions
contained in section 144 of the royal ordinances drawn up in Segovia
in the year 73, the tenor of which is as follows: "When the country
has been pacified, and its rulers and inhabitants have been reduced
to obedience to us, the governor shall, with their consent, direct
the partition of the lands among the colonists so that each of them
shall be responsible for the Indians of his repartimiento, defend
and protect them, and provide a minister who shall teach them to live
in civilized ways, and shall do for them all else that encomenderos
are bound to do for the Indians of their repartimientos." In the
following section: "The Indians who shall be reduced to our obedience
and allotted to the conquerors shall be persuaded, in recognition of
universal seigniory and jurisdiction which we hold over the Indians,
to assist us by the payment of a moderate tribute, from the fruits of
the soil. It is our will that the tributes thus paid us be collected
by the Spaniards to whom encomiendas shall be given, for which reason
they fulfil the duties to which they are bound." What his Majesty
commands in these two sections of the said ordinances conforms to both
natural and divine law, both of which would be violated if even the
king should contravene these ordinances. From this the governors will
recognize the obligations under which they are to heed the attitude
of the Indians whom they must allot in encomiendas, in order not to
work against a law as just and necessary as this is.
Twenty-second conclusion: If in any case the governor allot an
encomienda whose inhabitants shall not be in the frame of mind
which the aforesaid law requires (a condition which must needs be
very rare, and the result of causes so forcible that the king, upon
consultation, would consider them of sufficient weight), in order that
the governor may not be under obligation to make restitution of what
shall be collected therefrom, he is bound to order such encomendero
not to collect the tributes until he has, by his earnest endeavors
and just treatment, brought the Indians to that disposition which,
in the aforesaid two sections, his Majesty requires. In case the
encomendero shall collect the tributes beforehand, the governor shall
command him to make restitution; and if, for lack of such orders,
the Indians shall suffer any wrong, the governor shall be responsible.
Twenty-third conclusion: The religious who are in the Indias are not
under obligation to go to Spain to obtain other religious; and if they
could avoid it they would do wrong in going on account of the great
deficiency of ministers caused by such departures. But as the need
of ministers is so great, and as they are not sent hither from Spain,
those who go thither to procure them should be well rewarded for the
great hardships that they undergo in bringing religious. His Majesty,
moreover, and the members of his royal Council are under obligation
to send back at once, and with suitable provision, those who in their
service to God and the king, and for the welfare of these souls,
have suffered such hardships.
Twenty-fourth conclusion: The king our lord and his royal Council
of the Indias are bound to send to these islands so many ministers
that they can give adequate instruction to all the natives therein,
even if our religious do not go or send for others.
Twenty-fifth conclusion: His Majesty is bound to give orders and to
make all possible efforts for the conversion of the infidels--not
only those who recognize him and pay tribute, but those who are
not under his sway and do not recognize him as their lord--so that
they may all come into the knowledge of God and enter the bosom of
the Church. Nor should this be accomplished in the manner hitherto
employed employed--namely, by the perversion of all law, divine
and human; by murders, robberies, captivities, conflagrations, and
the depopulation of villages, estates, and houses. These wrongs are
inflicted and perpetrated by those who, under pretext and in the name
of preaching the gospel, entered the Indias, and have thus profaned the
sacred name of God and made the holy gospel odious; and it is by them
that our holy religion has been dishonored. But now that his Majesty
knows what excesses have been committed in these islands, he should
order that henceforth they shall cease, and that in the promulgation of
the holy gospel the instructions and rules be observed which our Lord
Jesus Christ ordained, and which His holy evangelical law directs and
commands, and which the holy apostles and the apostolic men who came
after them practiced and observed until our wretched times. Since the
Spaniards entered the Indias, their excessive cupidity has devised
new methods of preaching the gospel such as our Lord Jesus Christ
never ordained, or His holy apostles knew; they are not permitted by
the law of nature, nor do they agree with reason.
I shall send the proofs of these conclusions to your Lordship as soon
as my occupations give me opportunity and leisure to prove them. At
Manila, on the eighteenth of January, 1591.
_The Bishop of the Filipinas_