[At the request of the governor, the members of the various religious
orders furnish him with their opinions regarding the collection of
tributes. The Augustinians thus conclude, in brief: The natives who
enjoy the benefits of Spanish protection, the administration of
justice, and religious instruction, should pay the entire amount
assessed on them as tribute; for it is but just that they should
bear the expenses of these benefits. It was Spain to whom the Holy
See allotted the work of converting the pagans of the Indias; and,
although she has in doing so inflicted many injuries on the natives,
she has also conferred upon them many benefits in converting and
civilizing them. If she should abandon the islands great evils
would result. Even tyrannical treatment does not justify vassals in
refusing obedience to their rulers--in support of which position many
citations are made from the Bible and from historical precedents. The
Spanish rulers are accordingly entitled to collect the moderate
tribute which they have imposed on the Indians, if they protect and
instruct the latter--the condition on which their right to tribute
is based; but all should pay alike, infidels as well as Christians,
when they receive alike those benefits. As for the Indians who have
not been provided with instruction and the protection of law, no
tribute should in any case be demanded from them and whatever has
been thus far collected ought to be restored to them in full, as
having been unjustly and unrighteously exacted. In the encomiendas
which, although once pacified, have since rebelled, a small amount
of tribute should be collected, not to maintain the encomendero,
but to meet the expenses of restoring order and obedience therein. In
other cases, where the encomendero fulfils his obligations in other
respects, but fails to provide religious instruction for the natives
through lack of ministers, he is entitled to collect only part of
the tribute designated--that is, what remains after deducting the
amount due for the support of ministers (estimated in proportion to
the number of the people), and for the erection and maintenance of
churches. In short, the natives should pay only for such benefits as
they actually receive. The amount to be paid should be based on the
amount expended by the government and the encomenderos in providing
those benefits.] In these islands the number of five hundred Indians
(and in some places even a smaller number) has been assigned to
each minister as sufficient for his charge; and to each minister
of religion has been given a hundred pesos and a hundred fanégas of
rice, all which is worth at least one hundred and twenty-five pesos;
this is the fourth part of the five hundred pesos which the five
hundred Indians are worth to the encomendero. It is then a fair rate
of taxation, and usually the most exact, to deduct, when religious
instruction is lacking, the fourth part of the tribute. [If the
encomienda is governed with justice, its holder may in reason collect
the other three-fourths. The fathers remonstrate against the proposal
to allow the holder of a small encomienda to collect more than he may
who has a large one, as unjust and dangerous. If the fourth part is
to be withheld from the encomendero, they think that it should be at
once returned to the natives from whom it was taken. They recommend
that the governor give orders that the administration of justice be
everywhere established in the encomiendas, and then three-fourths
of the tributes may be collected. For this, however, they advise
the appointment of deputies directly by the governor, to inspect
the encomiendas regularly--a duty which will not be satisfactorily
performed by the present alcaldes-mayor, or by deputies whom they
would appoint; and these persons should be given adequate salaries,
to obviate the possibility of their defrauding the natives. The
paper is signed by the Augustinian provincial, Juan de Valderrama,
and eleven others of the order.]
[The Franciscans base their opinion upon the right of the king of
Spain to impose tribute, as derived from the commission given to
that country by the Holy See for the evangelization of the Indians;
but this right exists only where the gospel is actually preached. They
partially agree with the Augustinians, but hold a radically different
view as to the amount of collections to be made when the encomendero
does not or cannot provide religious instruction, but does protect and
defend the natives, and set them a good example. For these services,
as tending to prepare the Indians for receiving the true faith, he
may be entitled to collect one-third of the tributes; but considered
simply as temporal benefits, they do not give him any right to do
so. Even the administration of justice to the Indians confers upon
him no right in itself; it does so only as it may aid in or support
the preaching of the gospel. This opinion is signed by Fray Pedro
Baptista and three of his brethren.]
[The Jesuits regard both religious instruction and the administration
of justice as just ground for the imposition and collection of
tributes. When the Spaniards take possession of any land without
providing these benefits, they are only "establishing divisions of
territory between the crowns of Castilla and Portugal," which has
nothing to do with levying tributes on the natives of such region. In
encomiendas where instruction is not given through lack of ministers,
only such part of the tribute may be collected as belongs to the
administration of justice; and the part which would be used for the
support of religion must be returned to the natives. The fathers
cite, in support of their opinion, various learned theologians. They
would permit the encomendero who protects his Indians, but is
unable to maintain religious teaching, to collect means for the
support of himself and family--for which purpose they would allow him
three-fourths of the tributes. The other fourth should be returned to
the Indians; and, in districts where there is not and will not soon
be religious instruction, this should be done without telling them
the reason for such action; otherwise, they will not wish to become
Christians. They urge that definite and prompt action be taken in
regard to this matter. Their opinion is signed by Antonio Sedeño and
two other fathers, and is dated February 20.]
[The Jesuits also send to the bishop a long and learned discussion of
the question, answering some of the twenty-five "conclusions" which
were adopted by the bishop and clergy (_ante_, p. 276 ff.). Their
position is the same as that already stated to the governor; but they
make a more detailed and full statement of their opinions on certain
points mentioned by the bishop. They think that, in encomiendas where
both religion and justice are administered, the infidels as well as
the Christians should pay tribute; for they also are vassals of the
king, and receive from him those benefits, and they alone are to blame
if they do not profit by the instruction placed before them. Where
justice is administered, without instruction, the tributes should
be collected, after deducting the amount needed for the support of
religion.] The fundamental reason why your Lordship and we cannot
agree in this matter is, that your Lordship measures it by standards
of sustenance, and we by those of income and just and due tributes;
for since there are so many Christians here, there is no doubt that
the king holds these lands by just title, nor can he in conscience
abandon them. [In regard to making restitution to the Indians for
tributes unjustly collected, the Jesuits would exempt from this the
governors and royal officials; but it should be required from the
encomenderos. If in these matters, however, the bishop and governor do
not agree with them, the fathers will support the position taken by
those authorities. They desire that the latter shall make definite
decision on such points as can be settled, without unnecessary
delay. They oppose the bishop's desire to permit the collection of
a larger part of the tributes from small encomiendas than from large
ones, because this would be not only unjust, but a dangerous precedent
and a source of intolerable confusion and uncertainty. The tributes
should be considered not as the means of support for the encomendero,
but as the right and revenue of the king--a consideration which must
shape all conclusions reached upon this subject. The Indians are not
bound to support the encomendero; that is due him for his services
to the king, who gives him the encomienda for this purpose, and for
means to carry out the obligations of the king to the Indians. If
from this some encomenderos grow rich, that concerns only the king;
it is well that he should have in his colonies powerful men, "who
are the bone and sinew of commonwealths." Besides, the labors and
responsibilities of these men increase in proportion to the size of
their encomiendas; accordingly, they should be duly recompensed. The
services rendered to the natives by the king and the encomenderos are
enumerated; even those which are secular help to maintain religious
instruction, and are also more costly than that; they should then
be well recompensed. The restitution to be made by the encomenderos
is a matter to be decided by the secular rather than the religious
authorities; and such restitution need be only one-fourth of previous
collections. A curious piece of information is here furnished:
"It is known that a priest's district, even if it is not very large,
yields him eight hundred to one thousand pesos; and besides this he
has fees for burials, marriages, etc. There are reports, and even
numerous complaints, from both secular and religious sources, that
for lack of means to pay the fees, many persons do not marry, but
live in concubinage." The Jesuits think that this fee-system is wrong,
and that the priest should be content with his stipend, at least among
the poor, whether Indians or Spaniards; this applies both to regular
clergy and to friars. The bishop is urged to remedy this abuse.]
[This is followed by another paper, which discusses minutely,
from the standpoint of the logician and theologian, the question of
collecting tribute from infidels who are not provided with religious
instruction; it contains abundant citations from the Scriptures and
from ecclesiastical writers. As it simply elaborates the opinions they
have already stated, we do not here present it.] (_To be concluded_.)