The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898

 Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century, Volume XXV, 1635-36

 Edited and annotated by Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson with historical introduction and additional notes by Edward Gaylord Bourne. 

CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXV

 Preface 9

 Documents of 1635

 Laws regarding navigation and commerce, 1611-35. Felipe III and Felipe IV; 1611-35 23 Royal decrees, 1633-35. Felipe IV; Madrid, 1633-35 38 Memorial to the king, in the year 1635. Juan Grao y Monfalcon; Madrid, September 6 48 Manila treasury accounts, 1630-35. Gerónimo de ----, and Francisco Antonio Manzelo; August 18, 1638 74 Letter of consolation to the Jesuits of Pintados. Juan de Bueras, S. J. ; Manila, February 1 87 Letter to Felipe IV. Andres del Sacramento, O. S. F. ; Nueva Caceres, June 2 95 Letter from the Franciscan commissary-general of the Indias. Francisco de Ocaña, O. S. F. ; Madrid, June 28 98 Opinion of Council and royal decree concerning request of Manila Jesuits for alms. Felipe IV, and others; Madrid, July 10 100 Letter to Felipe IV. Pedro de Arce; Manila, October 17 104

 Documents of 1636

 Discussion regarding Portuguese trade at Manila. Joseph de Navada Alvarado, and others; 1632-36 111 Decree extending the tenure of encomiendas. Felipe IV; Madrid, February 1 145 Military services of Filipinos. Juan Grau y Monfalcon; [Madrid], June 13 148 Conflicts between civil and ecclesiastical authorities, 1635-36. Casimiro Diaz, O. S. A. ; from his _Conquistas de las Islas Filipinas_ (published at Valladolid, 1890, but written early in eighteenth century) 151 Letter from a citizen of Manila to an absent friend. [Unsigned; Fabian de Santillan y Gavilanes?]; Manila, June 15 201 Request for Jesuit missionaries. Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera; Cavile, June 19 297 Letter from the bishop of Nueva Caceres to Felipe IV. Francisco de Zamudio, O. S. A. ; Manila, June 20 301 List of prominent ecclesiastics in Manila and the islands. Hernando de Guerrero, archbishop of Manila; 1636 305

 Bibliographical Data 321

ILLUSTRATIONS

 Map of portion of Philippine Islands and other eastern islands; photographic facsimile of original Portuguese MS. Map of 1635, by Pedro Berthelot, in the British Museum 56, 57 View of Chinese junks; photographic facsimile of engraving in _Recueil des voiages Comp. Indes Orient_. Pais-Bas (Amsterdam, 1725) iii, p. 285; from copy in the library of Wisconsin Historical Society 116 Plan of the "island of Manila;" drawn by a Portuguese artist, _ca. _ 1635; photographic facsimile of the original MS. Map in British Museum 133 Autograph signature of Sebastian de Corcuera; photographic facsimile from MS. In Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla 299

PREFACE

The scope of the present volume (1635-36) is mainly commercial andfinancial matters on the one hand, and ecclesiastical affairs on theother. The paternalistic tendencies of the Spanish government areobvious in the former direction, with various restrictions on trade, and annoying imposts on all classes of people. The Portuguese of Macaoare accused of ruining the Chinese trade with the islands, absorbing itto their own profit and the injury of the Spaniards. In ecclesiasticalcircles, the topic of prime interest is the controversy betweenGovernor Corcuera and Archbishop Guerrero, ending in the latter'sexile to Mariveles Island; it is an important episode in the continualstruggle between Church and State for supremacy, and as such rightlydemands large space and attention in this series. In this and severalother documents may be noticed the steadily increasing influence andpower of the Jesuit order in the Philippines at that period. 

From _Recopilación de leyes de las Indias_ (lib. Ix, tit. Xxxxv)are compiled a series of laws relating to navigation and commerce, dated from 1611 to 1635--in continuation of those already given inVOL. XVII of this series. Married men going from Nueva España musttake their wives also, or provide for them while absent. Conventsshall not allow Chinese merchandise to be concealed in theirhouses. Royal officials who may sail in any fleet sent from Spainto the Philippines are forbidden to carry any merchandise thither ontheir private accounts. Flour for government use in the islands shallbe provided there, and not be brought from Nueva España. The ladingon the trading ships to that country must be allotted more equitably, and for the general welfare of the Philippine colonists. Disabledor incapable seamen must not be taken on these ships; provision ismade for the protection and safety of the Indian deck-hands thereon;and only persons of rank are allowed to carry more than one slaveeach. Trade between Mexico and Peru is again forbidden; and privatepersons in the Philippines are not permitted to send ships, soldiers, or seamen to the mainland or other regions outside the islands. Thevaluation of merchandise taken to Nueva España from Filipinas shallbe made at Mexico, according to certain regulations. The officers ofthe trading ships shall be paid for four months only, each voyage; andthe ships must leave Acapulco by December, and reach the islands byMarch. Extortion from the sailors by the royal officials at Acapulcois strictly forbidden. The official appointed to inspect the Chineseships at Manila must be chosen, not by the governor alone, but by himand the Audiencia jointly. The shipment of money from New Mexico toFilipinas in excess of the amount allowed is forbidden under heavypenalties. The governors of Filipinas must keep the shipyards wellequipped and provided. The ships that sail thence to Nueva Españamust depart in June; and careful account must be taken, by specialofficials, of all goods in the cargoes, and of all that the vesselscarry on the return trip. 

A group of royal decrees and orders occurs during the years 1633-35, concerning various interests of the Philippines. The viceroy of NuevaEspaña is ordered (September 30, 1633) to see that the seamen neededin the islands be well treated at Acapulco, and allowed to invest somemoney in the Mexican trade. The governor of the Philippines is warned(March 10, 1634) to see that the lading of vessels in that trade beequitably allotted to the citizens. The viceroy is directed, at thesame time, to send more reënforcements of men to the islands. Themoneys granted to the city for its fortifications have been divertedto the general fund; the governor is notified (September 9, 1634)to correct this, and, two months later, to prevent the Portugueseof Macao from trading in the islands. Again (February 16, 1635)he is directed to prevent people from leaving the Philippines, andreligious from going to Japan; and at the same time is despatcheda reply to the Audiencia regarding some matters of which they hadinformed the king. The governor is ordered (November 5, 1635) to seethat the garrisons in Ternate are regularly changed. 

Juan Grau y Monfalcón, procurator-general for the Philippines at theSpanish court, memorializes the king (1635) regarding the importanceof those islands to Spain, which country should preserve her domainthere, not only for the service of God and the spread of the Catholicfaith, but for the increase of the royal revenues. The writer givesa summary of the Chinese population in the islands, and the extentof their trade; the number of Indians paying tribute, and theirproducts. The Spaniards of Manila are greatly impoverished by theirlosses in conflagrations and shipwrecks, and need royal aid. If itbe not given them, Manila will be lost to the Dutch, whose increasingpower and wealth in the Orient is described. Especially do they requestthe abolition of the additional duty of two per cent on goods exportedto Nueva España, which they are unable to pay. The history of this taxis outlined, and numerous reasons for its abolition are adduced. Theinhabitants of Manila no longer make large profits in their tradewith Nueva España; nor are the expenses of that trade such a burden asformerly on the royal treasury. The same results are really obtainedfrom the tax levied on the Chinese goods that are carried to Manila, and this additional tax is too heavy a burden on the people. The royalduties alone amount to twenty-seven per cent on their investments ofcapital, and the costs and expenses to even a greater sum. Too muchpressure of this sort will cause the people of Manila to abandonentirely a profitless trade; in that case the customs duties wouldcease, and the islands would fall into the hands of the Dutch. Themisfortunes and losses of Manila by fires and shipwrecks must alsobe taken into account, as well as the loyalty with which they servethe crown--always ready to risk their lives and property for it, andoften loaning money to the treasury in its needs. The royal fiscalmakes reply to this document, advising the royal Council to give thismatter very careful attention, and to consider not only the need of theinhabitants but the low condition of the royal finances; he recommendsmild measures. The procurator thereupon urges, in brief, some of hisformer arguments (also citing precedents) for the discontinuance ofthe two per cent duty. An interesting compilation from the accountsof the royal treasury at Manila shows the total receipts in eachof its different funds for the five years ending January 1, 1635, each year separately. 

A letter of consolation to the Jesuits of Pintados who have sufferedso much from the Moro pirates is sent out (February 1, 1635) bythe provincial of the order, Juan de Bueras. Andrés del Sacramento, a Franciscan friar at Nueva Cáceres, complains to the king (June 2, 1635) of interference in the affairs of that order by certain brethrenof the Observantine branch, who have by their schemes obtained controlof the Filipinas province; and asks that the king assign the provinceto one or the other branch, allowing no one else to enter it. Aboutthe same time, a high Franciscan official at Madrid writes, probablyto one of the king's councilors, promising to investigate and punishcertain lawless acts by Manila friars of his order. 

The Jesuits of Manila having asked for a grant from the royal treasuryto rebuild their residence there, the matter is discussed in the royalCouncil, and a decree issued (July 10, 1635) ordering the governorof the Philippines to investigate the need for such appropriation, and to report it, with other information, to the king. Pedro de Arce, who has been ruler _ad interim_ of the archdiocese of Manila, notifiesthe king (October 17, 1635) of his return to his own bishopric ofCebú; and of his entrusting to the Jesuits the spiritual care of thenatives of Mindanao, where the Spanish fortress of Zamboanga has beenrecently established. He asks the king to confirm this, and to sendthem more missionaries of their order. 

In 1632 a memorial is presented before the municipal council of Manilaby one of its regidors, representing the injuries and losses arisingfrom the trade which has been commenced there by the Portuguese ofMacao. It seems that they have absorbed the trade formerly carried onby the Chinese with Manila, and have so increased the prices of goodsthat the citizens cannot make a profit on the goods that they send toNueva España. Navada presents seventeen considerations and argumentsregarding this condition of affairs. He states that in earlier yearsthe authorities of Manila forbade the Portuguese to come to Manila, for the same reasons that are now so urgent; that investments ofcapital are now seldom made by citizens of the Philippines, for lackof returns thereon; and that the royal revenues are defrauded by theenormous losses in the proceeds from the customs duties on the goodsbrought by the Portuguese, as compared with those realized on the goodsof the Sangley traders. The Portuguese are making enormous profits, andthis is ruining the citizens of the islands; moreover, they buy theirgoods from the Chinese at sufficient prices to satisfy the latter, and they misrepresent the condition and actions of the Spaniards, sothat the Chinese are prevented from coming to Manila. The Portuguesewill make no fair agreement as to prices, and some of them remainin Manila to sell their left-over goods; and these even ship goodsto Nueva España in the royal ships, with the connivance of certaincitizens--all of which defrauds the Spaniards, and violates the royaldecrees. Moreover, the Portuguese bring from China only silks, forthe sake of the great profits thereon; while cotton cloth and otherarticles needed by the poor (which formerly were supplied by theSangleys) are now scarce and high-priced. The Portuguese should beforbidden to carry on the China trade; this would quickly restore itsconduct by the Chinese themselves, and funds to the royal treasuryfrom the increase in customs duties. Manila is the only market forthis trade, and can easily hold it. The Portuguese have even carriedtheir insolence so far as to attack the Chinese trading ships (forwhich the Audiencia has neglected to render justice to the Chinese);they also ill-treat Spaniards who go to trade at Macao, and dealdishonestly with those who let them sell goods on commission. Ifthe Portuguese are forbidden to trade in Manila, the Chinese willagain come to trade; the citizens will enjoy good profits on theirinvestments, and incomes from their possessions in the Parián. Thismemorial by Navada is discussed by the city council, who unanimouslydecide to adopt his recommendations and to place the matter beforethe governor and the citizens. The Spanish government favor (1634-36)depriving the Portuguese of the Manila trade, and decrees are sentto the islands empowering the governor and other officials to dowhat seems best in the case. To these papers are added a letter tothe king by Juan Grau y Monfalcón, urging that the decree of 1593be reissued, forbidding any Spanish vassals to buy goods in China, these to be carried to Manila by the Chinese at their own risk. Hesubmits, with his letter, tables showing the comparative amounts ofduties collected at Manila on the goods brought by the Chinese and thePortuguese respectively; also a copy of the aforesaid decree of 1593. 

A royal decree of February 1, 1636, prolongs the tenure of encomiendasfor another generation, in certain of the Spanish colonies, inconsideration of contributions by the holders to the royal treasury;and various directions are given for procedure therein. The procuratorMonfalcón, in a letter to the king (June 13, 1636), commends themilitary services of the Filipinos, and asks for some tokens of royalappreciation of their loyalty. 

An account of conflicts between the civil and ecclesiasticalauthorities in 1635-36 is taken from the _Conquistas_ of theAugustinian writer Fray Casimiro Diaz. With this main subject heinterpolates other matters from the general annals of that time. Amongthese is a relation of the piratical raids of the Moros into Leyteand Panay in 1634; the invaders kill a Jesuit priest. In June ofthe following year arrives the new governor, Sebastián Hurtado deCorcuera. At the same time, Archbishop Guerrero begins his ruleover the churches of the islands; and controversies at once arisebetween him and the governor over the royal patronage and otherchurch affairs. Among these is an attempt to divide the Dominicanprovince into two, which is favored by Corcuera. This arouses bittercontroversies, which involve both ecclesiastics and laymen and manyconflicting interests. A case occurs in Manila in which a criminal'sright of sanctuary in a church is involved; this leads to variouscomplications between the civil and ecclesiastical authorities, involving also the religious orders--the Jesuits siding with thegovernor, the other orders with the archbishop. The successive eventsand acts in this controversy are quite fully related, the writer, as would naturally be expected, placing most of the blame upon thegovernor. A truce is made between the parties (January, 1636), but it soon falls apart and the quarrels begin anew; they go tosuch lengths that finally (in May of that year) the archbishop issent into exile on Mariveles Island, in Manila Bay. The cathedralcabildo take charge _ad interim_ of the archdiocese. Within a month, however, the archbishop is released, and permitted to return to thecharge of his diocese, but on humiliating conditions. Diaz notesthat ever after this episode Governor Corcuera was followed bylosses, troubles, and afflictions; that many of his relatives andpartisans came to untimely ends; that the archiepiscopal palace ofthat time was utterly destroyed in subsequent earthquakes; and thatafter the persecution of the archbishop the sardines in Manila Bayalmost wholly disappeared. Even after the prelate's restoration, other controversies arise, which embitter his few remaining years;and he narrowly escapes capture by the Moro pirates. 

Another account of the contentions of the governor with the archbishopand the orders is that given in a "letter written by a citizen ofManila to an absent friend" (June 15, 1636); it is obtained fromone of the Jesuit documents preserved at Madrid. The events ofthat controversy are narrated from a different standpoint thanDiaz's--defending the governor and the Jesuits, and blaming thefriars for having caused most of the trouble. The writer makes hisaccount more valuable by presenting various documents and lettersconcerned in the affair; and describes many occurrences that do notappear in other accounts. This letter is also avowedly despatched torefute certain statements made by the Dominicans in their version ofthe controversy of 1635-36. It is evidently written by some friendof the Jesuits who was a lawyer--possibly by Fabian de Santillan, whom they appointed judge-conservator against the bishop. In it is acuriously lifelike and interesting picture of the dissensions that theninvolved all circles of Manila officialdom, both civil and religious;and of certain aspects of human nature which are highly interesting, even if not always edifying. 

Governor Corcuera writes to Felipe IV (June 19, 1636), commending theJesuits and their work in the islands, and asking that more of thembe sent thither, in preference to those of other orders. The bishopof Nueva Cáceres also writes by the same mail, commending Corcueraand complaining of the hostility displayed by the orders against thegovernor, and of their ambition and arrogance. The bishop (himself anAugustinian) arraigns all the friar orders except his own, in scathingterms, saying of these religious: "They live without God, without king, and without law, . .. As they please, and there is no further law thantheir own wills. " "They say openly in their missions that they arekings and popes. " Zamudio accuses them of being "notorious traders, "of domineering over both the Indians and the alcaldes-mayor, and ofinfringing upon the royal patronage; and claims that the conduct ofthe Franciscans in Camarines is such that he cannot remain there inhis own diocese. He ascribes the late troubles with the archbishopmainly to the mischievous influence of the friars, and explainshis restoration to his see as "the act of a Christian gentleman"on Corcuera's part. The friars in Zamudio's diocese have refused tolet him make a visitation among them, although he obtained from thegovernor a guard of soldiers to protect him. He recommends that thefriars be deprived of their missions, and replaced by secular priests. 

The archbishop of Manila furnishes (1636) a list of the personscomposing the ecclesiastical cabildo of the Manila cathedral; andanother, of ecclesiastics outside that body from whom might wellbe supplied any positions in the cabildo which his Majesty might bepleased to declare vacant. In each case the archbishop mentions variousparticulars of the man's age, family, qualifications for office, etc. , and of his career thus far in the Church. According to the archbishop, some of those now in the cabildo are quite unworthy or incompetentfor such positions. 

_The Editors_

April, 1905. 

DOCUMENTS OF 1635

 Laws regarding navigation and commerce, 1611-35. Felipe III and Felipe IV; 1611-35. Royal decrees, 1633-35. Felipe IV; 1633-35. Memorial to the king, in the year 1635. Juan Grao y Monfalcon; September 6. Manila treasury accounts, 1630-35. Geronimo de ----, and Francisco Antonio Manzelo; August 13, 1638. Letter of consolation to the Jesuits of Pintados. Juan de Bueras, S. J. ; February 1. Letter to Felipe IV. Andres del Sacramento, O. S. F. ; June 2. Letter from the Franciscan commissary-general of the Indias. Francisco de Ocaña, O. S. F. ; June 28. Opinion of Council and royal decree concerning request of Manila Jesuits for alms. Felipe IV, and others; July 10. Letter to Felipe IV. Pedro de Arce; October 17. 

_Sources_: The first of these documents is taken from the _Recopilaciónde leyes de Indias_, lib. Ix, tit. Xxxxv; the second, from the"Cedulario Indico" in the Archivo Historico Nacional, Madrid; thethird, from a MS. In the Biblioteca Nacional, Madrid; the fourth, sixth, and seventh, from MSS. In the Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla; the fifth, from a MS. In the Academia Real de la Historia, Madrid; and the last two, from Pastells's edition of Colin's _Laborevangélica_. 

_Translations_: All these documents are translated by JamesA. Robertson. 

LAWS REGARDING NAVIGATION AND COMMERCE

[The first installment of these laws is given in VOL. XVII, pp. 27-50. The laws in the present installment date from 1611 to1635. The method of treatment is the same as in the laws of theabove volume. ]

LAW XXX

The viceroy of Nueva España shall not allow any married man to passthence to Filipinas unless he take his wife with him, or unless hehave permission to leave the country for a limited time, after givingbonds that he will return within the time set; and provided he leavehis wife what is necessary for her support. In no other way [shallhe be allowed to go]. [Felipe III--Guadarrama, November 12. 1611. ]

LAW XXXIII

Many religious and laymen come to these kingdoms from the FilipinasIslands by way of Eastern India, abandoning their ministries andemployments. We order the governor and captain-general to be verycareful about applying the remedy, and that he give notice of thisto the bishops and to the superiors of the orders in what pertainsto them; and the said governor shall maintain especial watch over thelaymen so that they may not go by that route. [Felipe III--Valladolid, November 4, 1612. ]

LAW LXXII

We charge the regular prelates that they watch very carefully and givestrict commands in all the convents and houses of their orders, thatunder no consideration shall Chinese merchandise be concealed or hiddentherein; and any violation of this rule shall be punished. [FelipeIII--Valladolid, August 20, 1615. ]

LAW XLVI

Our fiscal of the royal Audiencia of Manila shall take part in theallotment of the toneladas that are allowed to be distributed; andit shall be done with his consent and in his presence. In the sameway he shall be present at the transaction of business in our royaltreasury. Nothing shall be attended to unless he be present, and heshall endeavor to avoid the losses and injuries that may arise inthe aforesaid [his absence]. [Felipe III--Mérida, May 4, 1619. ]

LAW XXXVII

If any foreigners are engaged in the Filipinas Islands in theoccupation of sailors, or if they come to Nueva España in the ships, in the line of that trade-route, they shall not be molested, nor shallthey be obliged to make agreements. If any trouble result from this, we order the viceroy of Nueva España and the governor of Filipinasto advise us thereof in our Council of the Indias, so that suitablemeasures may be taken. [Felipe III--Santaren, October 13, 1619. ]

LAW VII

It may be necessary and advisable to send a fleet from these kingdomsto the Filipinas Islands by the cape of Buena Esperanza or the straitsof Magallanes and San Vicente. Those who shall sail to serve us mayhappen to carry in the fleet investments of merchandise, wines, oils, and other things, and with that object undertake that voyage, and bethe cause of delay or loss to the fleet by their making a pretext ofdifficulties, from which might result great inconveniences. In orderthat such may be prevented, we order that when any such fleet shallbe sent, no person, of whatever rank or condition he be, shall ladeor allow to be laded in it any of the aforesaid goods, under penaltyof losing his life and of the confiscation of his property. If sucha thing happens [_i. E. _, that a fleet be despatched], this law shallbe proclaimed in the port whence the said fleet sails, so that itmay be obeyed and observed. [Felipe III--Madrid, December 12, 1619. ]

LAW VIII

In the fleets that shall sail from these kingdoms to Filipinas inorder to succor them, or for matters of our service, married pilotsmay embark, even though they leave their wives in these kingdoms. Andbecause when they shall have reached the said islands, they will wishto return to their families, and it is right that no obstructions beplaced in their way, and in that of others, we order the governorsto allow them to return and perform their voyage, and to give themthe necessary despatches. [Felipe III--Madrid, December 12, 1619. ]

LAW XXVI

There is sufficient flour in the Filipinas for the supplies that areprovided there on our account. Inasmuch as that taken from NuevaEspaña is not so good, we order that provision of this product benot made from Nueva España, in consideration of the fact that it isadvisable to benefit our royal treasury as far as possible. [FelipeIII--Madrid, May 23, 1620. ]

LAW XLV

In the permission conceded to the inhabitants of Filipinas ofthe lading-space in the ships that sail to Nueva España, itis ordered that this be distributed according to their rank andwealth. Notwithstanding, the governors do not make the allotment inaccordance with this order. Sometimes they give it, under pretext ofgratuities, to officers on half-pay, thus obliging the inhabitants tobuy space at excessive prices. Sometimes they allot many toneladas forcharitable purposes, in order that these may be sold, and the price[obtained for them] be used therefor, to the prejudice of the generalwelfare; this results from causing them to be sold to those who willpay the best price for them, and merchants who have companies in Méjicobuying them--to whom a great part of the merchandise generally belongs, to the prejudice of the citizens to whom is conceded the permissionby which favor is shown them. We order and command the governors toobserve the ordinance; and if they violate it, it will be placed asa clause in their residencia. [Felipe III--Madrid, May 23, 1620. ]

LAW XIX

The ships which shall be built for the trade between Filipinas andNueva España shall have and shall without fail carry their hearthsunder the forecastle, and in no other part. In no case shall they becarried above deck. [Felipe III--Madrid, May 29, 1620. ]

LAW XLIX

The accommodations distributed to the officers in the ships ofFilipinas shall be moderate, and shall conform to the capacity ofthe ships. The governor shall assign to each one the space which hemay occupy and fill, and he shall not exceed it. [Felipe III--Madrid, May 29, 1620. ]

LAW LI

In the enrollments of seamen which are made in Filipinas, it occursthat a ship admits and carries sixty sailors, not thirty of whom areof use, and in time of need there is no one to work; and there issignal danger in so long and difficult a voyage. We order the governorand captain-general always to provide and order that the sailorsand common seamen be effective. If our officials do not comply withthis, it shall be placed as a clause in their residencias. [FelipeIII--Madrid, May 29, 1620. ]

LAW LIII

The Indian deck-hands on the ships of Filipinas shall all be fromthat coast; and shall be clothed, in order to protect themselvesfrom the cold of the voyage. Our fiscal of the Audiencia of Manilashall enroll, and take a memorandum of, the Indian deckhands whoshall be embarked. On the return from the voyage, he shall takeaccount from the ship's officers of the payments and treatment thatshall have been given the Indians. If any of them shall have diedfrom the causes above mentioned, complaint shall be lodged againstthe guilty, until they are punished as a warning and example; andit shall be a charge in their residencia against the said officers, who must be obliged to give account of those Indians. If any Indiandie from sickness or accident, a report must be made of it in thesame vessel, as soon as it happens; and if they do not do that, andthe Indian dies, they shall be considered as confessed criminals, guilty of the crime. [Felipe III--Madrid, May 29, 1620. ]

LAW LV

Inasmuch as many slaves are usually carried in the ships fromFilipinas, who consume the provisions, we order and command that nopassenger or sailor shall take more than one slave, except personsof rank, and that for good cause, and with careful restriction. Andinasmuch as the duties are paid in Acapulco on those who are soldthere, because of the inconvenience of paying them in Manila, we orderthat the president and auditors of our royal Audiencia of Filipinasprovide that it be so observed and executed. [Felipe III--Madrid, May 29, 1620. ]

LAW LVII

We order that our royal Audiencia of Manila rate the amount of whatthe mates on the ships shall exact in the port of Acapulco for theguard of boxes, barrels, and other articles of merchandise. If thisbe exceeded, claims may be made against them in their residencias atthe end of their voyages. [Felipe III--Madrid, May 29, 1620. ]

LAW LXXVII

Some ships sail from the ports of Callao and Guayaquil to Nicaraguaand Guatemala, under pretext of going for pitch and other things, andthen often go from there to the port of Acapulco to lade Chinese cloth, in return for a great sum of silver which they carry, practicing manyefforts and frauds. We order that under no consideration may any shipsor other vessels from the said ports or provinces of Perú go to thatof Acapulco; and that the viceroys shall order and take what measuresmay be necessary so that this be obeyed and observed. They shall imposewhat penalties they choose; and they shall execute those penalties onthe transgressors in a severe and exemplary manner. [Felipe IV--SanLorenzo, October 20, 1621. ]

LAW XXXVIII

We order and command the governors of Filipinas not to permit privatepersons of those islands to despatch ships to Macan, Malaca, Siam, Camboja, and other parts of that archipelago, or to take seamen orsoldiers in them; for it is advisable to have ships and a fleet readyfor the defense of Manila, which can be defended or garrisoned in noother way; and they shall attend to the correction of this as a thingso important, and shall give such orders as are most expedient. [FelipeIV--Madrid, December 31, 1622. ]

LAW LXIII

By reason of haste in the despatch [of the ships], the clerks of theregister are usually left, through forgetfulness, with some registerswhich have been made of the merchandise; and, as the registers donot appear, the judges condemn the goods as confiscated. We order theviceroy and auditors of our royal Audiencia of Méjico that, when thishappens, they shall enact justice [1] so that the parties' right tocollect it shall remain free. [Felipe IV--Madrid, October 9, 1623. ]

LAW XXII

The governors and captains-general of the Filipinas Islands and Maluco, and our other judges and justices, shall observe and shall cause tobe observed all the privileges, immunities, and exemptions of theartillerymen on that route and commerce, and of those who live atthe ports, forts, and fortifications, which for that reason belongto them, in respect to the trade of the Indias from these kingdomsto those islands, in accordance with título 22 of this book. [2][Felipe IV--Madrid, December 6, 1624. ]

LAW LXXIX

We permit the viceroys, auditors, governors, royal officials, andgovernment agents who shall have been appointed, and who have to goby way of the South Sea from Nueva España to Petú, and from there toNueva España, to take their property registered, if they swear that itis their own and not another's under penalty of incurring confiscation[of the same]. [Felipe IV--Madrid (?), October 5, 1626. ]

LAW LXII

We declare and order that the valuation of merchandise taken to NuevaEspaña from Filipinas shall be made in Méjico by an accountant ofthe bureau of accounts, an officer of our royal treasury of the saidcity, and one of the members of the consulate of the said city. Theviceroy shall appoint them every year, one fortnight before the saidvaluations are to be made, and he shall have special care in themaking such appointment. In case that there shall be any discordbetween the three said persons, the viceroy shall appoint anotheraccountant and royal official other than the first, so that these maymeet with them. That measure which has two votes shall be adopted, even though they be but two who are in complete harmony. And ifthey should not be in harmony, and should be two to two of differentopinions, they shall have recourse to the viceroy; and the decisionof that side with which he shall agree shall be put into execution, without reply or contradiction. [3] [Felipe IV--Madrid, June 4, 1627. ]

LAW LXVII

We order all the judges and justices before whom Chinese cloth shallbe denounced as being contraband, not to condemn it as confiscated;but to send it to these kingdoms in a separate account directed tothe president and official judges of the House of Trade of Sevilla, so that it may be sent from there to the treasurer of our Council ofthe Indias. Thus shall it be done on all the occasions that arise. [4][Felipe III--Madrid, April 18, 1617; Felipe IV--Madrid, March 3, 1629. ]

LAW L

The commander and officers whom the governor of Filipinas appointsfor the ships sailing to Nueva España, shall not be aided with payfor more than four months, both in Méjico and Filipinas. At thetermination of the trip, their accounts shall be balanced, and theremainder for the time while they shall have served, and no more, shall be paid them. [Felipe IV--Madrid, December 14, 1630. ]

LAW XIII

Our fiscal of the Audiencia of Filipinas shall, according to thesettled custom, be present at the inspection of ships which is madein the port of Manila, on those ships which come from Nueva Españaand other parts; and he shall denounce those which carry more thanwhat is permitted. The judges who shall try the cause shall apply themerchandise denounced to our royal exchequer, and shall punish theguilty rigorously. [Felipe III--Madrid, May 4, 1619; Felipe IV--Madrid, March 25, 1633. ]

LAW LXXIII

In the court trials regarding the seizures of smuggled goods fromChina which shall be seized in Perú, what shall pertain to thedenouncers--namely, their third part--shall be paid to them immediatelyin money, provided it does not pass or exceed that ordered by lawsof título 17, libro 8, which treat of seizures of smuggled goods, irregularities, and confiscations; and provided that the money benot taken from our royal treasury under any consideration, but fromexpenses of justice or fines forfeited to the treasury, or fromthe proceeds from merchandise or other articles which generallycome with those that are contraband and outside the register, whichare not from China, or of those prohibited to be sold or traded inPerú. We charge the viceroys to advise us on all occasions, withspecification, of these denunciations, and of the part given tothe denouncer, and in what quantity and kind, making us a clear anddistinct relation. [Felipe IV--Madrid, March 31, 1633. ]

LAW XXXI

It was ordered that the ships that go from Nueva España to Filipinasmust sail from the port of Acapulco by the end of March, withoutextending even a day into April. And inasmuch as we are informedthat that is inconvenient, we order that the ships be prepared withall that is necessary by December, so that at the end of that month, they may leave the said port of Acapulco, so that they may be able toarrive at the said islands, at the latest, some time in March. It isour will that this be executed inviolably, and it will be made a chargeof omission in the residencia of the viceroys of Nueva España; and, if they do not so do, we shall consider ourselves disserved. [FelipeIV--Madrid, August 26, 1633. ]

LAW XXV

We order the viceroys of Nueva España to give the necessary orders, and to take suitable precautions, that the provision which is madeannually for the departure of the ships which sail from the portof Acapulco to Filipinas be made there very seasonably, so that theships may not be detained, or those who are to embark suffer becauseof the short time allowed for departure or the inadequate provisionof food. [Felipe IV--Madrid, September 30, 1633. ]

LAW LXI

Inasmuch as it has come to our notice that the agents and officialsof our royal treasury at the port of Acapulco maltreat the sailors andothers who come from the Filipinas Islands, and cause them much troubleand vexation, by obliging them to give up what they carry, obtainedthrough so long and arduous a voyage: we order the viceroys of NuevaEspaña to have the matter examined, and the guilty punished. Theyshall establish what remedy seems to them most effective, so thatlike offenses may be avoided. [Felipe IV--Madrid, September 30, 1633. ]

LAW III

It is usual for the governor and captain-general of Filipinas toappoint a person for the inspection of the Chinese ships when theycome with their merchandise to the city of Manila. That person isusually one of his household, and from it follow certain injuries, and no one dares to demand satisfaction. We order the said governorand the royal Audiencia of Manila to meet to discuss this matter, and to choose a suitable person for this office. They shall endeavorto select one fitted for this task, and acceptable to the nativesand foreigners. They shall take in this regard the measures whichare expedient, and shall always advise us through our Council of theIndias of the person whom they shall elect, and of all else necessaryfor the good of that community. [Felipe III--San Lorenzo, August 25, 1620; Felipe IV--Madrid, November 10, 1634. ]

LAW XIV

We order that money from Nueva España shall not be sent to Filipinasin excess of what is permitted; and all that is found en route fromAcapulco without a written permit, beyond the apportionment made ofthe five hundred thousand pesos permitted, shall be confiscated andapplied to our treasury and exchequer. The driver who shall carry suchmoney shall incur the confiscation of his beasts of burden and slaves, and a fine of two thousand Castilian ducados, applied in the same way[as the above], and the stewards in charge of the illegal funds shallbe punished with ten years' service in Terrenate. [Felipe IV--Madrid, January 30, 1635. ]

LAW XLIII

The governors of Filipinas appoint commander, admiral, and officersfor the ships which sail to Nueva España; and in case of the deathor absence of these, they make appointments of other persons, inaccordance with the usual procedure. And inasmuch as it is advisableto do this, we order our viceroys of Nueva España to observe andcause to be observed what is ordained in this regard, and the customwhich has always been observed, without making any innovation. [FelipeIV--Madrid, February 5, 1635. ]

LAW XXXVI

We charge and order the governors of Filipinas to be very careful tosee that the shipyards do not lack lumber for the repair of ships, rigging, war-stores, and food; and that they provide throughout asufficient supply of these articles and of all else necessary, withcareful precaution. [Felipe IV--Madrid, February 21, 1635. ]

[Although the final dates of the two following laws are later than1635, they are here included in order to keep the laws of this títulotogether. ]

LAW XXXII

The ships which are to be despatched and to sail from the FilipinasIslands for Nueva España shall depart in the month of June; for thereis great danger of their having to put back or of being wrecked if theysail later. We order the governor and captain-general of those islandsto have it observed and executed accordingly. But this must be afterholding a council of persons experienced in that navigation--so that, having heard and weighed their opinions, the most advisable measuresmay be enacted. [Felipe IV--Madrid, December 31, 1622; January 27, 1631; February 14, 1660. ]

LAW XLI

The overseer and accountant of these voyages shall have everything incharge, and they shall set down and keep in their books an account ofwhat is laden in merchandise, and what is carried on the return tripof the ships. They shall be chosen from persons who are well approved, who have given satisfaction, and are trustworthy, and they shall begiven the proper and sufficient salary, which shall not exceed twothousand ducados apiece for the voyage; for they shall not lade anyquantity of merchandise, under penalty of the fines imposed by law 48of this título. [5] We order that they sail going and coming, one inthe flagship and the other in the almiranta, alternating in all thevoyages. The governor shall give them the instructions which they areto observe during the voyage. Their residencia must be taken as soonas the voyage is finished, as is done with the other officers of thatfleet, before they can sail on another voyage. [Felipe III--Madrid, May 23, 1620; Cárlos II (in this _Recopilación_). ]

ROYAL DECREES, 1633-35

The King. To the Marqués de Cerralvo, my relative, member of my Councilof War, my viceroy, governor, and captain-general of those provinces ofNueva España, and president of my royal treasury therein; or the personor persons to whose charge the government of them may be entrusted: theking my sovereign and father (whom may holy paradise keep!) ordered tobe issued, and did issue, a decree (which is found at folio 163 verso, of this same volume, number 144). [6] And now Don Juan Grau Monfalcon, procurator-general of the city of Manila of the Filipinas Islands, has related to me that, as is well known, there is great need ofsailors and seamen in the navigation of the said Filipinas Islands, and that, for the islands to obtain these men it is advisable that goodtreatment and [an opportunity for] passage be given to them in theseaports; and that they be granted some means of gain, so that theymight, by reason of that self-interest, be encouraged and induced toserve in the voyages--shielding them from the annoyances inflictedupon them by the officials at the said ports. He has petitioned methat I be pleased so to order, and that their chests be not opened;that permission be granted them so that each seaman may carry up toseven thousand pesos of investments in that voyage, in which is to beincluded the quantity which they have hitherto been permitted to carry;and that the castellan and my other employees at the port of Acapulcoshall cause them neither vexations nor injuries. The matter havingbeen examined in my royal Council of the Yndias, I have consideredit fitting to issue the present, by which I order you to observeand fulfil, and to cause to be observed and fulfilled, the decreeherein incorporated, _in toto_ and exactly as is therein contained, and that you do not violate it or pass beyond its tenor and form. [7]In its fulfilment, you shall give what orders may be necessary, sothat care may be taken of those men at the port of Acapulco and sothat all proper facilities and despatch may be accorded them. Madrid, September 30, 1633. 

_I the King_

By order of the king our sovereign:_Don Francisco Ruiz de Contreras_

The King. To my governor and captain-general of the Filipinasislands, and president of my royal Audiencia therein. Don Juan Grauy Monfalcon, procurator-general of that city, has informed me that Iordered, by a decree of May 23, 1620, that the cargo of the ships bedistributed to the inhabitants with all fairness; but that, contraryto the orders therein contained the governors have introduced thecustom of giving a part of the cargoes to the sailors and seamen, and to the soldiers, hospitals, works of charity, clerics, and theirown servants, as also to the auditors, fiscals, and officials of myroyal treasury, whereby the favor that had been shown the inhabitantshas been diminished. He also states that Don Juan Niño de Tavoratried to make the said allotment, although it belonged to the city;and that the people most needy, and those to whom there are greaterobligations, did not enjoy the benefit of this favor. He petitionedme to be pleased to order that those decrees which have been given beobserved, since that city has served me, and always serves me with thelove and zeal which has been experienced--and lately, notwithstandingthe losses that they suffered in the flagship which sank in that port, they gave me an offering of four thousand ducados; and that, wheneverthat allotment be made, it be with the consent of my governor and theapproval of the city. By that means the complaints and dissatisfactionamong them will be avoided. The matter having been examined in my royalCouncil of the Yndias, I have deemed it best to order and command you, as I do order and command you, to observe and fulfil, and cause tobe observed and fulfilled, the things that are ordered by virtue ofdecrees, and the orders that have been given, since you see how justit is to give entire satisfaction to the parties [concerned]; and thatyour measures be such that those allotments be made with all equityand justice, preventing the quarrels and complaints that might ariseon that account if the contrary were permitted. Madrid, March 10, 1634. 

_I the King_

By order of his Majesty:_Don Gabriel de Ocaña Y Alarcon_

The King. To Marqués de Cerralvo, my relative, member of my Councilof War, governor and captain-general of the provinces of NuevaEspaña, and president of my royal Audiencia therein: Don Juan Grau yMonfalcon, procurator-general of the city of Manila, has informed methat there is great need of sailors and soldiers in those islands, and that they need at least 2, 200 soldiers for the defense of thoseislands--600 being assigned to the city; in the fort and redoubt, 100;in the fort of Cavite, another 100; in the galleys, a like number;in Cibu and Caragua, 200; in the island of Hermosa and Cagayan, 400; and in Terrenate, 600. There can be no security without them, and although some reënforcements are sent from Nueva España, as theseare so few those needs are not remedied. It is also necessary that theships that sail from Acapulco to the said islands leave at the latestby the twenty-fifth of March, because of the troubles that resultif the contrary be done. He petitioned me to order you to make thereënforcements to the fullest extent possible, and to send annually atleast four hundred soldiers, eight hundred and fifty sailors and theartillerymen that you can send, since the conservation of the islandsdepends on them. The matter having been examined in my Council ofWar of the Yndias, I have considered it fitting to give the present, by which I charge and order you to fulfil in both matters the commandsof my decrees in this regard. Madrid, March 10, 1634. 

_I the King_

By order of his Majesty:_Don Gabriel de Ocaña y Alarcon_

The King. To Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, knight of the Order ofAlcantara, my governor and captain-general of the Filipinas Islands, and president of my royal Audiencia resident therein, or the personor persons in whose charge their government may be: Don Juan Grau yMonfalcon, procurator-general of that city, has informed me that thatsaid city has been granted, for its fortification, the proceeds ofthe income from the monopoly on playing-cards and other articles, andthat the money that has been received from those sources was alwayspaid into the fortification fund; but that, in violation of that, Don Juan Niño de Tabora, my former governor of those islands, orderedthat the said sums be placed in my royal treasury, as was done. Onthat account, the money that is so necessary for the different works, the repairs, and fortifications that arise daily, is lacking. He saysthat the city having petitioned the governor to have the sums thatbelonged to the said fund returned, he refused to comply; but on thecontrary ordered that the city furnish, from its communal property, all that was thus placed in my royal treasury. He petitioned me tobe pleased to have my royal decree issued ordering that no room begiven for such innovation, that the city and its council might spendand distribute their communal funds freely, as they have always done, since that pertains to the city; and that the kinds of income thathave been customary in the past be placed therein and in no otherfund. The matter having been examined in my royal Council of theYndias, I have considered it fitting to give the present, by whichI order you to cause to be observed and fulfilled exactly the ordersthat were given and commanded in this regard before the said Don JuanNiño de Tavora made this innovation. Madrid, September 9, 1634. 

_I the King_

By order of the king our sovereign:_Don Gabriel de Ocaña y Alarcon_

The King. To the president and auditors of my royal Audiencia of theFilipinas Islands: Don Juan Gran y Monfalcon, procurator-general ofthat city, has reported to me that the Portuguese nation who are livingin Eastern Yndia have attempted trade and commerce with those islands, to the detriment of the Sangleys who go to sell their merchandiseat that city; and that that intercourse was already established, contrary to the orders and decrees that have been given, to thevery great damage and prejudice of my royal treasury and the goodgovernment of the islands. He petitioned me to be pleased to have aspeedy and efficacious remedy applied to so grave a matter and oneof so great importance. All the papers that were presented in regardto this matter, together with what my fiscal declared and allegedtherein, having been examined in my royal Council of the Yndias, Ihave considered it fitting to send you a copy of them so that you mayexamine them; and, should the relation made therein appear to you tobe correct, you shall immediately apply the remedy for this injury. Byanother decree, [8] I order my fiscal of my Audiencia there to takeup that case, and to plead all that he shall deem advisable for theadvantage and increase of my royal treasury, and the observance ofthe orders and decrees that have been issued, since that pertains tohim by reason of his office. You shall continue to advise me of allsteps that you shall take, and of what you shall do in the future, in this matter. Madrid, November 10, 1634. 

_I the King_By order of the king our sovereign:_Don Gabriel de Ocaña y Alarcon_

The King. To Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, whom I have appointedas my governor and captain-general of the Filipinas Islands, and president of my royal Audiencia therein: a letter which waswritten to me under date of the former year 633, by Don Juan Cerezo deSalamanca, my governor _ad interim_ of the said islands, on a matter ofgovernment, has been received by my royal Council of the Yndias, andanswer is given in this present letter. He says that the relationshipwith Japon has been destroyed because the Dutch have angered thatking by their accustomed trickery, under pretext of the religiouswho have preached--by reason of which, fearful of new conquests, allhis oldtime friendship has been converted in those parts into hatred, and he makes use of severe methods with the Catholics--and that manyof the said religious who have gone to that kingdom have acted withsome imprudence, causing more trouble than gain. For the remedy ofthat, he considers it advisable to charge the provincials not togrant such licenses. Notwithstanding that that has been commanded onother occasions, as you will understand by the decrees that have beenissued, it has seemed best to me to advise you of it, so that you maypay heed to this matter, and so that you may take such measures as aremost advisable for my service and the conservation of those islands. 

He also advises us that there is a lack of people in those islands, and that their inhabitants are decreasing in number by reason ofthe unhealthful climate; and that it would be important to provide aremedy for that, because of the need for it. I charge you to avoid, as far as possible, the giving of passports for granting passage fromthe islands. The viceroy of Nueva España is ordered to have a carein this, and to send more people than is his regular custom. Madrid, February 16, 1635. 

_I the King_

By order of the king our sovereign:_Don Gabriel de Ocaña y Alarcon_

The King. To the auditors of my royal Audiencia of the FilipinasIslands: the letter which you wrote me under date of August 8 of theformer year 1633 has been received and examined in my royal Councilof the Yndias, and answer is made to you in this present letter. 

The reformation that you have made in the licenses that were given bythe government for rice-wine stills, in which so great a quantity ofrice was consumed, is well advised for the present, as it is beneficialto the common welfare; and if you shall encounter any difficultiesin regard to this in the future, you shall advise me of them. 

You say that when that Audiencia was governing because of the death ofDon Alonso Faxardo de Tenza, they began to introduce the inspectionof the prisons of the Parián and of Tondo, on the Saturday of eachweek, as they are very near that city. Afterward in the time ofthe other governors, that custom was dropped, as they thought thatit deprived them of some of their gubernatorial powers. As it isadvisable that more attention be given to the alcaldes-mayor, andthat certain annoyances to the prisoners be avoided, the said visitswere continued, as they were so advisable to the service of God ourLord and to my own. I charge you to continue them for the present, if there is no disadvantage to prevent it. 

The efforts that you have made in regard to the building of a galleonthat is being constructed, in the province of Camarines, have metmy approval. 

As for the encomenderos who may have recourse to that Audiencia beyondthe limits of its commission, whose encomiendas were declared vacantby the visitor, as they had failed to secure their confirmationswithin the specified time, justice will be done to the parties whenthey come to ask for what is necessary for them. 

In regard to the allotment of the lading-space in the ships, thatyou made to the inhabitants of that city, in accordance with theagreement that was made for that purpose, it is approved. Madrid, February 16, 1635. 

_I the King_

By order of the king our sovereign:_Don Gabriel de Ocaña y Alarcon_

The King. To Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, knight of the Order ofAlcantara, my governor and captain-general of the Filipinas Islands, and president of my royal Audiencia therein: I have been informedthat the reënforcements for Terrenate are the matters that give mostanxiety to those who serve me in that government, and that these aremade at great risk and at great expense to my treasury; that thatof the former year 1632 had gone there in very creditable manner, because it was carried by a fortified ship, which could act defensivelyand offensively against the Dutch; that on account of the informationreceived that the enemy was preparing to await with greater forces theship that was to sail in the year 633, the reënforcements were preparedin two war galleons; that, in the future, the attempt would be madeto send all the reënforcements with two entire infantry companies, so that two other companies could return thence--by which method [thegarrison of] that presidio will be changed every three years, and allthe companies of the army will share the work equally; and that it wasadvisable for my service that I order you to do this with exactness, since trouble arises by sending parts of companies, as only thefavored ones leave that presidio, and by exchanging entire companiesall will enjoy the privilege of all the aforesaid. Accordingly, I havethought best to order and command you, as I do order and command you, to see to it that remnants of companies are not sent to Terrenate;but that entire companies go, in the form and manner herein contained, so that entire companies of those who are exchanged may return. Youshall advise me of whatever you shall enact in this matter. Madrid, November 5, 1635. 

_I the King_

By order of the king our sovereign:_Don Gabriel de Ocaña Y Alarcon_

MEMORIAL TO THE KING BY JUAN GRAO Y MONFALCON IN THE YEAR 1635

_The procurator-general of the city of Manila and the PhilipinasIslands, to his Majesty. He considers the reasons why it is advisableto pay careful attention to the preservation of those islands; andentreats his Majesty to have the collection of the two per cent dutyrecently imposed on merchandise shipped for the commerce of NuevaEspaña discontinued. _

Sire:

Don Juan Grao y Monfalcon, procurator-general for the distinguishedand loyal city of Manila, the metropolis and capital of the FilipinasIslands, declares that the preservation and protection of these islandsare of the utmost consideration and importance, and deserve the mostcareful attention, on account of the great advantages and profitswhich they afford--to say nothing of the principal consideration, namely, the service of God, and the propagation of religion and theCatholic faith. In the aforesaid city and in the other islands thatfaith is established, and will steadily become stronger, increasing andspreading not only among those but other and neighboring islands. Thisis especially true in Great China and Japon, which from continualintercourse and friendly relations with the said Filipinas Islandsmay--if the Christian faith is preserved and permanently maintainedin the latter, and as deeply rooted and as pure and constant as atpresent--look, in the said matter of religion, for felicitous andgreat results. The same [may be said] for what concerns the serviceof your Majesty, and the profitable and advantageous increase of theroyal estate, since even the profits which your Majesty at presentenjoys and possesses in the said city and the other islands are many, and of great importance. For in one village alone, which they callParián, an arquebus-shot from the said city [of Manila], more thantwenty thousand Chinese Indians called Sangleys, and in the otherislands over ten thousand more, have all come from Great China andJapon for their own private affairs and interests. It is they whobuild up and maintain the greater part of the traffic and commerceof the islands. From that result the trade with Nueva España, andthe ships which sail thither annually, laden with many differentkinds of merchandise (carried [to Manila] and bartered by the saidSangleys)--such as much gold (wrought, and in sheets); diamonds, rubies, and other gems, besides a great quantity of pearls; many silktextiles of all colors--taffetas, damasks, satins, silk grograms, and velvets--and raw silk; a quantity of white and black cotton cloth;amber, civet, musk, and storax. Thence arises annually great gain tothe royal treasury, on account of the many considerable duties whichare paid and collected--both when the ships leave the said city ofManila, and their islands and ports, and in that of Acapulco; andlater, when they enter Nueva España and the City of Mexico. There, when the ships leave for the said Filipinas, the duties are doubled, as well as in the said port of Acapulco, by those duties anew incurredand paid, the [trade of the] said Sangleys being a great part inthis receipt [_adquisicion_]. Of no less consideration is the tributewhich the Sangleys pay to the royal treasury for their license, andright of entrance and residence in the said village of the Parián, and in the other islands where they reside. Since the said Sangleysnumber thirty [thousand], they pay in most years an annual sum of twohundred and seventy thousand reals of eight (which means nine reals ofeight for each license), which are placed in the royal treasury. Inthe islands of Pintados and other islands which belong to the saidFilipinas, there are one hundred and fourteen thousand two hundred andseventeen Indians, all paying tribute to the royal treasury. Theirconservation is very necessary, as they are no longer wild and areexcellent workmen, and for that reason are people of utility andprofit for any occasion that may arise--especially as there are alsomany gold mines in the said islands, whence is obtained a quantityof gold. There are also other fruits of the land in great abundance, especially wax, cotton, large cattle, swine, fowls, rice, and civet, besides other innumerable products and means of gain. All of thistells and publishes the great importance of the said city and itsislands, and of their preservation; and the many incomparable wrongswhich would follow if the said city, the capital of the others, wereto become depopulated, ruined, or destroyed. It is very near to that, because of the great and continual misfortunes and disasters which theinhabitants of it have suffered and are suffering, caused by firesthat have destroyed almost the entire city and the property of thesaid inhabitants, and the shipwreck and loss of many different vessels, which have been miserably wrecked during the usual voyage from the saidcity to Nueva España, with the destruction of the goods and wealth ofthe said inhabitants which are carried in the ships. The effects fromso many and so large losses last and will last always; for those losseshave ruined and impoverished the inhabitants to a degree very differentfrom what one can imagine and explain. Consequently, if the generosity, magnificence, and powerful hand of your Majesty do not protect it, one can and must fear the very certain ruin and destruction of thesaid city and of the other islands, which are under its governmentand protection. From that [ruin] will follow great and intolerabledisadvantages and losses to the disservice of the royal crown, theloss of that land and community, and (what is most reprehensible)that of religion and the Catholic faith. Although this is so deeplyrooted in the said city and in the other islands, it would be lost, if the Dutch gained possession of Manila, as they have done ofmany neighboring islands and forts: namely, the island of Motiel;that of Maquien, where the Dutch have two forts, named Talagora andMosaquia; the island of Ambueno, where the above-mentioned peopleare fortified with considerable artillery and a Dutch population;that of Xacadra, where the said Dutchmen have their capital and wherea captain-general and an Audiencia composed of four auditors reside, and a settlement and population of one thousand Dutch inhabitants;the islands of Xaba Major and Minor, and that of Mindanao. In someof those islands they have established their factories, where theycollect what they pillage, and [carry on] their trade with the Chineseand other nations. They gather in the said islands (whose productsconsist of cloves, pepper, and nutmeg) an exceedingly great quantity[of this produce], for which three ships are annually despatchedto Olanda, laden with more than three thousand five hundred andfifty valas [_i. E. , bares_ = bahars] of cloves (each vale [_sic_]containing four hundred and sixty libras), with a great quantity ofpepper, and of the said nutmeg and its mace; also silks, cinnamon, and other products. Hence they are extremely well fortified in thesaid islands, as well as in others, as they have an understandingwith the surrounding kings. For the king of Daquen gives them eightythousand ducados annually in order to have them protect his country, and so that his vassals may go and navigate safely in those straits ontheir trade and traffic with the islands surrounding his kingdom. Allof that obliges the said city of Manila and its other islands to bemore watchful and to maintain larger forces and supplies. For werethere neglect in this, the power and invasion of the said Dutch, who have so frequented and learned the said straits (of which theyhave so thoroughly taken possession and with so many forces, as abovenarrated), could be feared. 

Although the said city and its inhabitants have been and are alwaysvery careful and vigilant (as is very well known); defending, at the cost of their lives and goods, the land from the incessantbombardments, surprises, and attacks of the said Dutch, with theforced obligation of very generally keeping their arms in readinessall the time; enduring a servile life full of annoyance and danger, although they could leave it, and it would be better and more worthliving if it were less grievous, and free from so many dangersand difficulties: nevertheless they endure them, in considerationof the service of your Majesty, and in continuation of the manyservices which they have rendered in the defense and preservation ofthat country; and hoping that the greatness and liberality of yourMajesty will protect and relieve them, so that they may accomplishtheir purpose better. Particularly do they ask that you order to berepealed the collection of the two per cent, the imposition of whichwas ordered by a decree of the former year six hundred and four on themerchandise exported from the said islands to the said Nueva España, in addition to the three per cent paid on them by the merchants ofthe said city--which heard and received notice of the said royaldecree in the year of six hundred and seven, while Don Rodrigo deVibero was governor. At that time the decree was not made effectiveor fulfilled, as the difficulty and great disadvantages that accompanyit were recognized. Consequently, it remained in that condition untilthe year six hundred and eleven, when the collection of the said dutywas again charged to Governor Don Juan de Sirva [_i. E. , _ Silva]. He, trying to carry out its provisions, recognized the same difficulties, for the many reasons advanced by the city, which were so just andrelevant that they obliged him to call a treasury council. Having therediscussed and conferred upon those reasons, and it having been seenthat they were so urgent and necessary that they strictly preventedand ought to prevent the execution of the said royal decree of 604, he suspended it for the time being, giving your Majesty notice[thereof]. The decree remained in this condition until the yearsix hundred and twenty-five, in which the royal officials againdiscussed the matter of the collection of the said two per cent, during the government of Don Fernando de Silva. He, recognizingthe same obstacles, and that those obstacles were much greater thenbecause of the worse condition and the notable change and damage towhich the affairs of the said city had come--the property, traffic, and means of gain of its inhabitants--with a great reduction anddifference from that which they had in the said year of six hundredand seven, concurred with what had been provided by his predecessor, the said Don Juan de Silva, and ordered that no innovation be madein it. The same was done by the governor who succeeded him, DonJuan Niño de Tabora. Thus, the said governors, as each confrontedthe matter, always came to see very plainly the said difficulties, which at present are not only of the above-mentioned character, butare impossible to overcome because of the condition of affairs, thepoverty of the inhabitants, and the great decrease and diminution ofthe trade and commerce of former times. That is given more prominenceby the efforts of the visitor, Licentiate Don Francisco de Rojas, who made strenuous efforts to have the collection of the two percent carried out. Nevertheless, he saw with his own eyes the saiddisadvantages that resulted from the said collection. One of themwas the resolution of the inhabitants not to export their goods andmerchandise; nor could they do so, because of the great losses, both past and present, which they have encountered. This is thegreatest damage that can happen to the royal treasury; for if theexport and commerce ceases, not only will the said two per cent belacking, but also the old three per cent which has always been paid, as well as the other three per cent which was lately imposed upon themerchandise which the Chinese Indians bring to the said city and theFilipinas Islands. Accordingly, if the commerce of the islands withNueva España fails, it is certain and infallible that that of the saidChinese, which forms the whole export to Nueva España, will also fail. 

Therefore, the said visitor, notwithstanding the great desirewhich he showed of putting the said collection into execution, did not dare to do it; but considered it better to suspend it, andreport to your Majesty. Although he tried to have it collected as avoluntary service for the future, the citizens, seeing their greatlack of wealth, could not conform to that measure, although for thattime only they gave a subsidy of four thousand pesos, on conditionthat it should not serve as a precedent for the future, and thatthere should be no further talk of the said collection [of the saidtwo per cent] until, after your Majesty had examined it, a suitabledecision should be adopted. They petition your Majesty to be pleasedto consider the very necessary and urgent causes and reasons why thesaid collection of the said two per cent should not be carried on, but that its execution be abrogated, which are as follows:

First, that the motive and cause declared in the said decree of sixhundred and four for the said imposition, was the declaration thatthere was suffering because of the great profits of those who weretrading and trafficking in the Filipinas commerce. It was said that theprofits were one hundred per cent, and at times two hundred. Althoughthe said Sangleys, antecedent to the said year of six hundred and four, brought the merchandise from China to the said city, and sold it atprices so low that when taken and sold in Nueva España it alloweda very great profit: still that ceased many years ago, from the saidyear of six hundred and four, when the Dutch enemy and pirates began tocontinue in and infest those islands with many different plunderingsof the merchandise that the Chinese ships brought to the said cityof Manila. On that account the said trade has gone on diminishingfrom day to day, very fast and steadily, to the pass to which thesaid Dutch have brought it by their pursuit and pillaging of the saidChinese ships. From that has resulted the ruin of the said commerce, and for the same reason the profits of it [have declined] to so greata degree that scarcely can one now buy one pico of silk for the pricethat he formerly paid for two and one-half picos. This has been thereason why, since the merchandise of the Chinese was lacking to theinhabitants for their investments, they have had to buy the goodsfrom the Portuguese of Macan, at prices so high and excessive thatthey make no considerable profit in Nueva España. Consequently, theprofits that the inhabitants of Manila formerly had have come to bemade by the said Portuguese of Macan. Thus the reason and motive forthe said royal decree has entirely and surely disappeared; and thissame fact ought to do away with its ruling. 

The second reason also is founded on the expense and cost that hadto be incurred for the security and defense of the trading shipsfrom the said islands to Nueva España, with the fifty soldiers, military captain, and other officers; that the said ships had to beof a certain tonnage; and that for this reason of the said expensesand costs, the said decree ordered the imposition of the said twoper cent in order that it should be unnecessary to have recourse tothe royal treasury. It ordered the proceeds therefrom to be depositedin a separate fund and account, for the said expenses which had to beincurred with the said ships and their crews. That reason likewise hashad no effect, for the said expenses have not been made, nor are theymade; nor do the said military captain, soldiers, or other officerssail in the said ships. Neither are the said ships--those that thereare--of the said burden and tonnage, but smaller. Therefore the saidexpenses and costs cease, upon which the said decree is grounded;accordingly, that which is ruled and ordered by it ceases, for thereason stated, and, indeed, should cease. 

Third, because by the former year of six hundred and eleven, the saidgovernor, Don Juan de Silva, seeing the unsatisfactory method andarrangements existing for the collection of the said two per cent, tried to supply it--and did so--by the method that he thought leastharmful, and of greater profit to the royal treasury--namely, to imposein its stead another duty of three per cent on the merchandise broughtby the Chinese to sell in the said city of Manila. But, althoughthe said imposition is ostensibly on the said Chinese, it comes, infact, to be imposed on the inhabitants of Manila themselves; for thelatter, being the purchasers, necessarily have to pay more, the Chinesesellers taking into consideration the new charge and imposition whichhas been levied on them. Consequently, the said two per cent has cometo have actual effect and with greater profit by the said three percent substituted in its place, which fact the said governor, Don Juande Silva, had in mind. If the decree were again to be carried out, it would mean a double imposition for the above-mentioned damagesand obstacles, and there would be no possibility of executing it. 

Fourth, because the royal duties which the inhabitants pay onthe said investments that they make, are very great; for on everythousand pesos of principal that they invest the duties in the saidcity and in Nueva España amount to two hundred and seventy pesos andmore, while the cost and expense incidental to the said investmentsamount to two hundred and eighty pesos more. Consequently, the saidroyal duties alone for each one thousand pesos invested inevitablyamount, as is well known, to five hundred and fifty pesos. Therefore, within four years, setting aside the said costs and expenses, thesaid inhabitants come to pay more than the said one thousand pesosof capital for the said royal duties. The same thing happens in thesame proportion when larger sums are invested. 

The fifth springs directly from the preceding reason; for since thesaid duties and said costs and expenses are so great, and the profitsso slight and uncertain, as above stated, the said inhabitants cannotcontinue the said trade and commerce of Filipinas with Nueva España;for to do that would be a poor management and administration of theirpossessions, carrying them over seas at so many risks, and in dangerof catastrophes such as generally happen, which are daily becominggreater; while there is no profit, or so little that, with the saidtwo per cent, the profits will be of little or no consideration, forwhich they will not expose their goods and capital to so great a risk. 

Sixth, because, if the said collection and enforcement of the said twoper cent were to be insisted upon, it would be a foregone conclusionthat the inhabitants would abandon the said trade and commerce, andwould not make the said investments, for the reasons stated above. Thathas proved to be so on the occasions on which the said collection hasbeen discussed with some warmth--and especially when the said visitor, Licentiate Don Francisco de Rojas, tried to effect it, when the saidinhabitants were firm and were resolved not to appraise, register, or lade anything in the ships, which were all ready to sail to NuevaEspaña. Thereupon the said visitor thought it advisable and necessaryto repeal the said enforcement. Although the inhabitants, on thatoccasion, because of the great pressure exerted and the advantageousreasons put forward by the visitor, offered to aid with a gift offour thousand pesos, it was with the said condition that it was tobe for only that one time, and with the said condition that nothingwas to be said of the said collection. 

Seventh, the great damage and injury that would assuredly follow tothe royal treasury if the said commerce were abandoned; for sincethe said three per cent that is first collected as a customs duty, and the other three per cent imposed anew in the said year of sixhundred and eleven, amount and are worth a very great sum and numberof pesos annually to the royal treasury, that sum will not increasewith the imposition of the said two per cent, but, on the contrary, both the one and the other duty will be lost; or at least they willbe reduced to a very great loss, damage, and diminution of the royaltreasury, and the reason therefor is very clear and evident. Forin every year, and in that of the imposition of the two per cent ofwhich we are treating, the duty amounted to about four thousand; andto that amount now, without the imposition of the said two per cent, all the inhabitants of the said city, both rich and poor, trade andtraffic. By that means are caused the said customs duties not only atdeparture from the said city of Manila, but at entrance into the saidCity of Mexico, and on their returns afterward, from the investments, and on the kinds of merchandise that are sent back by the same portsand places to be traded at the said city of Manila. For since thenumber of those who traffic is large, the said duties which arecaused and paid are also large. But if the said two per cent be putin force, although it may be stated that some of the said inhabitantswill continue to trade, they would be very few; and the trade wouldbe reduced to those who are richest and those with most capital, whoare not many. But among all the others who are not rich, money andcapital would fail, and they would refuse to [trade] and could notrisk their little capital without gain or profit, as they will haveno profit with the said two per cent. And it would not be right orexpedient, for the sake of the said new imposition (since the reasonsand motives for it are lacking, as above stated), to place the incomeand value of the said customs duties in danger and peril, as it is sogreat and considerable, or to risk that of the other three per centof the said year 611--the one dependent on and inseparable from theother; for, beyond all doubt, both would fail if the said commercefailed or diminished. The said danger can be regarded as certain, both for the abandonment of the said commerce and of the colony ofthose islands; and that would allow the Dutch, who are so powerfulin the surrounding islands, as above stated, to gain an entrance inthem, for the lack of troops caused by the said imposition. That is amatter which your Majesty should have examined with great attention, because of the many precedents that have been seen in like cases inthese kingdoms [_i. E. _, of España] with the great injury and loss tothe royal treasury which could not be restored later--as happenedin the increase [of the tax] on playing cards, one real more thanthe usual tax being imposed. That income, being valued at that saidtime at from forty-four to forty-five million maravedis annually inthe three districts of Castilla, Toledo, and Andalucia, dropped totwenty-two millions because of the new imposition, thereby losing alike sum annually. And, although the damage was afterward seen, and theattempt was made to correct it by repealing the said new imposition, and reducing the tax to the old amount, the amendment did not follow;for because of the frauds and cheats caused by the said income in itsfirst condition, it never returned to that condition, and remained withthe annual loss and decrease of fourteen million maravedis from what ithad at the time of the said new imposition. The same thing happened inthe thirty per cent which was imposed on the trade of foreign merchantswhile the court was in Valladolid. The result of that was that theforeign merchants abandoned the commerce, and looked for new methods, applying themselves to gaining a foothold in the Eastern Indias. Thesaid imposition was thus the reason for the many important lands andports of which the foreigners have gained possession and which theyhold, which we have lost for the said reason. Both these instancesare very certain, well-known, public, and notorious. 

The eighth reason, a very urgent and cogent one, is that since the yearsix hundred and seven, when the said commerce was in a much bettercondition, and the said Dutch had not begun to make their raids, orall the great damages that they have inflicted on the said islands andthose near by, and on the said Sangleys and Chinese--nevertheless, the said governors, Don Rodrigo de Vivero, Don Juan de Silva, andDon Juan Niño de Tabora (who succeeded him), seeing the difficultiesinvolved in the said imposition, did not consider it advisable, nor did they dare, to put it into force. Much less could it be donetoday, after the lapse of almost thirty years, at a time when theinhabitants are suffering from so great distress and necessity, caused by the many losses, as above stated, of many ships--some ofwhich have sunk, while others have of necessity sought port on thecoasts of Japon and other districts where so great riches were lostwithout its being possible to secure them, or for anything to be saved;and by the fires which they have suffered, on one occasion the greaterpart of the city, as well as the possessions of the inhabitants beingburned. A few years ago our flagship "Nuestra Señora de la Vida"[_i. E. _, "Our Lady of Life"] was wrecked on the island of Verde [9]while en route to Nueva España, with the possessions and capital ofthe aforesaid citizens. In the former year of thirty-one, the ship"Sancta Maria Magdalena" went to the bottom in the port of Cabitewith all the goods and cloth aboard it. Although the cargo was takenout, it was after it had been in the water more than one and one-halfmonths. Consequently the damage to the owners was great and notable;and on that account all the capital was ruined, the trade limited, and the goods destroyed--so much so that if the said two per cent beput in force, it will have the above defects, and the said trade willbe ruined. 

The ninth reason is of great importance, and consists in the manygreat services that have been performed for your Majesty by the saidcity of Manila, and those which its inhabitants are performing everyday; for when occasion demands--as it does often, when there is alack of regular infantry, because it has gone away or been employedin something else--the inhabitants enter the guard, as that city issurrounded by so many heathen; and they have always hastened withall the loyalty and love possible to serve on any expedition thathas offered against the Dutch and other nations, with their personsand possessions, and are the first to take arms. 

Another thing is of great consideration, namely, that in the greatnecessities that arise in the royal treasury, which has not thewherewithal to take care of them, the said inhabitants have aided it;and they aid it very often with very considerable sums, depositingtherein from eighty to one hundred thousand pesos, without receivingany interest. That money is retained in the said royal treasury, and the owners are not repaid for more than two years. The loss ofinterest on so great a sum for so long a period constitutes a greatservice, for merchants and men of business. They only think of thegreat desire that they have always had, and have, for the service ofyour Majesty; and that is so great that many poor inhabitants, nothaving any capital to allow them to make loans to the royal treasuryas the other inhabitants do, beg for a loan in order to be enabled toattend to your Majesty's royal service. In the assessments continuallylevied upon them by the governor, consisting of jars [of oil or wine], rice, and other things necessary for the relief of Terrenate and theisland of Hermosa, the said inhabitants contribute very eagerly andwillingly; and on the voyages made by the galleys, if slaves are needed(as often happens), they give their own. With the same willingnessdid they make the gift of the said four thousand pesos in the year 632. 

Since all above stated is so, and since the inhabitants are perpetuallyand continually serving your Majesty with their persons, lives, andpossessions, and by the intolerable burden of always bearing arms;and since all that is related in this memorial is evident from theinvestigations made at the citation of the fiscal, and by what thegovernors and the orders write: therefore it is just for your Majestyto honor and reward the inhabitants, since their services are so worthyof reward and remuneration; and since the said imposition of the saidtwo per cent would be only an affliction and punishment, to have itsenforcement discontinued, so that there may be no further questionof it--which, as can be understood by the reasons above stated, hasbeen and is the royal intention and purpose of your Majesty. Forduring the so many years that its execution has been suspended, your Majesty having been informed by the letters of the governorsand royal officials of the difficulty of its observance, it has beenabandoned and repealed in order to avoid so many and so great dangersas above stated, and injuries to the said inhabitants and residents ofthose islands--an intent quite in accord with the first decree of thesaid year six hundred and four, in which, although it was ordered toimpose the said two per cent, it commanded that this was to be donewith the greatest mildness possible. Consequently, as this mildnesswas not and could not be exercised, the imposition occasioning onlygreat troubles and difficulties, the decree itself intimates, as ifby express statements, that the said collection was impracticable. 

Thus the request of the said city and its inhabitants, and of thesaid islands, is that your Majesty be pleased to have it so declaredand ordered, not only for the future, but also for the past; since thesaid royal decree has not been put in force, nor has it been advisableat any time, for either the future or the past. The impossibility[of enforcing the decree] is even greater [at this time], because ofthe many years that have passed, and the many persons against whomit might be attempted, who have died; so that to undertake it wouldmean nothing else than a beginning of lawsuits, and the disquietand revolution of all the inhabitants of the said city, or of mostof them--for those who have trafficked here from the said year ofsix hundred and seven are many, and most of them have died, withoutleaving any property from which to collect the arrears of duty--incase that that effort is made. By that [concession] the inhabitantswill receive an especial favor, as is hoped from the greatness ofyour Majesty. Madrid, September 6, 1635. 

_Reply of the fiscal_

The fiscal declares that he has examined the documents sent withthis memorial, and the other papers and letters from the Audiencia, the visitor, and the superiors of the orders; that the decision [ofthis question] demands close attention, and all that the council iswont to exercise for its sure action, for the great necessity of itsinhabitants which the city represents, confronts us. We must considernot only the impracticability of enforcing the impost, but no less hisMajesty's lack of means (caused by the wars and necessary occasionsfor expense that have limited the royal incomes), which constrainshim so that he can do no more--a course which, as so Christian andpious a king, he would avoid, if it were possible. Having consideredeverything, what the visitor writes has much force with the fiscal, and persuades him that it is expedient and necessary to consultwith his Majesty regarding this letter--so that, having examined itscontents, and that, besides, which the council shall advise, he maybe pleased to order what may be most to the welfare of his vassals, in whose conservation consists his best service; and approving themild method pointed out by the visitor (of which he availed himself, in order that the trade might not cease, with the obvious danger ofgreater loss), he concurs in everything, and thus petitions. Madrid, September six, one thousand six hundred and thirty-five. 

Don Juan Grao y Monfalcon, procurator-general of the distinguished andloyal city of Manila, metropolis and capital of the Filipinas Islands, in answer to what was said and alleged by his Majesty's fiscal to thememorial and arguments which he has presented, in order that the effortfor the collection of the two per cent may cease and be abandoned, declares that your Majesty, in heeding the arguments that he haspresented in another memorial, does not give up nor is he excludedfrom what is alleged on the other side. On the contrary he expresslyrecognizes (a fact that cannot be denied) the justification and urgentreasons that are necessary and unavoidable, which strenuously obligeto what the said city has entreated. In the name of the city, heaccepts what is said and alleged in its favor by the said fiscal. Butinasmuch as the fiscal mentions his approbation of the method whichthe visitor approves--and of which he availed himself, so that thesaid trade might not cease, which, he says with good reason, would beof greater loss--and says that with the said method everything wouldturn out well, he excludes the condition that it will not providefor everything, but only for the effort to enforce the said duty oftwo per cent. The difficulty would remain present, and the reasonsand arguments of the said city be as if they were not; and it andits commerce would be left without any remedy, or means to preserveitself. Nor is there nor can there be considered any difference ofopinion in the necessity that is mentioned of the royal treasury;for, although this necessity is great, the contention of the said cityconcerns not necessity, but the limits of impossibility. Consequently, [the interests of] the city ought to prevail and be preferred. Thisconclusion was reached by experience, on the occasion of the formeryear 632, when the said visitor tried to put the said duty in force, in which he found himself confounded; for he beheld the cessation ofcommerce, and the resolve made by the said inhabitants that they wouldnot export or risk their wealth, without receiving any profit--by whichit resulted that the despatch of the ships which were being sent toNueva España was delayed, the cause of which was the said visitor, because of the said collection that he was trying to enforce. Thegovernors of those islands--of whom there have been many, very prudentand clear-headed, and eminent in their zeal for the service of yourMajesty--never came to such a determination, in all these years. Andthe strength and resistance of the obstacles that they found, andwhich they were considering in person, compelled them to consult withyour Majesty, as they always have done--regarding that as much moreproper than to execute [a decree] and risk the condition of thoseislands, and considering the matter with mature judgment and prudentdeliberation. Consequently, they never reached the said decision thatthe said visitor attempted. And although the latter tried to remedy it, by proposing the means (that he alleges as a counterbalance) of thepayment of four thousand pesos, by way of gift and gracious service, that gift was not perpetual, as appears on the contrary, and as isgiven to understand; but it was only for that time, and until thedecision of your Majesty should be made. That is well verified bythe fact of what afterward occurred; for in the following year thesaid visitor--recognizing that the gift of the four thousand pesoshad been limited, and for once only, and that by virtue of that thesaid inhabitants were not bound to anything--attempted to make again, through some of the regidors, the same suspension that he had alreadymade of the execution of the said duty, until your Majesty determinedwith what they should serve, with some gift, even though it should beonly a small sum. That which was finally assigned was from one to twothousand pesos, the visitor again with this new occasion placing thedespatch of the said ships in peril, causing by the least delay moreloss than the said profit. Therefore the royal Audiencia, in order toproceed with more certainty, called a council of the bishop who wasgovernor of that archbishopric, the archbishop, and the superiors ofthe orders. All of them agreed and concurred that the despatch oughtto be made in the manner in which it had always been done, withoutallowing any innovation. Consequently all, and on all occasions, have always recognized the impossibility, and the new damages andobstacles that would result from the said enforcement. 

In consideration of the above, he petitions and entreats yourMajesty that you be, nevertheless, pleased to provide and order thediscontinuance of the collection of the said two per cent, accordingto his petition. Thereby he will receive an especial favor, as thatcity and kingdom hopes from his Majesty's greatness and royal hand. 

MANILA TREASURY ACCOUNTS, 1630-35

_Relation of the receipts of the treasury of Manila from January seven, one thousand six hundred and thirty, until January six, one thousandsix hundred and thirty-five, a period of five years_

 Common gold [Pesos] [tomins] [granos]

 The balance found in the said treasury on the said day, January seven, 1630, amounted to [10] 11, 561 8 6

 The total from the fines of the exchequer [11] from the said day until March six, 1631, amounted to 2, 073 6 1

 That from the [unspent?] balances of war funds [_alcances de guerra_] for the said time amounted to 20, 317 5 0

 That of the army fund for the said time amounted to 15, 797 1 5

 That from the licenses of Indians [_sic_; _sc. _ Chinese] for the said time 87, 606 4 0

 That from loans made to the treasury for the said time amounted to 71, 057 7 0

 That from mesada taxes [12] for the said time amounted to 917 1 11

 That from import and export duties for the said time amounted to 33, 448 7 0

 That from offices sold for the said time amounted to 29, 458 3 0

 That from expenses of justice for the said time amounted to 75 0 0

 That from royal situados for the said time amounted to 4, 124 2 4

 That from condemnations for the building of houses during the said time amounted to 374 5 4

 That from fiestas for the said time amounted to 281 3 0

 That from the tenths of gold for the said time amounted to 48 3 0

 That from transportation of passengers [on the royal ships?] for the said time amounted to 300 0 0

 That from the proceeds for war from the cattle tithes for the said time amounted to 120 3 0

 That from the silver and reals received from Nueva España during the said time amounted to 278, 115 6 0

 That from court expenses for the said time amounted to 100 0 0

 ---------------------- During the said time the receipts of the said treasury amounted to 555, 775 3 0

_Account from April 20, 1631, to January six, 1632_

 The total from condemnations (in court) for fines of the exchequer for the said time amounted to 1, 611 6 0

 That from import and export duties amounted to 35, 650 1 2

 That from loans made to the treasury amounted to 16, 600 7 5

 That from royal situados from the encomiendas of private persons amounted to 3, 708 6 8

 That from the balances of accounts amounted to 18, 430 3 0

 That from extraordinary sources amounted to 6, 115 1 0

 That from mesada taxes amounted to 112 4 9

 That from _resultas_ amounted to 456 3 5

 That from tenths of gold amounted to 23 7 8

 That from expenses of justice amounted to 8 6 0

 That from [the fund for?] expenses of courts [13] amounted to 287 4 0

 That from licenses to heathen Chinese amounted to 116, 697 4 0

 That from offices sold amounted to 646 4 0

 That from silver and reals sent from Nueva España amounted to. 203, 915 0 0

 That from passenger transportation amounted to 50 0 0

 That from deposits amounted to 2, 000 0 0

 That from [unspent balance of fund for?] ship-building and forts amounted to 8 0 0

 That from the vacant encomiendas amounted to 36 4 0

 That from restitutions amounted to. 38 0 0

 That which was placed in the treasury at the order of the visitor amounted to 6, 117 0 0

 That collected from what is owing [to the treasury] amounted to 62, 473 3 10

 ---------------------- The receipts of the treasury for the said time amounted to 475, 889 1 2

_Account from January seven, one thousand six hundred and thirty-two, to January six, one thousand six hundred and thirty-three_

 The total amount of the balance struck on January 7, 1632, amounted to two thousand one hundred and eighty-seven pesos, four tomins, and four pieces of gold and three rings [14] 2, 187 4 0

 That from balances of accounts amounted to 26, 458 4 0

 That from fines of the exchequer amounted to 2, 984 3 2

 That from the fifths of gold amounted to 99 5 6

 That from royal situados amounted to 2, 150 4 0

 That from the expenses of justice amounted to 75 1 0

 That from loans made to the treasury amounted to 64, 453 4 0

 That from import and export duties amounted to 36, 603 2 0

 That from the mesada taxes amounted to 835 0 8

 That from _resultas_ amounted to 2, 114 5 6

 That from vacancies in encomiendas amounted to 66 7 8

 That from deposits amounted to 1, 858 0 0

 That from offices sold amounted to 3, 800 0 0

 That from extraordinary sources amounted to 30, 046 3 3

 That sent from Nueva España amounted to 232, 569 4 0

 The receipts for account of the visit amounted to 7, 013 6 1

 That from passenger transportation amounted to 250 0 0

 The receipts from the proceeds of condemnations to be remitted to the Council amounted to 3, 060 4 0

 That from the Chinese licenses amounted to 105, 898 0 10

 That from cattle tithes amounted to 300 0 0

 That from the fifths of silver amounted to 285 2 4

 That from [fund for?] the expenses of the courts of the Parián 60 4 0

 That from [fund for?] the expenses of the courts of the Audiencia amounted to seventy-five pesos 75 0 0

 That collected from what is owing [to the treasury] amounted to 97, 663 2 3

 ---------------------- The receipts of the said treasury for the said time amounted to 622, 484 5 1

_Account from January 7, 1633, to January 6, 1634_

 The total amount of the balance struck on the said day, January seven, 1633, amounted to four thousand seven hundred and ninety-two pesos, three tomins, and four pieces of gold and three rings [15] 4, 792 3 0

 That from balances of accounts amounted to 14, 299 1 2

 That from the mesada taxes amounted to 258 2 11

 That from extraordinary sources amounted to 2, 226 5 7

 That from import and export duties amounted to 46, 897 6 1

 The receipts from the visit amounted to 13, 770 6 0

 That from Chinese licenses amounted to 51, 396 2 0

 That from loans amounted to 109, 260 0 0

 That from fines of the exchequer amounted to 1, 918 0 0

 That from expenses of justice amounted to 120 0 0

 That from royal situados amounted to 1, 385 5 6

 That from offices sold amounted to 14, 850 0 0

 That from the fifth of gold amounted to 300 2 7

 That from vacant encomiendas [_vacantes_] amounted to 41 1 6

 That from passenger transportation amounted to 950 0 0

 That from tributes amounted to 9 3 0

 That from the half-annats amounted to 4, 961 5 2

 That from the silver sent from Nueva España amounted to 277, 326 1 1

 That from _resultas_ amounted to 1, 056 5 5

 That from [fund for?] courts and expenses of the royal Audiencia amounted to 135 0 0

 That from deposits amounted to 600 0 0

 That from cattle tithes amounted to 386 6 9

 ---------------------- The receipts of the said treasury for the said time amounted to 546, 873 0 5

_Account from January 7, 1634, to January 6, 1635_

 The total of the balance struck on the said day, January seven, one thousand six hundred and thirty-four, amounted to seventy-three thousand two hundred and thirty-one pesos, seven tomins, and ten granos, and [4 pieces] of gold, and 3 rings [16] 73, 231 7 10

 The total of the half-annats amounted to 16, 393 0 1

 That from balances of accounts amounted to 31, 311 2 11

 That from royal situados amounted to 1, 688 5 6

 That from fines of the exchequer amounted to 1, 945 2 5

 That from _resultas_ amounted to 11, 557 6 3

 That from cattle tithes 211 0 0

 That from import and export duties amounted to 28, 170 4 11

 That from heathen Chinese licenses 162, 941 7 5

 That from extraordinary sources amounted to 33, 097 3 9

 That from the fifth of gold amounted to 325 7 4

 That from deposits amounted to [17] 6, 375 1 0

 That from offices sold amounted to 11, 400 0 0

 That from [fund for?] the expenses of the courts amounted to 50 0 0

 That from expenses of justice amounted to 36 1 6

 That from condemnations collected to remit to this Council amounted to 444 0 0

 That from passenger transportation amounted to 650 0 0

 That from proceeds of the visita amounted to 3, 417 4 0

 That from restitutions amounted to 1, 003 0 0

 That from the money sent from Nueva España amounted to 308, 396 2 0

 That from loans amounted to 11, 000 0 0

 That from the proceeds for the fortification of Manila amounted to 6, 000 0 0

 That from the tenths of gold amounted to 296 6 0

 ---------------------- The total receipts of the said treasury for the said time amounted to 715, 849 6 11

Given in [_word illegible in MS. _] August eighteen, 1638. 

_Don Geronimo de_ [_word illegible in MS. _] _Francisco Antonio Manzelo_

LETTER OF CONSOLATION TO THE JESUITS OF PINTADOS

To my beloved fathers and brothers of the islands and residences ofthe Pintados. 

Pax Christi, etc. :

Great has been the grief that has been caused to us who have been inthese missions of the Tagals, by severe hardships that your Reverenceshave suffered and are suffering in those islands of Pintados, becauseof the madness and ferocity of so cruel enemies. For who would notbe afflicted at hearing of the hatred and hostility of the barbariansagainst Christ our Lord, which they have displayed against His sacredimages, which they have outraged and broken to pieces, and His temples, which they have burned and destroyed? Who would not be struck withpity on seeing the beloved flock of the sheep of Christ our Lord, and his faithful ones with their pastors and ministers, robbed, dispersed, and pursued even into the fastnesses of the mountains, imprisoned, captured, and killed?--and the shepherds, with especialignominy and cruelty, as we see in [the case of] our most belovedfather, Juan del Carpio, who is happy, fortunate, and chosen, sincehe has purchased the eternal crown by the shedding of his blood. [18]Who would not have compassion at hearing of the fatigues, surprises, necessities, and dangers, of those of your Reverences who are stillalive--a life that resembles a continual death rather than life? Butthis tender compassion must cause pain in us because of the evils, and encouragement and joy because of the blessings, which followfrom them--truly one and the other feeling; for who can refrain fromweeping at the sight of an offended God, at His holy name blasphemed, His worship violated, His faithful ones captive, and His priestskilled? But who will not be consoled with that holiness of the greatdoctor of the Church, St. Augustine, whom God our Lord permitted [tobe visited by] evils in order that he might derive greater blessingstherefrom--such as are these greater blessings from so many presentevils? Such are the [_word illegible_] acts born from the fervid heartsof my most beloved fathers, so that they have offered themselves totheir Creator and Lord in so virulent dangers, not as they might wish, but as a most perfect holocaust, without any fear, placing everythingin His hands--health, honor, blood, and life, for the greater gloryof his Majesty, and the welfare of souls. Peradventure these are notblessings that enrich those who possess them, but they give courage, fervor, and glory to our province and Society of Jesus, which has suchsons and so valorous soldiers, the imitators of their Society of Jesus, their blood shed to deliver their spiritual children and that whichpertains to the Divine and Christian worship--which blessings willhe not bring to our islands and fields of Christendom, and to ourSociety of Jesus in those islands? For as says the most illustriousTertullian in his _Apologetica adversus gentis_, chapter 49: _Semen estsanguis Christianorum. _ [19] And a Christianity wet with such bloodwill doubtless give a most abundant harvest. And what encouragementwill it give to the sons of the Society in Europa! And what desireswill they have to come where they may have opportunity to shed theirblood also for the honor of their Creator! Blood shed by the handsof barbarian Mahometans instigated by their casique [20]--especiallyagainst the priests, the preachers of our holy faith, as we learnedfrom one who escaped from them; and with so remarkable tokens ofspecial hate against religion, that they tore to pieces the very bodyof the father, so that the head was the largest part of it. Howevermuch they may claim that in order that there should be no planting[of Christianity?] they did not spare his life, their actions show thatthey took life away from him in hatred of Christ our Lord, and of Hisholy religion, which the father was preaching and extending. And evenif the Mahometans did not have that intention and hate against Christand His holy faith, which this shows that they have, not only is thedeath inflicted and suffered in this manner a true martyrdom, but alsoin more general terms Christ our Lord said through St. Mark in the 8thchapter: _Qui perdiderit animam suam propter me, et evangelium, salvamfaciet_. [21] On those words is founded every form of true martyrdom, which embraces that of the innocents, and those who gave their lives toserve those sick with the plague, and for any virtue whatever; and thussay the saints. St. Augustine pondering these words in his sermon 100(_De diversis_) section 2, [22] makes a strenuous effort for martyrdom, in the occasion of dying, in these words: "_Qui perdiderit, " inquit, "propter me. " Tota caussa ibi est. "Qui perdiderit, " non quomodocumque, non qualibet caussa, sed "propter me. " Ylli enim yn prophecia yamdixerant martires, "Propter te mortificamur tota die. " Proptereamartiremnon facit pena, sed caussa_. And if this is Christ our Lord, and one loses his life either in order not to offend Him--for example, by denying His faith, or losing his chastity, or by lying, etc. --or inorder to serve Him--for example, by preaching His holy gospel, or bypracticing the doctrine of succoring one's neighbors with the spiritualor corporal works of charity--even if the tyrant does not deprive himof life as a mark of hatred against the faith, assuredly he gains thecrown, _salvam faciet eam_. Accordingly, he who dies in the mountainswhen fleeing from persecution, or by means of wild beasts or robbers, or who is drowned in the sea, says St. Cyprian in his Epistle number56, _Ad Tibaitanos_, is and must be called a martyr, for his death is[suffered] for Christ. Thence can one well see what we feel in thepresent case, and in the occasions that we have in hand. I will quotehis words here, for they are a consolation for all those who are liableto lose their lives, in the sea or in the mountains, because of thepreaching of the holy gospel and the persecution of the enemies ofthe gospel. _Si fugientem in solitudine ac montibus latro oppresserit, fera invaserit, fames aut sitis aut frigus afflixerit, vel per mariapræcipiti navigatione properantem tempestas ac procella submerseritspectat militem suum Christus ubicunque pugnantem, et persecutioniscausa pro nominis sui honore morienti præmium reddit quod daturum sein resurectione promisit. Nec minor est martyrii gloria non publica et[non] inter multos perisse cum pereundi causa sit propter Christumperire. Sufficit ad testimoniam martyrii fui [sc. Fuisse] testisille qui probat martyres et coronat. _ [23] This is sufficient for aletter, although other testimonials of the saints could be adduced, which show that the institution of martyrdom made by Christ our Lordwas not the narrow thing of which certain scholastics speak. FatherTeofilo Raynaudo [24] of our Society, in the book that he published, _De martyrio per pestem_, in the year 1630, proves in a very learnedand wise manner that those who die through the exercise of the worksof charity with the sufferers of the pest are really and truly, and canbe called, martyrs. And clearly it is not less to give one's life thanto exercise spiritual works of charity, for one's neighbors. Hence weought to endure in this particular, for Christ our Lord, _in bonitateet liberalitate_, [25] and since for other lesser works--as leavingfather and mother, or positions, etc. , for Him--Christ our Lord choseto give as a reward so much in this life, and afterward eternal life, as He said through St. Mark, in the 10th chapter: _Centies tantum intempore hoc et in sæculo futuro vitam æternam_. [26] The most heroicand lofty work was necessarily the giving of one's life for the samecause; and that loss will not give, to him who serves, another rewardhere, but the reward of eternal life is reserved for the world to come, and with a special diadem. Then may we be consoled, my fathers, inour missions and voyages, if we lose our lives therein in the serviceof Christ for the preaching of His holy gospel; since according toHis royal promise He always maintains it assured, and brighter is thecrown. I do not say this in order that we should publish our martyrs, or that we should so talk with those outside (for it is better forus to limit ourselves in that direction), but for our consolationand assurance, I am persuaded that after this pilgrimage we shallrecognize that glory in some or many of the fathers of this provincewho have preceded us--as in the case of the fortunate father JuanDominico Bilançio, who died a captive of the Mahometan [king of] Jolo, the harsh treatment and sufferings of his captivity being the causeof his death; and Father Juan de las Missas, [who perished] at thehands of the hostile Camucones; besides other fathers. I regard itas superfluous to expatiate further on this, or to attempt to spuron those who are running so gloriously. Therefore I conclude withthe words, which the glorious bishop and martyr, St. Cyprian, wrotein a similar case in his epistle number 81, to Sergius Rogatianusand his companions: _Saluto vos fratres charissimi [ac beatissimi]optans ipsse quoque conspectu vestro frui, si me ad vos pervenireloci condicio permiteret. Quid enim mihi optacius et lecius pocet[i. E. , posset] accidere, quam nunc vovis inhærere? . .. Sed quoniam qui[sc. Huic] lætiçie interesse facultas non datur has pro me ad aures et[ad] oculos vestros vicarias literas mito, quibus glatulor pariter, et eshortor, ut yn comfessione selestis glorie fortes et estabilesperseberetis et ingressi viam Dominice dignacionis ad acipiendamcoronam espirituali virtute pergatis_. [27] Manila, February 1, 1635. 

_Juan de Bueras_

LETTER TO FELIPE IV FROM FATHER ANDRES DEL SACRAMENTO

Sire:

Since I have passed thirty years in this province of the discalcedFranciscans of San Gregorio of Filipinas, and, since I am a fatherof this province, I regard it as my obligation to advise yourMajesty of its present condition; so that, since you are the one whosends the ministers at the cost of your royal treasury, you mightapply the corrective that necessity demands. It is a fact that, although the said province has been established by the discalcedreligious, and always maintained in its first perfection by thereligious sent it by the discalced provinces of España, among thosewho come some Observantines are generally found, under pretext ofgoing to Japon--who, although they change the habit, do not changetheir inclination to their own observance. This mingling [of thetwo branches] is the cause of very great disquiet, because of theopposition that is sucked in there in the milk, as is apparent toyour Majesty from many instances. Although the Observantines are sofew that they do not number twenty, they make use of their favor withthe commissaries-general, who generally appoint them as commissaries ofvisitation. In parts so remote and deprived of recourse [to superiors], they hold their will as law whenever they choose. For that reason wehave always feared that the Observantines would deprive the discalcedreligious of this province; and that has been done by an Observantinecommissary-visitor, who removed all the definitors and a great numberof votes, by absolute authority and without sufficient cause. Hedid it for the sole purpose of succeeding in that design, which heaccomplished; hence this province and its definitors are at present inthe power of the Observantines. Since the fathers commissaries-generalare Observantines, they naturally favor their own party. From thatcircumstance, serious and long-drawn-out litigation is promised, whichyour Majesty can prevent by ordering strictly that one or the otherbranch do not come. The discalced religious, as I said, establishedthis province. They have furnished many martyrs to the church, andhave toiled in the ministry with poverty, humility, and good exampleamong Spaniards and Indians, as they relate and as your Majesty caninform yourself. You will also be informed of the manner in which theObservantine fathers administer in Megico; and you can select which[branch] you may please, and order that those religious who do notpossess a testimonial from the discalced or from the Observantineprovincials (according to which branch your Majesty selects) shallnot embark at Cadiz. In case that Observantines are not to come, it is very necessary also to order strictly your viceroy of Mexiconot to allow those who should not possess the said testimonials toembark at Acapulco; for, since the commissary-general is in Mexico, he will exert great activity in this respect in order to carry fartherwhat has been commenced. For that purpose they are at present sendingan Observantine religious. I beg your Majesty not to consider thisas a matter of little moment, for on this one remedy alone dependsthe preservation of this province on its first foundation, the peaceof the religious, the proper administration of the Indians, and theprevention of most serious scandals born from the said oppositionand intermixture, of which this whole kingdom is witness. 

In this letter it is seen that no favor or protection is requested fromyour Majesty for either myself or anyone else; but I only inform you, as our sovereign lord, so that you may remedy the injury that resultsfrom the aforesaid to the consciences of your vassals and in theadministration of the Indians. Notwithstanding this, I beseech yourMajesty, if you will be so pleased, to keep my name secret from thefather commissary-general and the Observantines; for if they learnit, they will give me considerable trouble here. May Heaven prosperyour life with the most fortunate successes, as we your Majesty'smost humble vassals and chaplains desire. [Nueva] Caceres, in theprovince of Camarines, June 2, 1635. 

Your Majesty's humble chaplain, _Fray Andres del Sacramento_, father of this province of San Gregorio. 

[_Endorsed_: "June 16, 638. Collect what may have been written on thismatter, and bring it; and have the father commissary-general reportwhether Observantines go among the discalced fathers who are askedfor. A report was asked from the commissary-general on the sixteenthof said month. "]

LETTER FROM THE FRANCISCAN COMMISSARY-GENERAL OF THE INDIAS

I have received two documents from your Grace, in regard to variousmatters, and I shall answer them in two others, so that yourGrace may be pleased to read them to the gentlemen of that royalCouncil. In regard to one, I say that since the winter when I hadcertain advices from the province of San Gregorio of the Filipinas, and of which I informed the council, I have had no further news. Thatnews was certain complaints of the provincial and definitors againstthe commissary who deprived them of certain things which he found inhis visit, although he exceeded [his authority] in it. That case wentto the commissary of Nueva España. According to what the discalcedprovincial of the Filipinas wrote me, who went to follow up the case, penalties were imposed upon the said commissary. Another was sent fromthe discalced province of San Diego, so that another chapter might becelebrated, and that province appeased. I hope in our Lord that itwill be appeased and satisfied; but if not, I have written for themto send me all the documents and all decisions that shall have beenrendered. Letters were also written to me then, and I was advised ofthe great injuries that the governor was causing to the religious. Ineglected to inform his Majesty and that royal Council of this, asI considered it certain that, as it had been so public, the matterwould have been communicated from there; and that, after having beenweighed by those gentlemen, they would despatch orders to reform it. 

Concerning the lawless act and the audacity of the friars in protectingand aiding the cleric Don Pedro Monroy, and their public censure of thegovernor, the Audiencia, and others in their sermons, with scandal, forwhich I feel due regret, although the things that occur there publicly, and the events that happen there, have been very extraordinary, yet the words of their sermons must be according to the statement ofthe holy Council of Trent: _Que sint examinata et casta, eloquia adedificationem_ [28]--words used by our father St. Francis, in hisrules for preachers. If they are not so, then the word of God willnot have the effect on its hearers that it had before the disturbanceand scandal--a matter that has always seemed very wrong to me, anddeserving blame and condemnation. That will happen on this occasion, for which, in due time, I shall send commission for an investigationand the punishment of the guilty; and [an account of] what shall bedone shall be sent, so that I may present it to that royal Council, and it may be seen whether satisfaction has been made; for where thathas not been done, I shall endeavor to secure it, as I strive to doin all things that arise. This is my response to the first documentsent by your Grace. Given in this convent of St. Francis, in Madrid, June twenty-eight, one thousand six hundred and thirty-five. 

_Fray Francisco de Ocaña_, commissary-general of the Indias. 

OPINION OF COUNCIL AND ROYAL DECREE REGARDING THE REQUEST OF THEJESUITS OF MANILA FOR ALMS FOR THEIR RESIDENCE

Sire:

By a decree of June first of the former year six hundred andtwenty-five, your Majesty granted a concession to the residence ofthe Society of Jesus of the city of Manila, in the Philipinas Islands, of one thousand ducados in each of ten years, in unassigned Indians, or those who should first become such in the said islands, under thesame terms with which your Majesty granted concession to the conventof the Order of St. Augustine in the islands for their buildings. Theprocurator-general of the said residence has now represented that, after the work was commenced, the church fell to the ground onenight--leaving the house in ruins, and in so great danger that theywere obliged immediately to borrow a temple for divine worship. Fortheir building, and in order that they might be expeditious in it, and to build part of a house where the religious could be sheltered, it was necessary to raise a large sum of money by an assessment, which has rendered them very needy. It is the seminary for allthe religious of the said Society who leave these kingdoms for thecultivation of the holy gospel in those provinces, where they equipthemselves and learn the languages of the natives, in order to goout to teach them. It has a school where reading, writing, and Latinare taught, and the arts and theology, to Spaniards and natives;and six congregations--namely, of priests, laymen, students, Indians, and blacks--with great spiritual increase. It is the refuge for allthe gospel ministers who fall sick, and who go thither for treatment, as there are no physicians in any other part. There they are treated, entertained, and supported with great charity, until they can returnto continue their ministries. There are entertained all those whogo by way of Eastern Yndia, when they go to Japon, China, Maluco, and other places. The said residence is very cramped, both in itshouse and its church, because of the great crowds that go therecontinually. For the relief of that condition, the order begs yourMajesty that--considering the aforesaid, and that your Majesty hastwice granted to the convent of St. Augustine in the said islands abounty of twenty thousand ducados for their building--you will alsogive the said residence as an alms another ten thousand ducados, so that it may continue the said building, paying it to them in thetributes of Indians who may be unassigned. The matter having beenexamined in the Council, together with the letter which the royalAudiencia of the said islands wrote to your Majesty, July twenty-nine, six hundred and thirty--in which is mentioned the great necessity fora church which the religious of the residence experience because ofthe fall of theirs, and the evident danger in which they live, and thegreat results that they obtain in those parts--the count of Castillo, presiding officer of the said Council, Fernando de Villaseñor, thecount of Umanes, and Don Bartolomé Morquecho were of the opinion that, in order to take a resolution in this matter, it is advisable thatthe governor, the Audiencia, and the archbishop of the said islandsreport on the condition of the work on the said residence, what isyet to be built, how much it will cost, and whether the said Societyof Jesus has funds with which to build it. 

Licentiate Don Lorenzo Ramirez de Prado, Juan Prado, Juan de Solorzano, and Don Juan de Palafox think that, if your Majesty be so pleased, you can do them the favor of continuing to the said residence thesum as above stated which was given them (of one thousand ducados ineach year, for ten years) for two years more--one thousand ducados ineach of them to be paid from the said tributes of unassigned Indians, so that they may continue the said work. This should be with thequalification that the governor of the said islands see whether thereis any other kind of property from which to pay those two thousandducados, so that it may not be taken from the treasury of your Majesty, or from the said encomiendas of Indians--in order that the lattermay remain free, with which to reward the soldiers who serve yourMajesty in those districts with great toil and danger. Those twoyears of extension shall run from the day on which the ten years ofthe said grant are concluded, and in each one of those two years theyshall not enjoy more than one thousand ducados. Will your Majestyorder what is your royal pleasure. Madrid, [_blank_] of [_blank_], six hundred and thirty-five. 

[The king, having seen the above opinions of his Council, despatcheda decree to the president and auditors of the Manila Audiencia, which recites in identical terms throughout the matter preceding theopinion in the first paragraph above, and then continues:]

The matter having been examined in my royal Council of the Yndias, together with the letter which you wrote me on July twenty-nine, sixhundred and thirty, and they having conferred with me in respect tothe many years during which I made the said concession to the saidresidence, and our ignorance at present of what had been done withthat money, or into what it has been converted, and what still lacksto be built; and as it is in tributes of unassigned Indians, which areto be used as a reward for the soldiers who serve me in those islandswith so great toil and danger, without there being any other thing withwhich to reward them: I command you, in order that our decision in thismatter may be made with the knowledge that is advisable, to inform meon the first opportunity that offers of the condition of the work onthe said residence, what is still to be built, and how much it willcost; and whether the said Society of Jesus has enough funds with whichto build it, without our continuing the said concession and alms, as Ihave so many alms to grant, and things so greatly needing attention, on which account it is needful to retrench as much as possible. Youshall send me the said report, together with your opinion, through thesaid my Council of the Yndias, so that, after they have examined it, the most advisable measures may be taken. Given in Madrid, July ten, one thousand six hundred and thirty-five. 

_I the King_By order of the king our sovereign:_Don Gabriel Ocaña y Alarcon_Signed by the gentlemen of the Council. 

LETTER FROM PEDRO DE ARCE TO FELIPE IV

Although my age is now so advanced, and I was very contented inmy bishopric of the city of Santisimo Nombre de Jhesus (which iscommonly called Cebú), I was forced to leave my quiet because ofthe death of the archbishop of Manila, Don Fray Garcia Serrano, which happened more than six years ago, in order to come to governthis archbishopric of Manila during the period of its vacancy, assuch was ordered by his Holiness Paul V, in a bull which he gave atthe petition of your Majesty's father (whom may holy Paradise keep!), providing that the senior bishop of Philipinas should come to governthe church at Manila for three vacancies in this metropolitan see. Thusthe lot fell to me to come; and the urgency with which the governorand the Audiencia begged me to come gave me no room for excuses, or to represent my indispositions and advanced age. 

During the time while I have been in this government, there has beengreat peace and harmony between the ecclesiastical and civil powers;and we have always endeavored to promote the cause of our Lord and theservice of your Majesty, as we all are bound to do. I have not left thegovernment until now, when the bulls of this archbishopric came forDon Fray Hernando Guerrero; for, although he had a decree from yourMajesty, the bulls, as I say, had not arrived, and I was governingby a bull of his Holiness, with a decree from your Majesty. Havingconsulted in regard to it with erudite men, theologians and jurists, as to whether I could give up the government of the archbishopricto Don Fray Hernando Guerrero, all counseled me in the negative, and charged my conscience. 

Finally, the Lord has been pleased to relieve me of that charge, and to leave me the old responsibility of my own failures; and, accordingly, I am returning thither with much pleasure and happiness, to finish my days among my people, aiding them in whatever I can;for they have suffered considerably during these years from the enemyfrom Mindanao and Jolo, who are very powerful, and who make extensiveraids with their fleets--burning villages, firing churches, destroyingimages, and capturing many Indians. Especially last year did thoseenemies display themselves most insolently; whereupon Governor DonJuan Cerezo Salamanca was obliged to apply the only remedy whichwe believed there to be--namely, to construct a fort at Samboanga, in the land of Mindanao, which might serve as a check to both enemies. 

That fort was commenced when Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera arrivedto govern these islands. Hearing of the advisability of that work, he determined to forward it, for its benefit is great, and its costto the royal treasury but slight; and even thus it is hoped that itwill be of great advantage in a few years, for those enemies will beobliged to pay tribute to your Majesty--and, in fact, whole villageshave already begun to enter your Majesty's obedience. I hope that theywill also enter the obedience of our Majesty [_i. E. , _ of God]. Forthat purpose, I have given and entrusted the spiritual affairs ofthose islands to the fathers of the Society, so that by their excellentmethod of procedure and their gentleness they may continue to attractand convert the natives, who are very numerous. Already have they settheir hands to the labor, although the number of subjects that theyhave is few; because those of this order come but very seldom, andthey have much to which to attend, and every day they have more. ForI, for only the time during which I governed the archbishopric ofManila, have, in consideration of the welfare of the Indians and thedevotion and efficient method of administration which those of theSociety preserve among them in all parts, entrusted them with newposts. Both in the island of Negros and in that of Mindoro, besidesthe old Christians, they have three or four thousand heathen to whomto attend; and they are already baptizing these, in addition to thesaid heathen of Mindanao, who number many thousands. 

Consequently, I petition your Majesty for two things: one that yourMajesty be pleased to confirm them in the said mission of Mindanao, for the bishops have entrusted it to them alone for many years (asdid I also), through expectation of great results in the conversion, by means of the said fathers of the Society of Jesus; the other, that your Majesty send a goodly reënforcement of the subjects ofthat order, so that they may attend to everything. I think a goodreënforcement would be about forty, if most of them are priests, who can immediately begin to instruct. 

May our Lord preserve the royal person of your Majesty, as allkingdoms need, and as I, the least of your Majesty's chaplains, begin my sacrifices and prayers. Manila, October seventeen, one thousandsix hundred and thirty-five. 

_Fray Pedro, _ Bishop of Santisimo Nombre de Jhesus. 

DOCUMENTS OF 1636

 Discussion regarding Portuguese trade at Manila. Joseph de Navada Alvarado, and others; 1632-36, Decree extending the tenure of encomiendas. Felipe IV; February 1. Military services of Filipinos. Juan Grau y Monfalcon; June 13. Conflicts between civil and ecclesiastical authorities, 1635-36. Casimiro Diaz, O. S. A. Letter from a citizen of Manila to an absent friend. [Unsigned; Fabian de Santillan y Gavilanes?]; June 15. Request for Jesuit missionaries. Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera; June 19. Letter from the bishop of Nueva Caceres to Felipe IV. Francisco de Zamudio, O. S. A. ; June 20. List of prominent ecclesiastics in Manila and the islands. Hernando de Guerrero, archbishop of Manila; 1636. 

_Sources_: All but three of these documents are obtained from MSS. Inthe Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla. The second is from the"Cedulario Indico" of the Archivo Historico Nacional, Madrid; thefourth, from Diaz's _Conquistas de las Islas Filipinas;_ the fifth, from a MS. In the Academia Real de la Historia, Madrid. 

_Translations_: All but one of these documents are translated byJames A. Robertson; the last is by Robert W. Haight. 

DISCUSSION REGARDING PORTUGUESE TRADE AT MANILA

_Copy of seventeen articles which Joseph de Navada Alvarado, regidor ofthe distinguished and loyal city of Manila, proposed to the municipalcouncil [ayuntamiento] of that city, in which he represents theinjuries and troubles which follow and have been experienced fromthe Portuguese of Macan continuing the trade which they have begun tointroduce in that city [of Manila]. These articles were presented toDon Juan Niño de Tavora, and afterward to Don Juan Cerezo de Salamanca, governor of those islands--who, having examined them, wrote his opinionto his Majesty, and how advisable it was to suppress the trade ofMacan with the said city of Manila, as is apparent by the said letter. _

Captain Joseph de Navada Alvarado, regidor of this city of Manila, represented in this city council that, as was public and well known, from the year six hundred and nineteen until the present of thirty-two, the Portuguese inhabitants of Macan have come to this city in variousvessels, without fail in all the years above mentioned, laden withChinese merchandise, in order to sell it here; and that, with theirsaid coming, it seems that they have obtained possession of this trade, which is so strictly prohibited by various royal decrees. On accountof that trade they have waxed rich, while the inhabitants of thiscommunity now find themselves in their so wretched present condition, by the great sales which have been generally made to them; and becausewith the said trade that which the Sangleys had by coming yearly tothis said city, with the greatest abundance of goods, has ceased. Itappears that necessity has always obliged them to have to buy fromthe said Portuguese. Notwithstanding that the prices have usuallybeen very high, the profit which the inhabitants of this said cityhave made in Nueva España has been very slight; and at times it hasbeen little more than the prime cost of the goods here, besides theheavy expenses and duties which they carry, both in these islandsand in the said Nueva España. For that reason, he feels that it isvery advisable for the preservation of the said inhabitants and ofthis community that the said trade of the Portuguese cease, and thatthey be ordered not to come to this city; for this is permitted bythe royal will, under the penalties expressed in the said decrees inwhich he orders it, to which we refer, since there are so many andso fundamental reasons as the following. 

The first, that the said Portuguese of Macan having tried in years pastto open this trade, and having come to this city with merchandise tosell it there, this city council, seeing the damage that might growfrom it (which is the damage bewailed today), opposed the said coming, and made various decisions in regard to demanding that the royal willbe observed, and that the Portuguese be ordered not to return to thiscity. And in fact they did not come for the time being, or for manyyears after, until the said year of six hundred and nineteen--[since]when, not encountering the resistance which had been formerly made, they have continued the said trade, as aforesaid. 

The second, for proof of the aforesaid, is that, as is notorious, the amounts of capital [invested by] the inhabitants of these islandswere very great in the first years of the coming of the said shipsfrom Macan; but with the high prices which the Portuguese have alwaysset upon their merchandise, and (as aforesaid) because the citizenshave bought from them more by force than willingly, by reason of thelack of the goods which the Chinese brought formerly, for that reasonthe said investments of capital have stopped, and are so greatlydiminished as has been, and is seen in general; because the gainshave been very slight compared with the profits that have been madein Nueva España, considering the high prices that they demand here, as has been previously stated. 

The third point which ought to be considered is, that the customsduties on the merchandise brought by the Chinese to this city wereworth to his Majesty from eighty to one hundred thousand pesosannually; while those on the merchandise of the ships which havecome from Macan have not been worth more than twenty thousand pesosin any one year, and it is considered as certain that some years theduties have not exceeded twelve thousand. In regard to this truth, as a point so worthy of consideration--and of which this city councilought to take so much notice, as it is the body whom the increaseof the royal revenues to their possible extent concerns so fully--werefer to what shall appear from the amounts of the said duties whichthe Sangleys now for twenty years have put into the royal treasury, and to those which the Portuguese have put in from the year six hundredand nineteen, the goods which they have generally brought being valuedat about one million and a half, defrauding to a greater sum the saidimport and export duties so rightfully due his Majesty. 

The fourth matter that must be considered for the greater proof of theaforesaid statement is, the quickness of the voyage from the said cityof Macan to this of Manila, since it can be made in twelve days or afortnight (or in one week, as has already happened), and the short timethat they spend in this city selling their goods. Those were causeswhich could ensure the success of the contract which the citizens ofthis city have offered to make with them, several years--namely, togive them forty per cent clear profit upon the first cost which they[_i. E. _, the Portuguese] had invested. But as the Portuguese havealways beheld themselves powerful and masters of the said trade, they have always refused to accept it--from which one can infer thegreat gains which they have made and are making in the trade, since, in short, more than sixty per cent [profit] has now to be given foreverything. That is a hardship which sufficiently accounts for thepresent condition of the inhabitants of this city who are afflictedwith the many troubles which attend them by reason of the saiddiminution of their wealth; and for the total ruin of others, whosee themselves dispossessed of what they had. For that reason theymake no further investments, because they have not the wherewithal. 

Fifth, it ought to be considered how long and dangerous is the voyagefrom these islands to the said Nueva España, and the heavy costs andexpenses caused by the investments; while the returns for what issent from here are not received even if good fortune attend them, except at the end of two years, and sometimes more. 

Sixth, that with the coming of the said Portuguese and ships from thecity of Macan to this of Manila, the commerce and trade which theSangley merchants of China usually carried on every year with thiscity has ceased, because of the keen intelligence which the Portuguesehave employed in preventing it. That they have succeeded in doing, entirely by means of a very astute plan which they have followed, by taking to the annual fairs which are usually held at Canton somany thousands of pesos to invest and to bring to this city, as, inshort, has already been said. In that way the Chinese sell them allthat they want, at a profit of twenty-five or thirty per cent. Thatarrangement is so agreeable to the Sangleys, with the said profit intheir own land and without trouble, that they have ceased to come tothis city as they did formerly, risking the capital which they broughthither. This has been aided greatly by the Portuguese persuading thesaid Sangleys that the wealth of the inhabitants of this city is verynigh gone, and to so great an extent that they cannot find an outleteven for all the goods which they bring; and that, for that reason, they give trust for the greater part of it--a thing that has neverhappened, nor been done, for they have always received money, andthe value for everything that they have sold. To that is added alsothat the said Portuguese have been wont to frighten the said Sangleytraders by telling them of the danger that they will experience intheir coming because of the Dutch pirates and the fleets of bancons[29] with which some of the Chinese nation themselves go aboutcommitting depredations along those coasts. At the same time they haverepresented to the Chinese the heavy dues that they pay here, and theinjuries that are inflicted upon them in this city, notwithstandingthat they have [not] known that the Chinese have any complaint ofthis. All is with the purpose of turning them from any design thatthey have had of coming to this city with merchandise; for they fearthat if the Chinese did so it would result in impairing their trade[30] and discrediting that which the said Portuguese hold so firmly. 

The seventh is in regard to the Chinese merchants who refuse to selltheir goods in Canton to the said Portuguese of Macan, saying thatthey prefer to bring them at their own cost and risk to this cityin their champans to sell them to the inhabitants of this city, and to enjoy in their entirety the profits and gain which theycan thereby get. In order to dissuade these men from that purposeand resolve which they have had, the said Portuguese have offered(as many Chinese merchants who have come to this city this presentyear have said) for the sake of peace to bring the goods of thesaid Sangleys to this city at their own account and risk in order tosell them here--as they could do, if they should carry them--makinga contract, by which for their administration [of this business]they were to get five per cent. That has been seen now for two years, during which they brought in this way more than one hundred and fiftythousand pesos on account of Sangley merchants of Canton. They alsotake the funds of the Chinese to make a return at so much per cent, and bring it to this city, so that the Sangleys may not come here withthe said goods. That is a well known fact, and has been learned fromsome of the Portuguese of Macan themselves. The said Portuguese makethose efforts in order to have the monopoly for themselves of themerchandise brought to this city from the kingdom of China, and sothat all might pass through their hands; since, in whatever form theaforesaid goods are brought, the Portuguese prove to be so interested, and, for the same reason, as has already been stated, the inhabitantsof this city come to be so despoiled of their wealth. No less [injury]is possible, except that, if the said trade is not suppressed, theywill finish by losing the little that they have within very few years. 

The eighth. In regard to the aforesaid, we must consider that thesaid Portuguese of Macan have always refused to agree by way of_pancada_ on a general price, although the said pancada is so usualamong them in all parts where they buy and sell. During one of thelast few years, having agreed to the said pancada, and in order tobegin it having appointed a person both on their part and on that ofthis city, when the prices were set those of Macan refused to acceptthem, as they were not so high as they wished. For always with theconsideration of having a port to leeward (which is that some of thesaid Portuguese remain in this city to sell their goods which theyhave left over, in which no opposition has been shown them, either, although it is so much to the prejudice of the common welfare ofthis city), they become obstinate in whatever they desire--those whospend the winter making a monopoly of their merchandise that is leftover, selling it at very high prices to the inhabitants who need it, and selling some to the Sangleys of the Parián. The latter afterwardretail such merchandise to all manner of persons, doing that in thecourse of the year with some gain. 

The ninth point, and one which ought to be carefully considered, is, that besides some of the Portuguese remaining in this city who comefrom the city of Macan with the said merchandise, with the intent andfor the causes stated in the above article, they accomplish their endsin another way, no less injurious to this community--namely, that someof them have sent a very heavy export of their merchandise in the shipsdespatched to Nueva España, although that is so stringently prohibitedby decrees and orders of his Majesty. Taking advantage of the saidopportunity, they sent it by the hands and under the names of personsof this city, who have protected and are protecting them. Althoughthis city, on account of the notice given to it of this conduct, hasmade all possible efforts to prevent so harmful a proceeding--havingeven requested and received letters of excommunication, which havebeen read and published in the churches--yet it has not been learnedthat these have been sufficient to prevent it. This is verified by theunlading of the flagship "Santa Maria Magdalena, " which was despatchedfrom the port of Cavite in these islands in the first part of Augustof the past year, six hundred and thirty-one, for Nueva España, but whose voyage did not take place, because of the disaster thathappened. Through that mishap it became known what the Portuguese ofMacan had embarked in it, as can be related by Captain Andres Lopezde Azaldiqui, depositary-general of this court, who was present atthe discharge of cargo with a commission from this city council. 

The tenth is, that what the ships bring from Macan is only silks, in bundles and in fabrics. If they have brought any cotton clothneeded by the poor, each piece of cloth has been sold at three orthree and one-half pesos. The same price is received for one cateof sewing thread, and a dish of average quality sells for one real;and notwithstanding that they bring but little of this for the supplyof this community, they have always sold the said articles at theprices quoted, because of reducing the cargo of the said ships tothe said silks and stuffs, on account of the profits arising fromsuch freights. The ships give little or no place for the lading ofcotton cloth and other wares needed so badly by the poor, because oftheir volume and of the little profit made from such cargoes. Suchthings are also needed by those who are not poor; and even a singleship of those usually brought by the Sangleys from China to this cityfills the land with the said common goods, which are so necessary, as can be understood; and the poor are supplied with these by theconvenience of their prices, which are very low. They are stilllower when a number of ships come, as was formerly the case. Thatis verified by the few which have come with the said goods for someyears past, so that these articles have been valued at prices so lowas the fourth part, and less, of the prices at which they have beensold by the said Portuguese, as has been stated. 

The eleventh is, that it would not have been any trouble for theChinese to come to engage in this trade with a quantity of goods--asthey did before the Portuguese represented to them the dangers ofenemies or the other things aforesaid--if the trade of Macan had beensuppressed. For the greed of gain, which they are so well known topossess, would have conquered everything, and they would come here;since an outlet for the merchandise in which they trade in China mustbe sought beneath the water. If the Chinese can know for only one yearthat no ships have come from Macan to this city, it is certain thatthey will come, and that beyond all doubt. Also the reëstablishment ofthe trade of the said Chinese will be effected; and, since there willbe great abundance in the goods which they trade, the customs dutieswill amount to the sums which I have already stated. Consequently, there will be a stop put to the loans, so numerous and usual, thatwe are wont to require every year from the inhabitants in order tosupply the needs of the royal treasury; or at least the loans willnot be so large, since the said duties will be able to supply much. 

The twelfth is that, as is well known, in the merchandise brought bythe Portuguese from the city of Macan to this of Manila, there areno articles that can, with known reason, have an outlet with profitsor even without profits, in any other part, because of this--namely, that what they take to Japon is only raw silk, which they call ofthe first value, and the cream of that of China, whose products theybring here. No other thing is used in Japon; and the skins which theyalso carry, besides being in small quantity, are but little used bythe Japanese, according to their customs; so that all the rest whichthe inhabitants of Macan buy is for conveyance to this city. If theydo not come here with it, then, it is certain that they will not buyit. Consequently, the Chinese will come with it, for it is their trade, and they have to procure an outlet and profit for their merchandise. 

The thirteenth is that the efforts exerted by the said Portuguese ofMacan in preventing the commerce of the Chinese have been by as manyroads of state as they have been able to attempt. This came to sucha pass that a ship returning from this city to that of Macan, whenceit had come with merchandise, with some Portuguese aboard it, whilecoasting along the Ilocan shore some two years ago, sighted two shipsof the Sangleys, which were coming from China laden with merchandise tothis city. The said ship from Macan attacked them while passing, andchased them, the while discharging its artillery, with the intentionof pillaging and sinking them, and preventing their coming here. Bythe strenuous efforts that they made, the Chinese escaped from theirhands, although they received great damage from the artillery. Throughthe delay that they suffered in these perils, their arrival here waspostponed, and having entered the bay during a terrible storm, one shipwas wrecked in the neighborhood of Parañaque, and the other in sightof the walls [of Manila]. Consequently, the Sangleys lost their goods, and were in danger of losing their lives. As soon as they entered thiscity they gave notice of that injury, and this city council having seenthe reason of it, voted that an investigation should be made of theaforesaid affair, and that it be done by Licentiate Nicolas Antonio deOmaña, as he was alcalde-in-ordinary of the city. He began to make aninvestigation, but ceased because the governor said that it belonged tothe jurisdiction of the war department. Thereupon the Sangleys--seeingthat they would not obtain the justice which they desired in respectto the said investigation; and that the said Portuguese returned tothis city, because they did not continue their voyage, on account ofthe wreck of the said ship in which they were going along the saidcoast of Ilocos--had recourse to the royal Audiencia of these islands, where they filed a complaint against the Portuguese who was leader ofthe said ship, and the others. From the papers which were drawn up, it resulted that the said Audiencia ordered the said Portuguese whowas commander of the said ship to be arrested. That was done, and thelatter was a prisoner for many days in the houses of the city council, until at the end of some time he was freed, without any one knowingin what condition the said case remained. 

The fourteenth is, the long experience that we have of the injuriesthat have been committed on the Castilians who have gone from this cityto the said city of Macan in the Portuguese ships, with some moneywhich they have taken to invest and with which to pay their passageand the freight on their investments. Having reached the said city ofMacan they are arrested, and the said money is sequestered. Some whohave escaped this harsh treatment have taken refuge in churches, andhave at last embarked, fortunate to be at liberty with their money, in order to return to this city. Having gone through those kingdomsand experienced the delay of the long time during which they have beensuffering this molestation, and the others who, as aforesaid, haveescaped it by availing themselves of the said churches, these haveemployed their capital in buying the merchandise of the Portugueseof that city--and always at so high prices that, from one hand toanother, the Portuguese gain twenty-five or thirty per cent withour people. For no lesser rate was open to the latter, in order toredeem themselves from the injury inflicted on them, of little or noliberty; while the Portuguese have so much freedom in this said city, as has been and is seen, as I have already stated. Consequently, whatour people have brought from that city has always been too dear, byreason of the aforesaid profit which the said Portuguese have made ofit. They, not content with this, have (as is well known also), wheneveropportunity has arisen to send any ship of his Majesty from this cityto bring back at his royal account military supplies for the provisionof the royal magazines, refused to let these be bought by the hands ofthose who have the matter in charge, but [insist that it be] by thoseof inhabitants of Macan. Thus they make use of what goods they have, and sell them at the prices which they choose. That has always resultedin great loss to the royal treasury, which is sufficiently notorious, because it has been said openly by all who have gone from here for thatpurpose. Such comment has not been less, even though many citizens ofthis city are so patiently enduring such injustice; for, these havingdelivered their goods to the said Portuguese that they might takethem hence to the said city of Macan and invest them, and bring themback or send them the proceeds, the Portuguese have kept the goods, and have not thus far made any return to our people. For that reasonthose who sent the goods have been completely ruined by such greatlosses, which in their total amount to a very large sum. With that, and with all the profits and gains aforesaid, those of Macan are todayknown to be very powerful, and to have great wealth--although they hadno considerable wealth in the said year of six hundred and nineteen, when they began to come here to avail themselves of the said trade. 

The fifteenth is, that if the trade of the said Portuguese ceases, there can be no doubt that the Sangleys will come in their ships fromChina, laden with merchandise, in order to sell it in this city. Andeven should this not be to the number of those who formerly came, nor with so great an amount of goods during these first years, yet with the few that do come with valuable goods, and with thosewhich can come from the island of Hermosa, and the wax which isobtained in these islands, there will be enough goods to completethe two hundred and fifty thousand pesos which his Majesty allowsthe inhabitants of this archipelago to trade with the said NuevaEspaña--and even to exceed that amount, in general, according tothe scarcity of wealth that they have today. The great investmentswhich are made today through the hands of agents who are here--whohave the money of certain citizens of Mexico in large quantities, many thousands of pesos, with which they disturb the trade andcommerce of our citizens--will be prevented. For, as these men whohave the agencies enjoy an interest of ten per cent of what they thusinvest by their own authority (even though it be bought very dear), they will not consider the removal of obstacles in the prices of themerchandise--making them exceptions to the general loss of all thiscommunity; for the Portuguese have continued their sales at the sameprices, without its having been possible to apply the corrective whichso great an injury demands. If that loss cease, our citizens alone willenjoy the said investments, complying therein with his Majesty's will, and will make them at favorable prices, whereby considerable profitwill accrue to them. For this they will share the merchandise whichwill come, both from China and from the island of Hermosa and otherplaces, in accordance with their means. From it will also resultanother advantage with the coming of the said vessels from China, to the citizens who have possessions in the Parián, who will thushave someone to occupy those possessions. The limited time duringwhich the said Sangleys are wont to remain here will be worth moreto those citizens than the rent and payment for their property whichthey now usually obtain for all the year. With that income the taxwhich they ought to pay for the arable land in the said possessions, at the [current] values of this city, will not be so long delayed, and will be paid with greater ease, promptness, and willingness thanis done now; for, as is well known to this city council, about eightthousand pesos are owing to the said public property for the saidreason, according to the accounts that have been rendered by Juan deArguelles and Juan Lopez de Andoin. 

The sixteenth is for an argument that, if the trade of the Portugueseof Macan cease, the said [Chinese] will have to conduct the tradeas they did before in the said merchandise, because they willhave no other outlet for it, except in this city. This is provedbecause in the revolts of the Sangleys here, in the first part ofOctober of the former year six hundred and two [_sic_], more thantwenty thousand Sangleys having been killed and their possessionsruined--of which advices were taken to China by more than tenof their ships which escaped and carried the news--nevertheless, by May of the year following the same ships came to this city, inthe number and with the amounts of goods with which they had comein the years preceding. They continued that in the following years, as if the aforesaid punishment had been a benefit to them. They didthat for the reason above mentioned, of not having any other outletfor the said merchandise in which they traded. 

The seventeenth is that, as is well known, as soon as the Portugueseof Macan knew of the post which we took in the island of Hermosa, they tried to obstruct that trade, by sending a religious of theirnation to one of the commercial ports of China, in order that hemight direct those Chinese not to take any merchandise to the saidisland. They have persisted and are still persisting in those efforts. 

In regard to all the above, as a matter so important, and on whichdepends the conservation of this community, and so that the citizensof it may retrieve their losses, he petitions that discussion beheld, and that this proposition be set down in the record-book;that a decision be reached, and a vote taken in regard to all thatought to be petitioned; and that the royal decrees which treat ofall the said matter be observed. Having read and understood it _deverbo ad verbum_, it was voted that the said proposition be enrolledin the record-book of this cabildo, and that it should be discussedand voted upon. That having been done, in consideration of the factthat the arguments which it contains are so notorious and so wellknown in this city and by its inhabitants, Manila unanimously andas one man has resolved to inform his Lordship, the governor, ofthe said proposition; that for its accomplishment all the steps thatshall seem to be advisable shall be taken, by writing, until the saideffect is obtained--with the consent and advice of the counselor ofthis city; that the procurator-general of the city attend to all theabove, and that they appoint as commissaries those deputed to informthe governor. Thereupon, Captain Diego Diaz, regidor of this city, voted, and said that his opinion is that this affair is one of greatimportance; and that it seems right to discuss and treat of it withthe inhabitants of the community, who are the ones interested. Thisis his vote and opinion. The governor is requested to be pleasedto give permission for the holding of an open cabildo, so thatthose interested, as they are the ones whom it concerns so greatly, may declare therein the resolution that ought to be taken in thismatter. For if the suspension of the coming of the goods from Macanwere to happen in any other way, and at the same time those of Chinashould not come, the people would generally complain; and in order thatthey may not do that, let them be participants in the resolution thatshall be taken. In such condition was this vote, and all signed it. 

_Copy of a section of a letter written to his Majesty, August 14, 1633, by the governor of Filipinas_

The trade of Great China also has declined, inasmuch as the Portugueseof Macan have become masters of it, as they are so near; and as theyare admitted here, contrary to all good government, they retailthe products which the said Chinese formerly brought direct. Thatcauses a great scarcity in these provinces, all of which resultsin our loss, and in the gain of China, because of the great advancein price over the [former] cheapness--[an excess], moreover, whichthey carry to their own land. The relief that I believe can be had, although some privation may be felt in the beginning, is that yourMajesty prohibit the trade of Macan with Manila, and decree thatPortuguese be not admitted into this government. Besides having theabove result, your Majesty's duties will increase; and the commerceof China with the island of Hermosa can be established by this route, and become of importance to your Majesty, although up to the presentit has been only an expense. [_Decree of the Council_: "Collect thepapers treating of this matter and the chart of the island of Hermosa;and together with this section take it all to the fiscal, and bringit to the Council with what he shall say. November 25, 1634. "]

[_Note_: "The fiscal declares that he regards it as very unadvisableto make any innovation for the present, and that the trade nowpossessed by the Portuguese should be not prohibited; for, since thesaid trade is permitted to the Sangleys and other foreign nations, who are not vassals of his Majesty, it is not right to prohibitit to the Portuguese; and because if the said trade is prohibitedto the Portuguese, the Dutch and other rebels to this crown mightseize that site and the trade. Moreover, the advantages which thegovernor represents as the consequence are not sure but contingent;and the increase which he mentions might not happen, and could notafterward be made up if the Portuguese abandoned that site and thattrade ceased. Madrid, December 6, 1635. "]

[_Endorsed:_ "In regard to the affairs of the island of Hermosa andthe Portuguese. Refer it to the fiscal. April 15, 636. " "Let accountbe given so that those decrees may be carried out which were givenin order that foreigners might not trade or traffic in the FilipinasIslands--taking note that the Portuguese are included among foreigners, and that the Chinese and Sangleys can trade and traffic as hitherto. Inregard to the expulsion thence of the Portuguese who are not livingthere by the express license of his Majesty, he shall expel them, unless the governor and Audiencia consider that it is not advisable;of which it may be necessary to present information to the Council. "]

_Copies of the decrees which were despatched to the governor andAudiencia of Filipinas, and the fiscal and royal officials of them, in regard to the trade which the Portuguese of Macan have introducedinto Manila. _

The King. To the president and auditors of my royal Audiencia of thePhilipinas Islands: Don Juan Grau y Monfalcon, procurator-generalof that city, has informed me that the Portuguese people who live inEastern India have attempted to trade and traffic with those islands, thus hindering the Sangleys from going to sell their merchandisein that city; and that this intercourse was already established, inviolation of the orders and decrees issued, to the very great damageand prejudice of my royal revenues and the good government of theislands. He petitioned me to be pleased to have a speedy and effectiveremedy applied in a matter of so great importance and weight. Myroyal Council of the Indias having examined all the papers whichwere presented in this matter, together with what my fiscal said andalleged regarding it, I have considered it fitting to send you a copyof them, so that you may see them. If the report that has been made ofthis seems to you correct, you shall immediately attend to the remedyfor this damage; and I order my fiscal of that my royal Audiencia, byanother decree, to prosecute that case and to plead whatever he judgessuitable for the advantage and increase of my royal treasury, andthe observance of the orders and decrees issued, since that pertainsto him by reason of his office. Of all that you shall enact and thatyou shall continue to do in this matter, you shall advise me. Givenin Madrid, November ten, one thousand six hundred and thirty-four. 

_I the King_

By order of the king our sovereign:_Don Gabriel de Ocaña y Alarcon_

[A decree of the same date and of like tenor, addressed to the fiscalof the Manila Audiencia, Juan de Quesada Vitado y Mendoça, follows, inwhich he is ordered to prosecute the case. A decree of the same date isalso addressed to the royal officials; which, after the same generalstatement at the beginning, continues: "And although I order thatAudiencia by another of my decrees of equal date with this to attendto the remedy of this damage, and the fiscal to plead in prosecutionwhat he sees to be necessary, I have thought it best to advise you ofit, so that after you have understood it, if you are sure that thereis fraud in the collection and administration of my royal duties, you also shall plead what you consider to be advisable, since yousee what is your obligation by virtue of your office. And of whatyou shall hear, and what shall be done, you shall keep me advised. "]

Sire:

Don Juan Grau y Monfalcon, procurator-general of the noble and loyalcity of Manila, metropolis and capital of the Philipinas Islands, declares that the past year he represented to your Majesty thegreat damages and injuries which the inhabitants of that city areexperiencing from the Portuguese of Macan having introduced the customof going to buy their merchandise at the fair of Canton in China, and bringing the same to the city of Manila to retail it--where theymake a monopoly of it, without the inhabitants [of Manila] being ableto make any profit, such as they had before when the Chinese came tothe said city to sell their merchandise. The latter, besides sellingthe merchandise for very suitable prices, gave credit for them untilthey came back again. Without spending money, the inhabitants thenwere benefited, and sent the said merchandise to Nueva España, andmade very great profits on it. All this has ceased with the coming ofthe Portuguese, who not only give no credit, but sell the merchandisefor excessive prices. If they do not receive the pay that they wishfor the goods, they send them to Mexico at their own account. As theyare settled in Manila, they keep the merchandise from one year toanother. The Sangleys did not do that; for, in order to be able toreturn, they sold the goods at very suitable prices, or gave creditfor them, by which the inhabitants made considerable profits. As thatprofit has ceased, they are becoming very poor, and have no capital, and there is no help for it. What they gained the Portuguese nowgain; and the latter withdraw thrice as much money from Manila as theSangleys did. The latter exchanged a great part of their merchandisefor products of the country, which the Portuguese do not do, but takeaway the money in bars and reals. And although they allege in theirfavor, in order to continue the trade, that they are vassals of hisMajesty, and that it is right for them to trade and traffic in Manilaas in Castilla and in other parts of España, the fact is excluded thatthe inhabitants of that city have conquered those islands and shedtheir blood in that conquest, and always have arms in their hands fortheir defense. It is right that they alone should have this advantage(as your Majesty orders by the many decrees which have been despatchedin regard to this), and not the Portuguese, who have and have alwayshad places to trade and traffic in Portuguese India, Japon, China, and many other parts. It is not right to snatch the bread from thehands of the inhabitants of Manila, who have no other trade or meansof gain save that in the merchandise of China. If relief is not givenin this very quickly, all the commerce of that city will be destroyed, and it is now so fallen for this reason. Besides, it is prohibitedto the inhabitants of those islands by decrees, and in particularby one of the year 593, to go to the Canton fair or to China, as thePortuguese go to buy. It is also prohibited by many decrees for anyPortuguese, notwithstanding that they are vassals of your Majesty, to trade or traffic in the provinces of the Indias without specialpermission. This same thing must be observed in Manila, just as itis observed in Nueva España and Piru. 

Certain reasons that were presented having been examined in the royalCouncil of the Indias, it was ordered by a decree despatched Novemberten, one thousand six hundred and thirty-four, to send all the paperswhich were presented in behalf of that city to the governor andAudiencia of Manila; and commission was given to them so that, afterexamination of the documents by the fiscal and the royal officials(to whom a decree of like tenor was sent), they might apply in thismatter such remedy as they deemed most advisable, and as a matter soimportant for the preservation of those islands demands. 

King Don Felipe Second, having considered and foreseen the manydifficulties [involved in decreeing] that no one of his vassals go toChina to buy merchandise from the Chinese, ordered the said decreeto be despatched January eleven, of the said year, one thousandfive hundred and ninety-three (a copy of which is here presented), by which he ordered Gomez Perez Dasmariñas, governor of Manila, not to allow any inhabitants of those islands to go to China to buymerchandise from the Chinese; but to have the latter come to thatcity to sell them, at their own risk. That decree was enforced untilthe year one thousand six hundred and six; but it is now violatedbecause the Portuguese have crossed over, contrary to the order ofthe said decree. They go to China, which is the act prohibited inthe decree; and not only do they cause that damage, but they alsodeprive the inhabitants [of Manila] of the benefit which they hadof receiving on credit the merchandise from the Chinese who go tothat city. Further, they bought the goods at very low prices, since, in accordance with the terms of the said decree, the governor and thecity set the prices for the merchandise, which was a thing of greatimportance. And in order that the Chinese might return to Manila, andthe inhabitants enjoy the profits and accommodations of former times, and the terms of the said decree of 593 might be obeyed, in which allthe trouble that happens now was anticipated; and for confirmation ofthe above statement, and so that your Majesty may see that not only dothe inhabitants of that city suffer damage because the Portuguese goto it with Chinese merchandise, but that your Majesty also loses vastsums of which the royal duties are defrauded: will you be pleased toorder the certification which the writer presents, from the accountantof the official visit to be examined. From this, it is apparent thatduring the last thirteen years while the Sangleys had the trade inthat city--from the year one thousand six hundred and six until thatof one thousand six hundred and eighteen--they paid in duties to yourMajesty, 574, 627 pesos and six tomins; and that in another thirteenyears while the said Portuguese of Macan have had the said trade, theyhave paid only 90, 041 pesos. Figuring one period against the other, the royal treasury has had a shortage of 483, 986 pesos and four tomins, a considerable quantity in only thirteen years. And, in order thatthis truth may be apparent to your Majesty, the writer presents thesaid certification of the annual amounts of the said duties, for boththe thirteen years of the Portuguese and the thirteen of the Chinese. 

[He also invites] consideration of the fact that the purpose of thesaid royal decree of 593 is subverted and violated by the commercewhich the Portuguese of Macan carry on in China in order to take themerchandise by way of retail to the said city of Manila; for the saidpurpose declared in the said royal decree is that the said merchandiseof China shall enter into the said Manila through the hands of the saidChinese, and at their own account and risk, as the said decree says, without any other persons being authorized to meddle in it at all, or any merchants save the said Chinese. Thus the said violation ismanifest, since the said Portuguese are the ones who carry and deliverthe merchandise in the said city, by means of the said commerce whichthey have in China. Without that it would be impossible to take themto Manila, or to violate the said royal decree. Since they are notdeserving of greater favor or benefit than the inhabitants of thesaid city--in whom concur so many merits and services, as is wellknown, and to whom the said commerce is denied by the said decreeof 593--nor is there any cause or reason why the said Portuguese, who can not urge the said services, and who only think of the saidretailing of goods and of their own interest and greed, should bepermitted to trade; he petitions and beseeches your Majesty to bepleased to have a second decree of like tenor to that of the year 593issued, so that it may be observed and obeyed exactly, as is statedtherein. In it also should be included the case above mentioned, orit should be ordered anew that the said Portuguese shall not conductor continue the said commerce in the said city--at least making itan offense to carry to Manila the said merchandise for which theytrade in China, imposing therefor heavy penalties of confiscation, and others more severe in case of violation. By this the royaltreasury will receive great benefit and increase, and avoid the soconsiderable injury and loss that has been set forth; and the saidcity and its inhabitants will receive an especial favor and grace, as is hoped from the greatness and the royal authority of your Majesty. 

Further, he besought your Majesty to have filed with this memorial theletters which were in the secretary's office, written by the governorand Audiencia in regard to what is represented in the memorial; sothat after the whole has been examined, the decision most fitting tothe service of your Majesty and the preservation of those islands maybe made. And that the great troubles that follow from the aforesaidmay be seen, he petitions that an examination he ordered to be madeof the memorial of seventeen articles which was presented by Jusepede Naveda, regidor of that city. 

_Decree of our sovereign King Don Felipe Second, by which it isprohibited that any one go to China to buy merchandise from theChinese; but the latter must go to the city of Manila to carry them, and sell them at their own cost and risk_--_in which decree are tobe included the Portuguese of Macan. _

The King. To Gomez Perez Dasmariñas, my governor and captain-generalof the Philipinas Islands, and any other person who shall hereafterserve in the said office: know that I have been informed that manypersons of those islands are going to Macan and other ports of Chinato trade and traffic with the Chinese for the profit that resultsfrom it. From that result higher prices for the merchandise, and othernotable inconveniences. And as it is fitting that a remedy be appliedin this matter, I have determined to prohibit and to order--as I doby this present prohibit, forbid, and order--that no person, now andhenceforth, shall trade or traffic in any part of China; nor shallany merchandise, on account of the merchants of the said islands, becarried or permitted to be carried from that kingdom to the islands, unless the Chinese themselves, at their own account and risk, shallcarry it to the said islands, and sell it therein by wholesale. Forthis, you, together with the city council of the city of Manila, shall appoint each two or three persons whom you shall consider mostsuitable to value and appraise the said merchandise. They shall take itat wholesale from the Chinese, paying them the amount for the goods;and afterward it shall be divided among all the citizens and nativesof the islands at that price, in accordance with their wealth, so thatall may share the profit which results from this trade. You shallorder that the said persons thus appointed keep a book, in whichshall be entered the amount of money which is invested each time, and the price at which each kind of merchandise is appraised; amongwhat persons it is divided; and the quantity that falls to each one'sshare. And I charge you straitly to have especial care to ascertainin what manner the persons deputed for that purpose exercise thatcommission. You shall not permit those who have held it one year tobe chosen for it the following year. You shall send me a relationof all the aforesaid, signed by them, and another to the viceroyof Nueva España. And I order you, and also all other justices andjudges, to observe and obey, and cause to be observed and obeyed, and executed to the letter, the contents of this our decree; forthus it is fitting for my service. Given in Madrid, January eleven, one thousand five hundred and ninety-three. 

I the King

By order of the king our sovereign. 

Juan de Ybarra

[_Endorsed_: "December 19, 635. Have these papers collected; bringwhat is provided. " "Have all these papers taken to the fiscal. In theCouncil, January 16, 636. " "The fiscal asks that this decree be broughtauthorized by the secretary, so that he may answer and petition what heshall believe to be expedient. Madrid, January 19, 1636. " "The fiscalsays that the decree of which a reissue is requested does not touchupon the case for which it is now requested; and that he considersas a rigorous measure that what is therein permitted to the Chineseshould not be permitted to the Portuguese, who are his Majesty'svassals--they having occupied that port of Macan, as he understands, after the said decree was issued. Madrid, January 22, 1636. "]

_Customs duties collected at Manila on Chinese merchandise_

In thirteen years while the Sangleys had control of the trade ofChinese merchandise--namely, from that of 1606 to that of 1618--theypaid in duties to his Majesty, according to the certification of theaccountant for the official visit, 574, 627 pesos, 6 tomins. In anotherthirteen years while the Portuguese of Macan have controlled thesaid trade, they have paid only 90, 641 pesos, 2 tomins. Consequently, comparing the one time with the other, there is, as he has informed hisMajesty, a shortage of 483, 986 pesos, 4 tomins, in his royal treasury. 

This account is presented in detail in the following manner:

 Year of 1606 32, 113 pesos, 3 tomins, 3 granos. Year of 1607 and 1608 75, 462 pesos, 0 tomins, 4 granos. Year of 1609 and 1610 131, 341 pesos, 4 tomins, 0 granos. Year of 1611 26, 053 pesos, 0 tomins, 7 granos. Year of 1612 95, 639 pesos, 2 tomins, 8 granos. Year of 1613 69, 427 pesos, 7 tomins, 0 granos. Year of 1614 36, 105 pesos, 2 tomins, 6 granos. Year of 1615 41, 558 pesos, 1 tomin, 1 grano. Year of 1616 23, 377 pesos, 0 tomins, 0 granos. Year of 1617 37, 179 pesos, 5 tomins, 5 granos. Year of 1618 5, 770 pesos, 0 tomins, 0 granos. ------- -- -- 574, 627 pesos, 6 tomins, 10 granos. 

Duties which the Portuguese of Macan have paid on the merchandiseof China in the thirteen years from that of 1619 to that of 1631, according to the same certification; and also those which the Chineseships that have come in those same years have paid. 

 Macan Years China

 pesos tomins granos pesos tomins granos

 1, 172 6 3 1619 11, 148 0 0 8, 903 0 0 1620 27, 797 0 0 9, 653 5 0 1621 6, 692 6 11 7, 370 0 0 1622 8, 040 0 0 4, 238 3 5 1623 1, 759 3 9 5, 444 0 0 1624 2, 998 6 0 6, 917 0 0 1625 10, 894 0 0 10, 248 0 0 1626 22, 580 0 0 9, 092 3 8 1627 20, 385 0 0 3, 036 0 0 1628 2, 943 0 0 641 0 0 1629 3, 957 0 0 11, 645 0 0 1630 6, 287 0 0 7, 480 0 0 1631 18, 344 0 0 ------ -- -- ------- -- -- 90, 641 2 4 143, 826 6 8

DECREE EXTENDING THE TENURE OF ENCOMIENDAS

The King. To Don Albaro de Quiñones, knight of the Order of Santiago, my governor and captain-general of the province of Guatemala, andpresident of my royal Audiencia resident therein, or the personor persons in charge of its government: as you have understood, the repartimientos and encomiendas of Indians which the kings myforbears and I have been accustomed to grant to various persons inthat country, in consideration of their services, have been for twogenerations. Inasmuch as my intention has always been, and is, toshow favor to those who serve, equal to their deserts, and especiallyto the pacifiers and settlers of those provinces, and considering thespecial importunities that many persons make, that the repartimento orencomienda which they hold may be prolonged for one more generation, they representing to me not only their own causes, but the advantagestherein for the Indians, and their good treatment and education:with the consent and advice of the members of my royal Council ofthe Indias, after they had consulted with me, I have determined toshow favor generally to all those who hold the repartimientos andencomiendas of Indians in those provinces, by prolonging them foranother generation, in addition to the generations for which theynow hold them, provided that they immediately, for this reason, contribute to my funds--those who shall possess encomiendas for asecond generation, with the value of the first three years; and thosewho shall enjoy them in the third generation with the value of twoyears--so that that may be an aid to the heavy expenses that my royaltreasury incurs in defense of these and those kingdoms, and of theincrease and conservation of our holy Catholic faith. [It shall be]provided that this prolongation be not extended, nor be understoodto extend, to those who should hold encomiendas of which the valueexceeds eight hundred ducados and more; for such encomiendas must bekept to reward worthy persons, in the manner that has been followedhitherto. In order that this may be executed as is desired, I havethought best to order you and to charge you--as I do--that as soon asyou receive this my decree you publish it in that city of Santiago, and in all the others of your government, so that all persons who shalldesire the said prolongation of their repartimientos or encomiendasmay come before you within one year, counted from the day of the saidpublication. Those who thus come before you within the said time youshall admit to the said agreement, under the above obligations. Havingmade the contract, you shall give them the necessary despatches, so that they may enjoy these for the third generation; and theseshall be thus continued to them with the repartimientos which theypossess, or shall be continued to those who shall duly succeed tothem, according to the law of succession. They shall be obliged tohave obtained within four years my confirmation of the same. Thosewho shall come after the said year has expired you shall in no caseadmit. With those with whom you shall make a contract, you shall tryto regulate the value of the repartimientos and encomiendas, with theadvice of the fiscal of that Audiencia and the royal officials of theirdistrict, enacting for that purpose the measures that you shall deemadvisable; paying heed to the consolidations which must be made ofthe pensions that they pay at present. With those who shall possesstheir repartimientos and encomiendas without any stipulation for theconsolidation, you shall contract in the same manner and form, withthe obligation to come to obtain the confirmation. You shall proceedin both cases with the like care that the business be regulated andtransacted so that my royal treasury be paid, exactly and promptly, what belongs to it because of this. The sum resulting from this youshall send me at the first opportunity in a separate fund, and shallnot put it with the rest of my revenues--sending it directed to mypresident and official judges of the House of Trade at Sevilla. Youshall make a special report of what proceeds from each contract, andof those who wish to make contracts in regard to the encomiendas whichthey possess in those kingdoms; and those who enjoy those encomiendaswhile living in these kingdoms shall come to make these contractsin the said my Council of the Indias, where they will be admittedwithout any time limit being set. Madrid, February 1, 1636. 

_I the King_

By order of the king our sovereign:

_Don Gabriel de Ocaña y Alarcon_

_Idem_, to the [governor] of Yucatan, Philipinas, and Venezuela. 

MILITARY SERVICES OF FILIPINOS

Sire:

Don Juan Grau y Monfalcon, procurator-general of the PhilipinasIslands, desirous of your Majesty's service and the welfare andconservation of those islands, and that the Indians who are underyour Majesty's protection and pay you homage be preserved therein, represents that the Indian natives of the provinces of Pampanga, Camarinas, and Tagalos have served and are serving your Majesty withgreat love and fidelity, since the time of the conquest of thoseislands. Not one of those Indians has ever been found in rebellion, or has wrought any treachery, or deserted to the enemy. Those Indians, mingled with Spaniards, serve as soldiers in war, and have provedexcellent therein. Especially are the Pampangos valiant soldiers, who have performed and are daily performing valiant exploits atthe side of the Spanish. They were at the taking of Terrenate; and, whenever occasion offers, they with other companies come to guard thecity of Manila. They also serve as rowers and pioneers in expeditionsby the fleets. On all occasions that offer, they serve your Majestywith their persons and possessions. The natives of the province ofTagalos do the same. They, together with those of the province ofCamarinas, serve both in war and in the building of galleons andgalleys with great friendship and goodwill. In order that thoseIndians, especially the Pampangos and Tagáls, may be encouraged tocontinue your Majesty's royal service, he represents that it would bevery advisable for your Majesty to be pleased to command that lettersbe sent to them, expressing your great appreciation of their conduct;as well as to the governor of Manila, ordering him to observe andcause to be observed _in toto_ the decrees that were ordered to bedespatched in their favor by their Majesties the kings Don PhelipeSecond and Third. If it should be deemed advisable, since they areserving in the military and are so valiant soldiers, in order toencourage them for the future [the writer suggests that you] honorthem with military offices and charges; for if the natives of thesaid provinces see that your Majesty is mindful of them, and honorsthem through your royal decrees, they will be encouraged to continueyour royal service with greater fervor. In case that it should appearexpedient to despatch the said decrees, they could be sent to thealcaldes-mayor of the said three provinces of Pampanga, Tagalos, and Camarinas, and they should be ordered to assemble the leadingIndians of those provinces, and have your Majesty's royal decreesread to them. Besides the many advantages that may accrue from yourMajesty honoring the natives of these three provinces, may followanother very great one--namely, that the other Indians of the otherprovinces, who do not serve with so much friendship and promptnessas they (on the contrary, many of them rebel daily and go over tothe enemy), on seeing that your Majesty honors them by your royaldecrees, and that the governors appoint them to offices and duties, will be encouraged to serve and to merit a like reward from yourMajesty. All of the above he represents, so that your Majesty maytake what measures may be deemed most fitting for your royal service. 

[_Endorsed_: "Don Juan Grau, procurator-general of the PhilipinasIslands. June 13, 636. Have the governor notified to be very carefulfor the Indians of these three provinces; and to encourage themgreatly. Order him to summon their leaders so that they may alwayscontinue in his Majesty's service. Have a relation made to the effectthat we have heard that they serve well, and of their fidelity. Thisbeing so, let him execute the aforesaid; and let nothing which ishere proposed be said that may annoy the military officers. "]

CONFLICTS BETWEEN CIVIL AND ECCLESIASTICAL AUTHORITIES, 1635-36

_SECOND BOOK OF THE SECOND PART OF THE CONQUESTS OF THE FILIPINASISLANDS, AND CHRONICLE OF THE RELIGIOUS OF OUR FATHER, ST. AUGUSTINE_

[_Translation of title-page_: "Conquests of the Filipinas Islands:the temporal by the arms of our Catholic Sovereigns of España, andthe spiritual by the religious of the Order of St. Augustine; and thefoundation and progress of the province of Santísimo Nombre de Jesúsof the same order. Part second: compiled by the use of the materialswhich the very reverend father Fray Gaspar de San Agustín, [31]author of the first part, collected, by Father Fray Casimiro Diaz, [32]native of Toledo, of the Order of our father St. Augustine, chroniclerof this province of Santísimo Nombre de Jesús, procurator-general, and twice secretary and definitor of the same. With the necessarylicenses. Valladolid [33] . .. 1890. "]

CHAPTER XV

_The raid of the Mindanao pirates into Leyte. Election of father FrayJuan Ramirez as provincial. Arrival of the governor, Don SebastianHurtado de Corcuera, and the religious who came in his company. _

That year of 1634 was so quiet and so barren of events worthy ofremembrance that I shall not dwell long upon it; for there is nothingof which I have heard to detain me, unless it be the raid of theMindanao enemy into the island of Leyte, and the depredations thatthey committed there with the license permitted to them in seeingthat there was no attempt made in Manila to check them. 

On Sunday, December 3, 1634, the Mindanaos arrived with eighteengalleys at the village of Ogmuc, leaving behind in that of Baybaythe rest of the vessels which they brought in their fleet. Fiftyof our Indians went out to resist them, but being unable to fightso many, they gradually retired to a little fort, possessed by thevillage. They thought that they would be able to resist the piratesthere, being encouraged by their minister, Father Juan del Carpio, ofthe Society of Jesus; and they did so for some time, until the Moros, knowing that the church was higher than the fort, entered it and ourmen could not reach them with their shots. They planted three piecesin a convenient place at the church, in order to do great damage tothose in the fort; and firing without cessation, they did not allowour men to fire a shot through its loopholes and windows. Othersof the enemy hastened by another side to gather bundles of thatch byuncovering the roofs of the houses; and by fastening together what woodand bamboo they could gather, and pushing this contrivance toward thefort, they set it afire. The fire burned a quantity of rice and abacá(which is the hemp of this country), and many men were choked by thesmoke. The besieged, seeing that the fire had caught the timber-work[of the fort], and that they were being inevitably killed without anychance to defend themselves, displayed a signal for surrender and infact did so. 

They were all captured; and a great contest arose among the enemy as towho should have Father Carpio as his captive. In this contention theyhad recourse to the Mindanao captain, and he ordered that the fatherbe killed. That they did very gladly, and beheaded him and carried hishead back to present it as a spoil to their king, Cachil Corralat. Thelatter had charged them not to leave alive any religious or Spaniard, for so had he vowed to their false prophet Mahomet in an illness thathe had had. They took the others captive, and sacked and burned allthe village. From that place they sailed out and committed the samedestruction in the villages of Soyor, Binñangán, Cabalián, Canamucán, and Baybay. But they were so stoutly resisted in the village ofInibañgán in [the island of] Bohol, and in Dapitán, that they retiredbut little the gainers; for those Indians are very valiant, and verydifferent in valor from the other villages which the Mindanaos sacked. 

The Camucones also--a people from islands subject to Borney, crueland barbarous, and Mahometan by religion, although there are pagansin some islands--made their raids into the island of Panay, chieflyon the villages of Bataán, Domayan, and Mahanlur, and in those ofAclán and Bahay, where they captured many of our Indians, and burnedthe churches of the visitas. The visitas are usually deserted, andhave no houses to defend them; and those Camucones are very cowardlyand very different from the Joloans and Mindanaos, who are valiant, and much more so the latter named. The Camucones entered by theriver and bar of Batán, which is salt water, where a very grievousjest happened to two or three of their craft. The river of Batán hasanother river a short distance above the village road, which endsin a very wide and spacious sea, which they call "tinagongdagat, " or"hidden sea, " in which the inhabitants enjoy excellent fishing. Withthe ebb of the tide that spacious sea is left almost dry, and thenmany kinds of shellfish are caught, such as oysters and crabs. TheCamucones entered that sea, with the intention of lying in wait forsome capture, but when they least expected it they found their crafton dry ground. An Indian who was gathering the aforesaid shellfishsaw them; and, recognizing them to be piratical enemies by the styleof their craft, went to the village and gave warning of them. Manyof the inhabitants of Batán assembled, and, well armed, attackedthe Camucones very courageously. They made a great slaughter of thepirates, and captured many of them and burned their craft. Some ofthe Camucones escaped through the mangrove plantations and swampyground. They were captured next day, with the exception of those whohad the luck to rejoin the boats of their companions--who repentingof their carelessness, returned to their lands, and did not returnto try their fortune in those regions for many years. 

Those Camucones enemies, entering that island of Panay in thesame district between Bataán and Aclán, in 1672, captured thealcalde-mayor of Panay, Captain Don José de San Miguel. He defendedhimself against them until he was killed, and immediately when thatwas known they beheaded him, and took his head and skin to their landas a trophy. Better fortune was experienced by the notary, Pedro deVillarús, who was in another boat; for, having seen the Camucones, he had his boat beached, and, taking to the mangrove swamps, saved hislife after great danger. This he attributed to a miracle of the apostleSt. Peter, to whom he was very devoted, and to whom he made a greatfeast as a thank-offering. The piteous death of that alcalde-mayor, DonJosé de San Miguel, could be attributed to the punishment of God, as hehad been a cruel persecutor of the regular ministers; so much so thatin the time during which he governed that province (which by the Divinepermission was short), they suffered a great persecution. But God knowsthe truth; and it is not permitted, nor do I wish, to interpret theevents of His holy will and providence. But it has not seemed properto me to omit a circumstance which I positively know concerning thatill-starred youth; namely, that after his death, there was foundamong his papers a letter from his father, Don Basilio de San Miguel(who is said to have been much given to astrology and soothsaying), who told and ordered him not to receive an office of justice underany circumstance, for the first that he should obtain threatened himwith a very great disaster. I know that fact absolutely; for the rest, concerning the infallibility and even possibility of like judgments, I declare that I am ready to obey the command of our holy Mother theChurch, in the constitution of his Holiness Sixtus V which begins, _Cæli et terræ Creator_. 

Father Fray Gerónimo de Medrano finished his triennium, notableboth for his pacific and prudent government, and by the two martyrsof Christ who ennobled this province during his triennium. In thechapter celebrated in the convent of Manila, April 28, 1635--overwhich father master Fray Alonso de Carvajal presided, by virtue ofthe letters of our father-general--father Fray Juan Ramirez, [34] areligious of great prudence, learning, and devotion, was elected, tothe content of the whole province. The definitors elected were fatherFray Estacio Ortiz, the father master Fray Teófilo Mascarós, [35] FrayCristóbal de Miranda, and Fray Andrés Berdugo. [36] The visitors werefather Fray Diego Martinez [37] and Fray Juan Gallegos. They enactedregulations very useful for the good government of the province, andprovided ministers for the ministries of it, both priors and vicars, as at that time it contained many distinguished members of the order. 

Two galleons arrived at Cavite on St. John's day, which were returningfrom Nueva España with the reënforcements for these islands. Theflagship of those vessels was called "Nuestra Señora de la Concepción"[_i. E. , _ "Our Lady of the Conception"], and the almiranta "SanLuis. " They brought the new governor and a company of religious ofour order, and also some of St. Dominic, among them father Fray DiegoCollado. [38] On July twenty-seven father Fray Diego de Ordás [39]entered the convent of Manila with his mission, which was composedof twenty-five religious, who have been very useful to this province. 

That same year came also Governor Don Sebastián Hurtado de Corcuera, knight of the Order of Alcantara, and member of the Council of Warin the states of Flandes, where he had served many years with greatcredit, being one of the most renowned captains in the siege ofBreda. He had afterward been master-of-camp of the port of Callao inPerú, and captain-general of the cavalry of that kingdom, and lastlygovernor of Panamá. He brought a great reënforcement of soldiers, many of them from Perú, as he made his voyage to Acapulco fromthat kingdom. He was a gentleman of great valor, and one prone toundertake rash enterprises. However he did not have much good fortunein the outcome of these, either in war or in politics, for all had adisastrous end. The reason of this is hidden, with the Divine plans;but, as the reader will see in the events that I shall soon write, it will appear that the beginnings of his government, fatal forthese islands, could not have less unfortunate progress, the effectslasting until the present time. Don Sebastián Hurtado de Corcueratook possession of this government on June 25 of the above year. 

His Majesty had promoted Don Hernando Guerrero to this archbishopric ofManila; and the latter, upon the arrival of the decree of presentationin the year 1632, asked the cabildo on May 25 to put him in possessionof his government. But inasmuch as the decree which was required forit was lacking, the cabildo refused to receive him in possession untilthe arrival of the bulls and pallium. Consequently, he remained inManila without governing, until, in the above year [_i. E. , _ 1635], came an official statement that the bulls and pallium were alreadyattended to in the Roman court; and he thereupon insisted once morethat he be admitted to the government of the Church. There werevarious difficulties raised by the cabildo in receiving him; for inthat ship there came only a statement from an apostolic notary, withoutapproval. In regard to this matter long opinions were uttered by eachside, which were finally settled by admitting Señor Guerrero after heswore to present himself with the bulls and pallium within a year. Inaccordance with this, possession was given to him on June 25, 1635. 

Don Fray Hernando de Guerrero began to govern this church at the sametime that Don Sebastián de Corcuera these islands: At the beginningthere were abundant indications of what would happen at the end;for the new governor showed himself so greatly bent on increasinghis own jurisdiction that it was necessary to act with severity, and not to allow him to make precedents by which certain notions(already beginning to be apparent when he was governor of Panamá)which he had in mind should be established. That gentleman was atonce very prudent, very harsh and austere, very tenacious in hisresolutions, and wedded to his own notions--which is the occasion forthe greatest errors in princes; for by not yielding, in matters thatself-love adopts as certain, they allow themselves to be carried overany precipice. This passion was greatly predominant in that gentlemanand was the cloud that obscured other talents, worthy of esteem, thatadorned him. Immediately occasions of dispute arose between the two, not because Guerrero tried to meddle with the civil government, butbecause the governor was trying to govern both estates, by givingunfair interpretations to several matters called by the name of"royal patronage;" these are delicate to handle, and the attentionwith which they ought to be treated is not bestowed on them. Don FrayHernando greatly regretted the unavoidable occasions that arose, and feared that by the precedent of the first disputes all thosewhich might afterward arise would be regulated; and accordingly, he tried not to weaken at the beginning, which is the time when onemust pay heed in order to avoid consequences. 

The first occasion when the governor contrived to introduce himselfinto the ecclesiastical government more than was his right, was intrying to aid father Fray Diego Collado of the Order of Preachers inthe division which the latter was attempting to make of the province ofSanto Rosario, under the title of "Congregation of San Pablo, " dividingthe province into two parts. For that purpose the father had broughta company of religious, who were called "barbados, " because they worelong beards, and were destined for the new province which he was goingto found under the title of "congregation, " for the conversion ofJapón and China. For this purpose the said father Fray Diego Colladohad obtained the bulls necessary for it in Roma; but seeing that hewould not be given license for it in the royal and supreme Councilof the Indias, on account of the difficulties that were apparent tothe eyes of the least prudent, he did not present them there, beingcontent with having Don Sebastián Hurtado de Corcuera on his side, withwhom he had come to these islands in the aforesaid company. That wasa very dangerous and critical time for the province of Santo Rosario, which was exposed to many disturbances by the division that they weretrying to make of it; and the best convents near Manila were to betaken away from it for the new congregation. In that pretension theaid of the governor was freely used, and it was necessary for thearchbishop to oppose him, the province of Santo Rosario having hadrecourse to the latter. Thereupon the dispute was openly declared, because the governor tried to carry to completion the undertaking thathad been begun. The said division would without doubt have been carriedinto effect had it not been opposed by the archbishop and by Don FrayDiego de Aduarte, a Dominican, and bishop of Nueva Segovia. That wasthe beginning of the sharpest controversies that have been seen inthe Indias between the two jurisdictions--ecclesiastical and civil;and from it originated the disturbances which scandalized the world, causing lamentable effects which are experienced even until the presenttime. Not only laymen, whom worldly considerations cause to follow theside of power in these islands, conspired on the side of the governor, but also certain ecclesiastical persons, whose advancement dependedon the will of the civil government. These latter, being domesticenemies, were the greatest spur in the hostilities that had beenbegun. They would have been ended by the care that the archbishop wastaking, had the unyielding disposition of Don Sebastián de Corcuera, in what had been begun, allowed him to be less insolvent in what hewas attempting. For if on such occasions something is not yielded onboth sides, the fire that has been started will continue to increaseuntil any check will be entirely impossible--as was experienced on thisoccasion; for instead of being extinguished, it became more furiouswith what happened afterward, as we shall see in the following chapter. 

CHAPTER XVI

_Relation of the disputes and strife between the archbishop and thegovernor, Don Sebastián Hurtado de Corcuera. _

The strife, being greatly inflamed by the events above mentioned, became entangled with one of the most memorable disputes that haveoccurred in the islands--a necessary occasion for the sharpestencounter between the two jurisdictions, and one from which Don FrayHernando Guerrero could not excuse himself, as it concerned the mostsacred part of the ecclesiastical immunity. That was a matter in whichthe archbishop could not neglect to sally out with all his might, inorder to comply with the obligation of a true prelate. The case wasas follows: There was an artilleryman in Manila, named Francisco deNava, who had a female slave with whom he had illicit communication, as came to the ears of the archbishop. The archbishop ordered him toremove from himself this occasion [for sin] by selling the slave-girlto another person; and had the latter placed, for that purpose, in thehouse of a lady who was related to Doña María de Francia, who becamefond of her and arranged to buy her from the artilleryman. The latterwas so beside himself over the loss of the said slave that he refusedto sell her at any price, saying that he wished, on the contrary, to marry her. But Doña María de Francia so arranged matters thatthe slave was sold, and came into her possession with very slighteffort. The artilleryman, grieved and regretful for what had happened, almost became mad, and, it having been given out that he was mad, certain violence was shown him; and on one occasion he had receiveda sound beating at the house of Doña María de Francia, because he hadgone there to request that they should give him the slave, as he hadresolved to make her his wife. 

Aggrieved and rendered desperate in this way, he saw the girl pass oneday in a carriage with Doña María de Francia. Going to her he asked herwhether she knew him, who was her master. The slave answered him withsome independence, whereupon he, blind with anger, drew his dagger inthe middle of the street and killed her by stabbing her, before anyonecould prevent it. All the people, both those in the carriage and thosein the street, ran tumultuously [after him]; but the artillerymanescaped them all, and took refuge in the church of our convent inManila. The governor heard of what had happened, and ordered Don Pedrode Corcuera, his nephew (who was then sargento-mayor of the camp), to take the artilleryman from the church, saying that he could notavail himself of the sanctuary of the church, as he had committed atreacherous act--although it was only a homicide, and the settlementof this question did not concern the governor. However, his actionarose mainly from the anger that he felt that what had happened wasin the presence of his nephew, Don Pedro de Corcuera--who, also beingangered at what concerned his wife, made use of his commission withless prudence than he ought to exercise in executing such orders fromhis superiors. He caused the church and convent to be surrounded; and, going inside, examined everything, not excepting even the sacristy;and it is even said that he declared that, if he found the artillerymanthere, he would take him out a prisoner. But not having been able tofind him then, Don Pedro left the church and convent surrounded by adouble guard. The governor added to that that he would not allow thereligious to enter or leave, until he had hold of the refugee. Thelatter was finally found, and taken from the sacristy, and surrenderedto the commander of artillery, in order that he might proceed with thetrial as his competent judge; and he, either carried away by flattery, or in obedience to the commands of the governor, proceeded so hastilythat in a very short time he condemned the artilleryman to death. 

The archbishop's provisor, Don Pedro Monroy, bore himself on thisoccasion with the prudence that was fitting, and proceeded againstthe commander of artillery, requesting him to deliver his prisonerand return him to the church. Having been informed that the commanderof artillery was a mere instrument, and that all his actions wereaccording to the impulses of the governor, he sent three lay priests tothe palace to intimate to the latter that the judge should deliver therefugee to him. The priests entered, without anyone hindering them;and finding that the governor had already retired, as it was thenan advanced hour of the night, they started to withdraw in order toreturn next morning; but the soldiers of the guard would not permitthem to leave, saying that such was the order of the governor. 

The sentence against the artilleryman having been given--which it issaid that the governor sent ready made out to the judge, to sign--theyproceeded to execute it, notwithstanding that the provisor proceededto threaten censures, and to impose an interdict [40] and suspensionfrom religious functions [_cessatio de divinis_]. The governorordered a gallows to be erected in front of the very church ofSt. Augustine, and the criminal was hanged thereon--to the contemptof the ecclesiastical immunity, for the [proper] place assignedfor such punishments was very distant from there. The governor, seeing that the sentence was already executed, and that he had nowobtained the chief object of his desire, wrote to the archbishop, requesting him to have the censures removed and the interdict raised, and the churches opened on the day of the nativity of our Lady. Thearchbishop, recognizing the duplicity of the governor, refused toanswer that letter without first consulting the orders; and, afterconsulting with some of them, decided that he would not raise theinterdict, since there was less inconvenience in having it imposed[even] on so festive a day, than there would be in his yielding onan occasion so inimical to the ecclesiastical immunity. However, therequests of the Recollect fathers of our father St. Augustine, whohad charge of the advocacy of the nativity, had so much influence thatthe archbishop ordered the interdict to be removed, and it was done. 

The commander of artillery was condemned to some pecuniary fines, from which he appealed to the judge of appeals, who was the bishopof Camarines. The ecclesiastical judge refusing to admit the appeal, he threatened the royal aid of fuerza; and this question having beenexamined in the royal Audiencia (which at that time consisted of butthe governor and only one auditor, Don Marcos Zapata), it was declaredin his favor, and the appeal went to the bishop of Camarines. Thelatter--namely, Don Francisco Zamudio, of the order of our fatherSt. Augustine, and a son of the province of Méjico--declared thecommander of artillery to be free from the sentence given by theecclesiastical judge. The trial of the commander of artillery had itssecond hearing. On that account there did not fail to result certaincharges against the governor, such as his having ordered the secularpriests to be detained in the guard-house; his declaration that hecould not be excommunicated by anyone except the pope; and that if anorder were given to him to arrest the pontiff, he would arrest him, and even drag him along by one foot (which he was proved to have saidby several persons). The governor freed himself from all these chargesby excuses in a manifesto which he published; but as it is not a partof my duty to examine their adequacy, I shall not do so. I shall referthe reader to the reply made to him by a learned ecclesiastic of theuniversity of Méjico; [41] for there is no liberty in Filipinas toenable any one to complain, or to speak his mind against what thegovernment manipulates. 

The governor ordered the provisor, Don Pedro Monroy, to go to theisland of Hermosa to serve in the post of chief chaplain, endeavoringby this means to revenge himself--as if he were able to give the formerthe collation and the spiritual jurisdiction necessary. The provisorresisted him, and informed the archbishop thereof. The governor alsowrote a letter to the latter, ordering him to appoint another provisorin place of Don Pedro Monroy, both because he had been assigned to theisland of Hermosa and such was advisable for his Majesty's service(the mask under which the passions of those who ought to fulfiltheir duties with justice are generally cloaked), and because theoffice of provisor could not be exercised by him in contradiction ofa royal decree which ordered that the provisor should not be one whohad not been graduated and who did not have the learning necessary(although the learning of Don Pedro was sufficient, and the holyCouncil [of Trent?] and the sacred canons do not fix conditions forsuch an office). The archbishop convened the orders for the solutionof this matter. Having written to Father Luis Pedrosa, rector of theSociety, to attend the meeting, the said father rector excused himself;and, although summoned the requisite number of times, he refused toattend. Consequently, the archbishop promulgated an act, in whichhe deprived the fathers of the Society of the privilege of preachingthroughout the archbishopric, of the titles of synodal examiners, andof active and passive right of assembly with the secular priests andthe orders both in public acts and in other functions, in considerationof the fact that they refused to concur in the defense of the rightsof the ecclesiastical estate. On the following day, Tuesday, October9, 1635, the archbishop sent a letter to the governor, requesting himto accept the excuse given by the provisor, so that he might not go toserve in the post of chaplain at the island of Hermosa; for he had needof him [_i. E. _, the provisor]. The governor should know that it wasbeyond the power of secular judges to appoint ecclesiastical vicarsand to confer spiritual jurisdiction. Consequently, he petitionedthe governor in his own name, that of the bishop of Cebu, and thoseof the orders, to refrain from such appointment; and counseled himthat he should consult with learned persons who feared God, sincethere were so many in the body of secular priests and in the orders, in such determinations. The religious of the Society, angered at theact of the archbishop, after various demands and replies on both sides(which I shall not set down here, as it is not my intention to stir upso delicate matters--in which it must be believed that each one wouldstrive according to the dictates of his conscience, for one cannotimagine the opposite of either side, rather believing that the commonenemy was preparing his weapons in order to occasion the misfortunesthat followed afterward), appointed the schoolmaster, Don Fabiánde Santillán y Gabilanes, judge-conservator (because they declaredthat they were prevented from the exercise of their privileges). Heaccepted the appointment, and immediately erected a tribunal againstthe archbishop, issuing acts against him and fulminating censures incase he should again oppose the proceedings that had been commenced. 

Who could now look for less lamentable issues than those that wereseen in these islands from so wretched beginnings, as are thosethat we have seen even to our days? The archbishop was very muchgrieved over this determination, for he saw arrayed against himself, on one side, the tyrannical governor (for Don Sebastián Hurtado deCorcuera was domineering), and on the other an order so great as theSociety. Notwithstanding he determined to present himself in the royalAudiencia by way of [pleading] fuerza, although he recognized thelittle that he could accomplish by that means. But he was unwillingto incur the fault of having failed to take this precaution, as wasdetermined by the orders of these islands--who firmly and steadfastlyassisted the archbishop, aiding him to maintain the ecclesiasticalimmunity, which was running so great danger. The archbishop presentedhimself in the royal Audiencia, where his arguments were examined intwo meetings; and a disagreement [in the Audiencia] having resulted, the fiscal, who was the third, undertook to discuss the question. Hedeclared against the archbishop, saying that the judge-conservator hadused no fuerza. The latter continued to urge his censures against thearchbishop, who, destitute of all aid, determined to surrender andwithdraw the acts. He first made a protest before Diego de Rueda, royal notary and a familiar of the Holy Office, in regard to thefuerza that the governor and the judge-conservator were employingagainst him. When the governor learned of the protest that thearchbishop had made, he had the notary, Diego de Rueda, arrested, through the agency of the judge-conservator, and locked him up inthe castle of Santiago, after having taken from him his depositionas to the contents of the protest--for the governor had been informedthat it was a defamatory libel against him. The notary declared thatthe protest of the archbishop contained no special clause that wasprejudicial to anyone, but that it was directed only to the defenseof his rights. After the arrest of the notary, the judge-conservatorfulminated new censures against the archbishop, ordering him to annulthe protest. The archbishop treated those censures as invalid, for thejudge-conservator's jurisdiction did not extend to the trial of thatquestion. He further replied that the said protest no longer remainedin his possession, as it had been given to father Fray Diego Colladoto keep. He contented himself with this reply, being unwilling againto attempt the remedy of having recourse to the Audiencia by a pleaof fuerza, whence he knew that he would issue ill-despatched. Thearchbishop retired to the convent of St. Francis, where the governorwent to see him, pretending that he wished to serve as intermediarybetween the archbishop and the judge-conservator, although it wasclear that all the actions of the latter were regulated accordingto the governor's intentions, and were executed by his aid. At theend of his visit he asked the archbishop to give him the protest, pledging his word that he only desired to burn it, without readingit or showing it to any one. The archbishop recognized the purposeof his pretense, and reaffirmed the first reply that he had giventhe judge-conservator. In order to free himself for the time beingfrom the importunities of the governor, it was necessary to give himsome hope that he would make the efforts possible to get hold of theprotest and send it to him. In a letter that he sent afterward tothe governor, he wrote the following:

"After your Lordship showed me the kindness to come to console andfavor me, the most diligent efforts possible were made in order to havethe protest returned to me. But it is hammering on cold iron. What morecan I do? Had my purpose been not to show it, I could have said thatI had torn it up, or have alleged some other pretext, and would nothave indicated the person to whom I gave it to keep, as I knew thatthere was an order to sequester my goods. Since it is impossible, sir, and it is not my fault, I do not accept the excuse which yourLordship gives me in your letter, in order to free yourself fromshowing me further kindness, and from making the effort to settle thismatter as a governor and friend. Therefore, I petition your Lordship, since this matter rests with you, and is to be settled by you alone, and since you are all-powerful in this matter, that your Lordship doas you are able to do for one who has recourse to your protection; forI wish to remain in your Lordship's protection, only bound to serveyou as long as I live. May God preserve the life of your Lordshipfor long years. From this convent of St. Francis, November 24, 1635. 

_Fray Hernando, archbishop. _"

That prelate wrote the letter with this humility and gentleness;but it was insufficient to cause the so ingenuous confession of thearchbishop to be believed, although it was the truth. 

On the other side, father Fray Francisco de Herrera, of the Orderof Preachers, commissary of the Holy Office, made a demand, askingthat the notary, Diego de Rueda, as one of his household, be givenup to him. For that purpose he fulminated censures against thejudge-conservator, demanding from him the prisoner, and orderinghim to make no further search for the protest, as that was outsidehis jurisdiction. He was obeyed, and order was given to deliverthe prisoner to him; but the governor refused to deliver himup. Consequently, the father commissary of the Holy Office senttwo religious of St. Dominic to notify the governor by another act, similar to that sent to the judge. The governor not only did not obeyit, but arrested the two religious and sent them to Cavite with anadjutant, and had them placed in the convent of San Telmo of theirorder. Afterward, when the governor found himself at variance withthe tribunal of the Holy Office, he began to work more clearly inthe opposition that he had commenced, repeating many times thatproposition of his which speaks of the ecclesiastical estate: "Inorder to curb the spirit of the obstinate and arrogant mule, takeaway its fodder. " That was an impious comparison, and unworthy ofa gentleman who was so good a Christian and so devout, and of whomsome pens so well affected to him write so much, that already theypass on (as is generally said) to ennoble his actions, gilding hiserrors with the excellent gold of vigor and rhetoric. Some of them, however, refrain almost entirely from discussing this contention, which gave the Dutch of Batavia much matter for blasphemous talk. 

Don Pedro de Monroy had retired outside the walls of the city, ashe had already left the office of provisor. The governor orderedthat he be not allowed to enter the gates of the city. Consequently, when he deemed it advisable to enter Manila to see the archbishop, he had to disguise himself in the habit of St. Francis; and wentto enter through the gate of Santo Domingo, with a religious whoaccompanied him. The commander recognized him, and, together withthe rest of the soldiers, surrounded him and tried to take him to thegovernor, as they had an order for it. They would have accomplishedthis, had not some religious of the convent of St. Dominic come up, who, although maltreated by the soldiers, removed Don Pedro Monroyfrom that danger, and placed him in their convent. Matters dailycontinued to grow worse, for the governor neglected no occasion, nor left any rock unturned in order to annoy the archbishop--nowtaking as his instrument the judge-conservator (who was continuing toaccumulate acts against the archbishop), now arousing new causes forcontroversy. However, he was impelled in all this by the suggestionof a third party, and of late by Don Andrés Arias Xirón, who was thesecular priest most opposed to the archbishop--both in having preventedthe archbishopric from being given to him, as we have already related, and because he was the close friend and helper of the conservator, Don Fabián Santillán. Another and still more recent cause was, thatin the visitation that the archbishop was then making in the chapelof Nuestra Señora de Guía, where the said Don Andrés was acting ascura--in which the natives had deposed various charges against him;and on account of their verbal process, as it appeared that he hadthreatened them, the archbishop had ordered him by an act to leavehis benefice within four and twenty hours, and to remain six leguasfrom it. Don Andrés Arias Xirón did not obey that order, and remainedin Manila, where he had recourse to the royal Audiencia by a plea offuerza, which was decided [to be such] by the only auditor, Don MarcosZapata, who was not ignorant of the rules of the Council of Trent whichforbid appeals in a trial arising from the visitation. On account ofthat decision of fuerza, the archbishop declared the auditor Zapata tobe excommunicated; consequently, that official was also ready to workagainst the archbishop. All greatly blame that magistrate, becauseDon Sebastián de Corcuera found an aid and support in him. One wouldbelieve that the Holy Spirit talks with the governors and auditorsof Filipinas more than with others, although these words and warningsare declared in the chapter of Wisdom: _Discite judices finium terræ, prebete aures vos, qui continetis multitudines, et placetis vobis inturbis nationum; quoniam data est a Domino potestas vobis, el virtus abAltissimo, qui interrogabit opera vestra, et cogitationes scrutabitur, quoniam cum essetis ministri regni illius, non recte judicastis, neccustodistis legem justitiæ, neque secundum voluntatem Dei ambulastis. _[42] Of such ministers and counselors, the holy king said that theywho were confounded and ashamed should remove themselves far fromhim: _Avertantur statim erubescentes, qui dicunt mihi, "Euge, euge!"_(Psalm lxix). But He must have chosen on this occasion that the passionof the governor should regard the flattery of that magistrate as tohis favor, in order to excuse his own conduct. It may be that hiserror was for lack of his understanding and not of his will; and tojudge of that pertains to the Supreme Tribunal. 

At that time the Order of the Society having considered thedisturbances which the judge-conservator had occasioned, full ofrepentance at having been the origin of troubles of so disagreeablepublicity, in the attempt to check them for the sake of the futuremade the judge-conservator renounce his commission, and be absolvedby the archbishop. This the latter did on January twenty-eighth, 1636. The governor pretended that he had been the mediator of thatagreement. The archbishop nodded acquiescence and pretended to believeit, in order not to lose that occasion for peace. The governor went tothe archiepiscopal house, and took the archbishop to the church in hisown carriage, and there knelt down on his knees, begging pardon fromhim. The good prelate gave him pardon very willingly, thinking thatthat was to be the end of all those past troubles. But the commonenemy did not so permit, for he very soon relit the fire which hadonly been hidden under the ashes of those courteous exteriors. 

CHAPTER XVII

_Of the lamentable ending of the disputes between the governor andthe archbishop; and how the latter was exiled to Mariveles. _

Within a short time, the old wounds were reopened, and the archbishopwas given new causes for anger in which it was impossible for him toemploy dissimulation, as they were all concerning the administrationof his office. The governor deprived the Order of St. Francis ofthe administration and chaplaincy of the royal hospital of Manila, which they had administered with great care, charity, and zeal; andappointed a lay administrator and a secular chaplain. The archbishopfelt that greatly, and declined to give the new chaplain permission toadminister the sacraments, on account of legitimate reasons which hehad for this step. The latter had recourse to the Audiencia by pleaof fuerza; and the auditor, Don Marcos Zapata, immediately declaredthat it had been committed. The archbishop protested, knowing by whathad happened in the past the prejudice that the said auditor felt, and because one auditor with only the fiscal could not constitute sosovereign a tribunal. For the fiscal had not the royal appointment, but had only been appointed by the governor _ad interim_; for theplurality of votes which attest a correct decision and authorize thebest opinion, according to the Divine sentence _Salus autem ubi multaconsilia_ (Proverbs, ch. 5), were lacking. This has been experienced onvarious occasions, on which only one auditor has been left in Manila, an arbiter following rather the dictates of his will than that ofhis understanding, which has the truth as its object. 

At that same time, Don Francisco de Valdés having resigned the postof archdean, to which he had been presented by Don Juan Cerezo deSalamanca, the governor appointed Don Andrés Arias Xirón to it onthe eighteenth of April, and presented him to the archbishop, so thatthe latter might give him the collation. The prudent prelate grievedsorely over an occasion that could only with great difficulty terminatesatisfactorily, as the said Don Andrés was then prohibited from beingpromoted to any dignity, because of the visitation in which he hadbeen proclaimed as a criminal by many heavy charges, which demanded arigorous sentence and deprivation of the benefice that he held; andit was impossible to give him the collation for so lofty a dignityaccording to the holy canons and council. The archbishop refused tocommit a like act of injustice, whereupon Don Andrés Arias Xirón, aggrieved, interposed the appeal from fuerza, which the auditorZapata did not fail to declare against the archbishop. He did this, and despatched a royal decree for it, which the archbishop refused toobey. The governor was very angry at not succeeding with his attempt, and because the archbishop had not given the canonical collation toDon Andrés Arias Xirón. That strife increasing in violence by means ofthe interlocutors, Don Andrés and the auditor, the declared enemiesof the archbishop, assemblies and meetings were held in order toexile the archbishop from the kingdom, because he did not obey theroyal decrees. In conclusion, they issued a decree for his exile, and notified the archbishop of it May 9, 1636. 

The archbishop called a meeting of the orders, in order to consultthem and get their advice in so urgent a case. All were of the opinionthat the archbishop ought not to yield, since what they were tryingto compel him to do was manifestly unjust. They exhorted him to beconstant in defending the ecclesiastical immunity, and the observanceof the holy canons; for that, in case he were exiled, he was sufferingfor defending his church as a good shepherd, and it was enough toacquire the aureola of a martyr. Upon this the archbishop took theresolution to suffer for his church, with a valor and constancy worthyof wonder. The party of the governor having learned this, and thatthe archbishop would not yield his right, the governor determined toexecute what had been decided by what he called the royal Audiencia. 

The evening of that same day, Friday, May 9, the governor summonedthe auditor Zapata and the fiscal to a meeting. After the meetingthey sent the chief constable of that court with orders to executethe banishment of the archbishop. He was given such aid of soldiersas the governor deemed sufficient. The latter also sent other squadsto the cathedral church, so that they might take their station in thesacristy of the most holy sacrament, so that it might not be takenout or destroyed. That order went forth and immediately the citylearned of the impious imprisonment that was about to be executedon their shepherd. It caused great excitement and grief to all, and a great scandal among the natives of these islands, even amongthe pagans and Mahometans who frequent the islands for commerce;and not many wished to concur in so unjust a determination. Theorders hastened to the archiepiscopal houses, where they found thearchbishop with the warnings that they were about to arrest him, clad in his pontifical robes. He, also knowing that the most holysacrament was being guarded in the cathedral, sent father Fray Juande Piña, guardian of St. Francis, to his convent for the most holysacrament. On that occasion it was placed in a lunette; and it wasbrought with all the propriety possible, accompanied by many religiouscarrying candles. When it had been brought, the father guardian placedit in the hands of the archbishop. He, bathed in tears, received it;and, with noteworthy courage, seated himself to await the agents ofthe execution. He sent his notaries to notify the governor and theauditor, Don Marcos Zapata, of censures; but the notaries, finding themassembled with the fiscal in the hall of meeting, had more respectfor the human Majesty, whom they represented there in assembly, thanthe chief constable and his helpers had for the supreme majesty ofmajesties, Christ our Lord, whose sacrament was in the hands of thearchbishop. Therefore the ecclesiastical notaries notified them atthe doors. While doing this at one of the doors, it is said that thegovernor ordered a soldier to extinguish the lights by which theywere reading, by waving his hat, which was done. 

At that same time the chief constable and his helpers were in thearchiepiscopal house, where the archbishop was found in the mannerabove described, surrounded and accompanied by all the orders exceptthat of the Society of Jesus. The chief constable sent to advisethe governor of the condition in which he had found the archbishop, whereupon the governor sent him orders that he should cause thereligious to retire to their convents; and that, when the archbishopgrew tired of holding the most holy sacrament, he was to arrest himwith the soldiers whom he had with him. That was intimated to thereligious and lay priests who were about the archbishop; but theyrefused to obey it, fearing lest they incur the wrath of God if theyabandoned the prince of the Church on such an occasion. Thus by commonconsent they remained to aid their afflicted prelate; relieving himat times by easing him of the weight of the lunette, by placing theirhands on those of the tired old man, whose eyes were turned into twofountains of tears when he reflected on the acts of desecration thatthey were practicing on the Supreme Lord. The governor was so farfrom mitigating his anger in what he had commenced, that, in placeof repenting and returning to himself, he took horse, although itwas the middle of the night, and went to the archiepiscopal house;and, seated at the door, sent his orders to the executors of thecommission. The first order was for them to eject forcibly all thepriests who were with the archbishop, the adjutants striking thesoldiers with the flat of their swords and giving them heavy blowsbecause they did not execute their orders. Thereupon the religious, seeing that the poor soldiers were forced to do what they didnot wish, allowed themselves to be seized and carried outside. Thesoldiers humbly begged their pardon, protesting that they were underorders. The governor's purpose was to wait until the archbishop, destitute of all human consolation, should surrender on accountof his advanced age and his lack of nourishment, his watching andcontinual annoyance, and should relinquish the most holy sacrament, so that they could then seize him and make him enter the boat. Thatreport circulated among the orders, and accordingly they all camein a body with lighted candles to attend to the recovery of the mostholy sacrament. But the governor had already seized the entrances ofthe streets by means of soldiers, in order that they might not pass, and they accordingly returned to their convents. The city and themagistracy sent their commissaries to the archbishop, begging him toavoid compromising himself, which was equivalent to telling him toallow himself to be arrested and exiled. For, as these islands areone body which has only one head, it is the latter which attractsall wills to his own; for fear (which is very powerful here), orself-interest, has more place here than anywhere else in the world. 

The afflicted shepherd seeing that "this was his hour of darkness, "and that the frightened sheep had abandoned him, ordered the interdictto be raised--the grieving bells publishing the feeling that manydid not give vent to and others could not show, in order not toincur the anger of the passionate governor. The governor orderedthe soldiers to disperse the religious by force, even if they hadto take them into custody. The soldiers carried out the order withthe violence necessary for so unjust a sentence, being instigated bythe sword-blows and strokes of the adjutants. That having been seenby the priests, they pitied them so keenly that they preferred tohave that punishment executed on them than on the poor soldiers. Somereligious were seated beside the archbishop to see whether they wouldbe allowed to aid him; but so many were the pushes and prods giventhem by the soldiers, that not only did they tear them away, butthey fell down with the holy monstrance breaking the lunette in whichwas the holy host. This ought to be written with tears of blood. Thefather guardian of St. Francis and a secular priest hastened to puta strap about the archbishop's neck and to fasten the lunette to him, so that he could support it, for his powers were now failing him. Atthat juncture, order was given to a soldier named Juan de Santa Ana(whom I knew, and who told me that event many times), to draw awaythe hand of the archbishop. He, assisted by a living faith, answeredboldly that he would kill himself before he would commit such anact of sacrilege. Then drawing his sword, and placing the point inhis breast, he fell upon it. By the permission of divine Providence, the sword doubled up in such a manner when the soldier fell upon it, that he was not wounded at all. That incident caused great surpriseto all the bystanders; but the governor was so little moved by it thathe ordered the soldier to be arrested, when he ought to have rewardedhis heroic determination. At one o'clock at night, the archbishop wasso greatly weakened and tired out from thirst, that he begged to begiven a little water. They sent to consult with the governor as towhat they were to do. The governor ordered that they should not allowit to be given him, explaining that the denial of the temporalitieswas understood not to allow water to be given him for his thirst, andthat to do otherwise would be not to execute the royal law--as if sosovereign dispositions extended to such impieties. Advice was givento the convents, threatening the suspension of religious functions, in order that they should not forestall by celebrating the offices ofthe following day. The archiepiscopal hall was cleared of the religiouswho were assisting the archbishop, the soldiers having already driventhem away by blows. The soldiers stationed themselves with firearmsin hand, and thus did they remain all the night without giving anynourishment to the archbishop, except what a pious Franciscan religiouscould give him by applying to his lips a wet cloth, under pretext oftightening the strap with which the most holy sacrament was fastenedto the afflicted prelate's breast. And he did not receive any othernourishment for a day and a half, until they took him to the islandof Mariveles. Saturday, the second [_sic; sc. _ tenth] of May dawned, the most fatal day that these islands have seen. On that day thearchbishop was so defeated that, seeing that he could make no furtherresistance for lack of strength, he ordered the most holy sacrament tobe returned to the church with all possible reverence, and, bathed intears, he laid aside the pontifical robe. Immediately he was seized byan adjutant and fifty soldiers with firearms. They led him from thearchiepiscopal palace on foot, at five in the morning, and withoutother following than the troops who executed the tragedy. They didnot need so great preparation for an old man of sixty, worn out byso much fatigue, hunger, and thirst. They took him on foot throughthose streets boasting of their victory, the fearful inhabitantsthrusting their heads out of the most hidden windows, frightened by thedespotic governor, to whom any commiseration that should be shown tothe poor archbishop was regarded as a detestable crime. The soldierstook the archbishop to the gate on the river, called Santo Domingo, where the prelate, complying with the precept of Christ, shook offthe dust from his shoes; and, bathed in tender tears, he threw fivelittle stones at the ingrate walls of Manila. It was noted that oneof them touched the leg of Don Pedro de Corcuera (sargento-mayor ofthe camp, and chief of that impious execution), where later in thewar with Joló he received a ball, from which he died. 

They put the archbishop aboard a champan of a ship-captain calledMarcos Cameros, who would not allow one single mouthful of food tobe placed on board. Setting sail, they carried the archbishop to theisland of Mariveles, which is situated in the middle of the mouthof the bay. There they disembarked the exiled shepherd, for whoselodging they had provided a wretched little room, where he sufferedmany discomforts, too long to relate; for it has not been my intentionto enlarge upon this lamentable tragedy, in the narration of whichI have omitted many circumstances which aggravate the execution [ofhis banishment]. For it is my intention not to exaggerate, but onlyto relate succinctly what happened; and, although eye-witnesses ofeverything are not lacking today, to guide myself by the most truthfulrelations, and chiefly by those which are found in a book containingsketches of the archbishops, which is kept in the cathedral churchof Manila. [43]

The purpose of the governor and his followers having been obtained, as we have seen, they persuaded the ecclesiastical cabildo to takecharge of the government, interpreting the archbishop's exile asa vacant see, thus opening the door to other disturbances, no lessserious, which originated from this intrusion--in the very sight ofthe archbishop who was [still] within his diocese, and who had left aprovisor in Manila, Doctor Don Francisco Fernandez de Ledo. For hisforcible banishment and the deprivation of his secular revenues didnot extend to his spiritual jurisdiction, which originated from theRoman pontiff. In case that the church had suffered a vacancy by thedeath of the archbishop, then the bishop of Cebú, Don Pedro de Arce, was to enter its government; for it belonged to him by virtue of thebull and royal decree mentioned in another place. The archbishophad already appointed the father master, Fray Francisco de Paula, of the Order of Preachers, to govern the archbishopric in the firstplace, and two others in the second, and hence they could not allegethe condition of affairs that the law points out in the chapter _SiEpiscopus: de supplenda negligencia Prælatorum_, in Case sixth. Thathappened afterward in Manila, in the exile of Archbishop Don FrayFelipe Pardo, [44] of the Order of Preachers, who had appointed tohis place of governor during his absence Don Fray Ginés de Barrientos, bishop of Troya; the cabildo refused to admit him, but [declared] thatit was a case of a vacant see, and took charge of the government--whichcost the dean, Master Don Miguel Ortiz de Covarrubias, and all theprebendaries, very dear. 

The cabildo took charge of the government at the governor's command, and appointed Don Fray Francisco Zamudio, bishop-elect of Camarines(who had come to Manila to negotiate concerning his bishopric), as provisor-general. He received the appointment under protestof _ad interim_ until the bishop of Cebú should be advised, forthe vacancy pertained to him in case that one were proclaimed. Heabsolved the governor, the auditor Zapata, and the others included inthe excommunications of the archbishop, on the twentieth of May. Itis said that when the cabildo were obliged to take charge of thegovernment by the governor and auditor, they entered their protests;but the archbishop was greatly grieved over it when he heard of it, which with the many other sorrows [that he endured] made it remarkablethat his life did not come to an end, since he was so aged and hadborne so many hardships. 

CHAPTER XVIII

_Return of Archbishop Don Fray Hernando Guerrero from his exile inMariveles; and the end of the relation commenced. _

Stripped of all consolation, the archbishop, Don Hernando Guerrero, remained twenty-six days in the island of Mariveles, where he enduredperforce privations, both because of his advanced age, and becauseof the dreariness of the island--which is very great, as it is nearlydeserted, and contains only some few Indian huts. Those Indians havecharge of scouting those seas, and of advising Manila of what theydiscover, by the greater or less number of fires which they light--inthe manner that the Persians were wont to do, who gave advice by meansof those fires, which they called _angaros_, as is mentioned by Bardayoin the first chapter of his _Argenis_. The climate [of Mariveles]is very unhealthful, and the location is not a pleasant one as theisland is shut in on all sides by thick forests, and because of thecontinual beating of the sea. There lived the venerable shepherd, meditating on the ingratitude of his sheep, venting his feeling ingentle sighs, and relieving his afflicted breast with tears. Thuswas he found by four prebendaries of the Manila cabildo who went toconsole him, and to propose to him certain matters in behalf of thegovernor, which we shall detail later. 

The church at Manila remained during that time as a flock without ashepherd. All was confusion and disorder. The new provisor, the bishopof Camarines, had readily raised the interdicts and the suspension ofreligious functions. He ordered the bells to be chimed for the feaston Saturday, the eve of the festival of the Holy Ghost. The prelatesof the orders, with the exception of him of the Society, thought thatthe provisor who had been intruded could not legitimately raise theinterdict and the other censures. For no mention of this is made inthe chapter _Alma Mater: de Sententia Excomunic. _ in 6; and havingheld a conference in regard to this matter, with the university ofSanto Tomás, which always maintained a firm attitude in defense ofthe immunity of the Church, they determined to close their churches, and to observe the orders imposed by their legitimate prelate. Theydid so until after the feast of Pentecost was over. The Audienciasummoned them to act in accordance with the cathedral, but they paidno attention to it until they had despatched a suitable person tothe archbishop. The latter, fearful lest greater disturbances shouldoriginate, gave heed, as a true father, and sent an order for themto raise the interdict; and they did so on May 20. 

The orders and the two universities held various meetings andconsultations with the governor, when they saw that the troubleswhich had originated from the archbishop's exile were increasing, because of the acts of jurisdiction enacted by the provisor whohad been intruded, invalid procedures in the administration of thesacraments, and scandals which had been occasioned to these newfields of Christendom. This last was not the point least worthyof consideration, since that precedent did more damage than wasrealized, both in the new fields of Christendom, and in the reportof this matter among the foreign nations who surround these islandson all sides, for they note our actions carefully. They renderedvarious signed opinions for this; and they also drew up another, counseling the archbishop to yield certain things in order to avoidgreater troubles which were indispensably necessary to restore thepeace of that church, which was exposed to greater disturbances;and that, to assure his right, he should make a protest regardingit. They despatched the aforesaid prebendaries with this commission, who, on their arrival, laid the determination of the cabildo, orders, and universities before the archbishop, as well as the decision of theAudiencia in regard to the recalling him from exile, if the archbishopwould concede three points, to wit:

"That he would consider as lawful, and confirm, all the acts ofjurisdiction performed by the bishop of Camarines. 

That he would place in possession of their posts Don Andrés AriasXirón as archdean, and also the chaplain of the royal hospital. 

That he would not proceed in any ecclesiastical trial pertaining tothe archiepiscopal government, without the advice of the counselorwho would be assigned to him. "

The archbishop resented greatly the proposition of such points to him, and preferred to remain in exile, where he had greater quiet than inManila; but considering the decision and advice of so erudite persons, which were sufficient to discharge his conscience, he agreed to allthe points proposed--first having made a protest that he was doingthis to relieve himself from molestation, and to obtain the peaceof his church and repose for the consciences of his sheep, until thedecision of the matter should come from the royal and supreme Councilof the Indias, in whom it inhered. 

The governor and Audiencia determined to restore Don Fray HernandoGuerrero to his church, and on June 6, 1636, they withdrew him from theisland of Mariveles. He entered Manila amid the great rejoicing of all, who could not look enough at their beloved shepherd; and commenced togovern his church. But it was not with the peace that he ought to havehad, for new contentions and new causes for anger arose daily with thegovernor, who was ever despotic in his actions. [45] The archdean DonAndrés Arias Xirón took possession of his prebend, but God did notpermit that he who had been the origin of so many disasters shouldobtain much; for in a short time he sickened with dropsy and otherbad complications, and died in the flower of his age. The greatestevil was that he died impenitent, refusing to be absolved fromthe excommunication and censures by which he was bound, althoughthe archbishop, as a pious shepherd, sent a priest to his house topersuade him to be absolved. The soldiers who took the archbishopinto exile all died within two years, by quick and sudden deaths. Theauditor Zapata died suddenly, being found dead in his bed, althoughhe had retired in perfect health. The governor lost his nephew, DonPedro de Corcuera, whom he loved dearly; and another nephew, namedDon Juan de Corcuera, perished while going as commander of the ship"Nuestra Señora de la Concepción, " which was dashed to pieces in theislands of the Ladrones (today the Marianas), where many people werelost, and where the governor lost a great quantity of riches, whichhis greed (which was great) had amassed during his term. At this sametime, Don Pedro de Francia, brother-in-law of Don Pedro [de] Corcuera, died; and so that no branch of that house might be left, God took tohimself Don Pedro de Francia, son of Don Pedro Corcuera and Doña Mariade Francia. The same year the governor received news of the death ofhis brother, Don Iñigo Hurtado de Corcuera. His entire government wasfatal and unfortunate; and later, in his residencia for it, he sufferedmany troubles, for he was kept prisoner for five years in a castle, and all his property was confiscated. Misfortune followed him intoall parts, for having returned to España, where he was corregidorof Córdoba, they tried to kill him, and he got out of it by theskin of his teeth. Finally, when he was governor of the Canarias, it is said that he died suddenly. I write here only the results;I shall not consider what so many disasters together demonstrate. Ileave the generally-known things which these islands still bewail, since the universal knowledge of them frees me from it; and in thefollowing chapter, another and better pen [will take it up. ] [46]

But it does not seem to me fitting to neglect to mention in this placea testimony of what, it seems, Divine justice must have executed;so that we may conjecture from it how great an offense to the divineMajesty was the scandalous manner in which the exile of ArchbishopDon Hernando Guerrero was carried out; so that we may know that if Hedisplayed his temporal punishment in regard to what was pardonableand not guilty, how great will be the punishment which His DivineMajesty will mete out in His just tribunal to those men who were thecause and instrument of so sacrilegious and scandalous a desecration, unless they first hastened to atone for it by works of true penitence, in order to be deserving of His infinite mercy. 

The many and horrifying earthquakes from which the city of Manilahas suffered from its beginning until the present, have resulted inalmost its destruction and depopulation--especially in those of 1645and 1658, as we shall see later. But in the midst of these ruins, thehouses which suffered most always preserved the principal walls, someeven the first floor, and others more--although these were strippedof their covering, and, as it were, the skulls and shapeless skeletonwhich indicate the robust symmetry of that building's corpse. Only inthe area and place where this lamentable tragedy occurred (namely, the archiepiscopal palace of that time) has there remained notonly no wall, nor a vestige of its building, but not even thefoundations. Neither were any stones found there, which tell thatthere was a house of human habitation. There is seen naught but anopen space, which forms a square for some splendid houses owned nowby Sargento-mayor Don Domingo Bermudez, alcalde-in-ordinary, whoinherited it from his father-in-law, Don Francisco de Moya y Torres, chief constable of the Holy Office of the Inquisition. Whenever Ipass by that place, this memorial of the Divine punishment presentsitself to me. 

The sardines were once as ordinary a food in Manila as in Coruña; butfrom the time of that lamentable exile, they have so abandoned thosewaters that one can catch them but seldom, and then it is a matter forsurprise. And (in order to publish more fully that that [exile] wasthe cause), whenever any consecrated archbishop or bishop arrives atManila, on those days some sardines are caught, and then they retire tocontinue their interdict. [47] Pens have not been wanting to undertakeas their employment the defense of Don Sebastián Hurtado de Corcuera, chiefly those from one order--to which he was very devoted until, asis said, they came to regard him as a saint. But they do their duty asthankful [for favors received], although it was not necessary for themto do so much that they should declare themselves his admirers. Theworst is that in the year of 1683, Manila again relapsed into thisscandalous sin with the exile and banishment of Don Fray Felipe Pardo, of the Order of Preachers. But I shall relate, in its proper place, thedisastrous end that all those who were guilty in that affair suffered. 

The common enemy of the human race was not content with the lamentabletragedies of which he made the Filipinas Islands the sad theater;on the contrary, fearful that the peace which all desired might beestablished between the governor and the archbishop, he commenced toarouse new contentions. Although they did not result in scandalousoutbreaks, they were sufficient to make the archbishop, Don HernandoGuerrero, live in the midst of continual warfare, the matters ofcontroversy threatening to assume very quickly an evil aspect. Not theleast important of these was that which even until the present hasnot ceased to result in disastrous effects--namely, the founding ofthe royal chapel for the military forces of Manila, which was foundedby Don Sebastián Hurtado de Corcuera. Thus did he separate from theparochial right of the cura of the Spaniards all the soldiers, whoconstitute the majority of the people in these islands, and especiallyin the city of Manila. For that purpose he created twelve collegiatesin the college of San José (which is in charge of the fathers of theSociety of Jesús), with the title of royal chaplains; they were cladin blue cloaks, with sleeves of violet velvet, on which were wroughtthe royal arms; and for their support [was given] the encomienda ofCalamianes. Taking two reals from the pay of each soldier every month, which is a very considerable sum, he applied five hundred pesos ofit as a means of sustenance for the chief chaplain, and sums at therate of two hundred pesos for the other chaplains. It has a chiefsacristan who looks after its adornment, and its administration is incharge of either the master-of-camp or the sargento-mayor. The soldiersare buried there, and they pay well for it when they die. It has theadvocacy of our Lady of the Annunciation, and there they celebrateother feasts during the year, by vote of the camp of Manila--suchas, chiefly, the advocacy of the Immaculate Conception and the mostholy sacrament, besides others which the governors add for theirdevotion. There is a sermon in this chapel during Lent on Wednesdayand Friday mornings; to which the governor and royal Audiencia go. 

That caused very great detriment to the right of the cura of theSpaniards, because of the division which it made of the soldiers;and it became necessary for the archbishop to sally out in defense ofthat point. As the governor was so desirous of the said foundation, there were debates of great heat on both sides; for the archbishop wasunwilling to grant permission for that foundation, which would causeso much harm to the parochial right. But, recognizing that the breakwould only widen, he agreed to concede the permission under certainlimitations and obligations which he was able to impose, reservingthe determination for his Holiness. Afterward, there being somedifficulties in that permission, because it was opposed by the curasof the cathedral, as they said that the chief chaplains abused thepermission, extending their functions more than was their right, theybegged a declaration of that permission from Archbishop Don HernandoGuerrero. He gave it with the privilege that is observed today, and itis attested by the records which exist in the ecclesiastical archives, under date of January 5, 1640. 

The archbishop tried to appoint a collector of the contributions formasses during that year of 1636; for one was lacking in the cathedral, from which arose certain troubles. The cabildo resisted him, refusedto obey the act for the appointment of one, and denied that thearchbishop had authority and jurisdiction for it. As an argumentthat he did not possess it, they declared that he had not presentedthe confirmation of his Holiness and the pallium, and the year inwhich he had taken oath to present it had passed. That caused thearchbishop considerable anxiety, for the cabildo presented itselfin the [Audiencia] session with a plea of fuerza, and the matter wasdeclared against the archbishop. Various opinions were given in thismatter by the universities and by erudite persons; and consequently, that suit lasted a long time, until, at the arrival of the ships fromNueva España, the pallium and the bulls of confirmation came to thearchbishop. New disturbances were feared, in case the contrary shouldhappen, and the method adopted for adjusting this matter was that thearchbishop jointly with the cabildo should appoint the collector ofthe contributions for the masses, and that is still observed in thecathedral of Manila. 

The archbishop had scarcely gotten out of that matter when he foundhimself involved in another of no less importance; for the governor, Don Sebastián Hurtado de Corcuera, wished to appoint a governor tothe bishopric of Camarines, because of the death of its bishop, DonFray Francisco Zamudio. That thrust gave the archbishop considerableanxiety, as he had experienced fully the despotic disposition ofthe governor. But he could do no less than oppose it, as it was amatter which concerned the ecclesiastical authority and the spiritualjurisdiction; and the archbishops have always made the appointmentin the vacancies that have occurred in these islands, as it pertainsto them by their right as metropolitans. The governor threw himselfwith all his might into what he had commenced, and gave the bishop tounderstand that that occasion for dispute would end worse than thepast; and he continued to arrange matters in so high-handed a way, that the archbishop feared what the governor threatened. But Godpermitted that that controversy be settled by the interpositionof zealous and influential persons, who mollified the governor;and it was settled that the archbishop should name three subjects, so that the governor might appoint one of them. For that purposethe archbishop called meetings of learned men, and, having made aprotest, appointed in the first place Doctor Hernando Paez Guerrero;in the second, Master Don Juan de Velez, who died bishop-elect ofCebú; and in the third, Licentiate Manuel Reaelo [_sic; sc. _ Rafaelo]Macedo. The same thing happened afterward through the death of BishopDon Fray Diego de Aduarte, of the Order of Preachers, a man of singularvirtue, the bishop of Nueva Segovia. In his government, Canon Alonsode Vargas entered to govern, with the same form of choice as thefirst. That form of appointing governors for the vacancies of thebishops was usurped many years in these islands--although there hasbeen sufficient opposition from the bishops at such an innovationand corruption--until the provision suitable to so essential amatter was made in the royal and supreme Council of the Indias, and in our own times a decree was received from the queen mother, that the archbishops alone should appoint rulers for the bishoprics, but the cabildo of Manila [should do this] when the see is vacant. 

During all the time while Archbishop Don Fray Hernando Guerrerogoverned the church of Manila, he was exercising echoes of theetymology of his name in the contentions that he had with GovernorDon Sebastián Hurtado de Corcuera; [48] and had there not been aprelate in the church of Manila so zealous and vigilant in mattersof ecclesiastical immunity, it would have been involved in otherand greater difficulties. The archbishop commenced the visitation ofhis diocese as soon as he became free from the late storms; and hecontinued it through all the benefices of his clergy, until he reachedthe island of Mindoro. There he found himself in another danger, noless than those which he had experienced on land; for he was attackedby six hostile galliots of the Mindanao enemy, which bore down upon theboat in which he was, near Naohan. Had not that boat been staunch andswift, the enemy would have captured and killed him--as is the usualcustom of those Mahometan pirates, the enemy of our holy faith. Itdefended itself with the men aboard it, until it arrived at the landof Bacoo, where they had scarcely time to land and get into a placeof safety; when, as the boat had remained in the sand, the piratesseized it, and captured many of the followers of the archbishop. Theypillaged all the cargo aboard the boat, even the ornaments and thepontifical robe, all which was of much value. That blow caused greatsorrow to that good prelate, for the Mindanaos killed most of the menwhom they captured, and it was only after many difficulties that a fewcould be ransomed. The bishop became very ill with a serious sickness, from sorrow and his past troubles. [49]

LETTER WRITTEN BY A CITIZEN OF MANILA TO AN ABSENT FRIEND

I will try to give your Grace an accurate account of the changesthat have occurred this year, and of the anxiety and unrest of thiscommunity, so that your Grace may have an adequate conception of thematter, and may judge it on its merits, since you have no reason todistrust him who relates it--a thing which would cast doubt on therelation itself. Such has actually been the case with a relationwritten by the Order of St. Dominic, which has been sent from thiscity to that of Zebu and other parts, whose author shows manifestprejudice and but little accuracy in what he relates. Laying asidethen, all partiality, and as one who has been a witness of everything, although I had no part in it, I shall relate to your Grace all thathas happened. 

An artilleryman, named Francisco de Nava, seems to have beenmaintaining illicit relations with a slave-girl whom he owned, namedMaria. That gave rise to troubles, and the artilleryman was placed inthe house of brother Guerrero; and finally the slave-girl was takenaway from him, and the archbishop, Don Fray Hernando Guerrero, hadher sold. The artilleryman was very angry and vexed at that, and hislove drew him so powerfully that he said that he wished to marry theslave-girl. She answered that she preferred to be the slave of anotherthan his wife. For that reason, when the slave was very unguardedlyfollowing the coach of her mistress on Sunday, August nineteen, onethousand six hundred and thirty-five, that man, with deliberate purposeand overconfident, stealthily approached her in the principal street, near the cemetery of Sant Agustín; and, embracing her from behind, asked her whether she knew him. She answered in the affirmative, and he treacherously stabbed and killed her. He sought refuge inthe convent of St. Augustine, where neither the sargento-mayornor the master-of-camp, who surrounded the convent with soldiers, could find him. At a hazard, they prevented any religious from goingout--an abuse contingent on the military, which cannot be checkedby a captain-general. Accordingly, the Order of St. Dominic didthe governor an injury in their relation, by declaring that he hadincurred excommunication on that account, since he had no share in it, but only ordered the soldiers not to allow the treacherous homicideto leave the church. A few days after that, when the matter had cooleddown somewhat, an adjutant of the camp, one Don Juan de Frias, becauseof the reward that was offered, entered the convent at midday, wherehe found and seized the artilleryman. The cause was referred to thecommander of artillery (for the artilleryman was under his command), in order that he might try it in the first instance; and he condemnedthe artilleryman to death. The latter appealed to his captain-generaland the auditor-general of war. The cause was returned, as the appealwas considered out of order, for the captain-general was convincedof the treachery and treason of [the artilleryman]; whereupon thecommander of artillery tried to execute the sentence of death. 

The archbishop of this church of Manila excommunicated the commanderof artillery; and his provisor, one Don Pedro de Monrroy, had twonotifications served on the governor, although there was no reasonfor his so doing. Once the notification was made after ten o'clock atnight, when the governor had already retired. Two clerics entered forthat purpose through the midst of the body-guard. As the governor wasalready asleep, and his servants had retired, and the doors of theirchambers were locked, they could not serve their notification at all;accordingly, they turned to go. Trying to depart by passing throughthe body-guard, by the way that they had entered, he who was stationedat the door would not suffer it--in accordance with a general orderreceived many days previously to the effect that, although they shouldallow entrance into his house at night, they should not allow anyone toleave; as he judged such an order expedient for the proper governmentof his household. Consequently, the clerics who had entered could notleave; for, when they went back to the governor, they found him shutin his room and asleep, and when they returned to the guardroom, thesoldiers were minded to observe their orders without any distinctionof persons. Hence the clerics had to stay all night and until dawnon the stairway and in the corridors of the palace. On that account, certain persons also took opportunity to say, and not with any goodintention, that the governor had incurred excommunication--althoughhe was so far from that, and this was so accidental a case that itcould not have been foreseen in the order that was issued so manydays previously. The relation of the fathers of St. Dominic chargesthat accident to the governor, unjustly and with prejudice. 

During the execution of the sentence on the night of Thursday, September six, an interdict was imposed and the cessation of divineservices ordered. The sentence was executed, and the artillerymanwas hanged on the same spot where he had killed the slave-girl. Theprovisor was so carried away by passion that he tried to make(and it is even said that he did make) a report that they hangedthe culprit in a sacred place--although the street was public, and[the hanging occurred] at the same place where the artilleryman hadcommitted the homicide. Your Grace can see the so great want of logic[in this matter]; for if that were a sacred place, then the crime hadbeen committed in it, and the artilleryman could not avail himselfof the church as he was trying to do. 

The governor wrote to the archbishop in terms of the greatest courtesy, requesting him to throw open the churches, and not to deprive thiscommunity of mass and consolation on a day of so great importance aswas the nativity of our Lady, which came on the following Saturday;for, since the execution was already over, there was no remedy for thematter. The archbishop called a meeting of the religious of all theorders, who thought by that means to avenge themselves for the injurieswhich they imagined that they had received from the governor--thoseof St. Dominic, because he had divided the Parián treasury; those ofSt. Francis, because he had regulated the hospital expenses, whichthey were incurring to the so great detriment of the royal estate; andthose of St. Augustine, because he had deprived them of some Sangleyshops in Tondo--and for other private feelings of resentment. Theycarried the torch into that meeting, making the encounter betweenthe governor and the archbishop a political matter; consequently, they expressed the opinion that the censures should not be raisedunder any circumstances. A religious of St. Dominic said that theyought to last for five hundred years, while another added "even tothe end of the world. " Very indecorous was their speech regardingthe person of the governor, for they did not stop to consider thathe represents the royal person by reason of his office. Only oneFranciscan father, named Fray Bartolome Bermudez, and the two ofthe Society who were present--namely, the reverend fathers Luis dePedrasa and Father Lorenço Goreto, " [50] master in the morning classes[51]--were of the opinion that the censures should be raised. Theyeven showed clearly that justice had been rightly exercised, sincethe treacherous murder had been committed so openly. Therefore, and because of other defects in what had been enacted, they provedthat the censures did not bind the commander of artillery, or any oneelse. On this account the other religious gave much [opportunity for]merit to those of the Society, by uttering insulting words againstthem. From that time, they conceived so great an aversion for thefathers of the Society, that it was the beginning of the disturbancesthat afterward arose. The governor again requested the archbishop, forthe second and third time, to raise the interdict and the cessationof divine service. But the latter was so far from complying, that herefused to answer the papers, and so the matter stood. But afterward, when we least expected it, in order to please the Recollects and allowthem to celebrate their festival of St. Nicholas, the archbishop liftedthe censures and absolved the commander of artillery, _ad cautelam_[52]. For the latter did not consider himself as excommunicated, noreven did learned men regard him as such. That was very apparent then, for, when he had appealed to the bishop of Camarines, the sentence wasin his favor; and the bishop absolved him from the pecuniary fineswhich the archbishop had imposed. Thereupon that tempest was laid, the principal cause of which was the provisor, Don Pedro de Monroy;while those who increased its fury were the religious of St. Dominic, St. Francis, and St. Augustine. On that account, in order to preventsimilar troubles that might arise in the future, the governor undertookto execute a royal decree, by the terms of which the said provisorhad been proclaimed, in the time of Governor Don Alonso Fajardo, as banished from the kingdoms. The temporalities had been taken fromhim, as is clear from the authentic royal decree which was despatchedfor that purpose. Your Grace will notice the lack of accuracy in theother relation, since its author declares therein that that royaldecree had been repealed, while in truth it was in full vigor andforce. That is so true that there is no unprejudiced man in thiscity who does not know it. This year, as I have heard reported, theoriginal of that decree has been sent to his Majesty. The archbishopheld various meetings with the religious, and they agreed to defend thesaid provisor to the death, as they said, if necessary. The governor, in order to remedy these troubles in so small a community, desistedfrom his purpose, and tried to conduct the matter along smootherchannels. He offered the said provisor the chaplaincy-in-chief andvicariate of the island of Hermosa, in a letter of the following tenor:

"It is necessary for his Majesty's service that your Grace go to servein the island of Hermosa as chaplain-in-chief, and vicar of thosepresidios. [You will receive] three hundred pesos salary per year, the altar fees, and the fees from the confraternity of the soldiers, which has been lately instituted; and, with these and the pay, you willbe able to live well. Thus will certain irreparable disadvantages, that might ensue if you do not accept this service for his Majesty, be avoided. And inasmuch as I have received letters from the saidisland of Hermosa this morning, in which the governor begs me to sendhim such a person very speedily, your Grace will make the decisionto depart, so that this same champan may return to Cagayan, whenceit and one other are to take fifty native soldiers, so that the twomay go together. May our Lord preserve your Grace, as He is able. Thepalace; October eight, one thousand six hundred and thirty-five. 

_Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera_"

Although the governor does not state the motive in this letter, hismotive was to remove the occasion for disputes; and also because thecommandant of the island of Hermosa, Francisco Hernandez, wrote hima letter, part of which is as follows:

"There is a religious in this island called Fray Lucas Garcia, [53]of the Order of Preachers. He is judge-provisor; and I have so manydebates with him at present, and he is so crazy to govern, that heis hurling many shafts at me, without heeding that I am servinghim to my utmost in everything, and that I am endeavoring to aidhim in all that arises. He is much given to suits and questions, even going so far as to prevent the ringing of the animas [54] atnight or the singing of the _alabado_ hymn. It may be that in regardto the most holy sacrament and the pure conception of our Lady theVirgin Mary, who was conceived without the taint of original sin, he does not wish that any mention be made of the Virgin, to say thatshe is immaculate. Lastly, sir, this matter demands a remedy, by thearchbishop sending a cura as judge-provisor. That is very necessary, sothat we may be able to go on and live as God orders. If this blessedreligious be removed from his charge, he will change his habits, and we shall be left in peace and quiet--which, as I see, it wouldbe very difficult to obtain in any other way. Can your Lordshipbelieve that, if he had any reasonable ground [for his conduct], I would not ascertain it, in order to give account of the matterto your Lordship, or that still less would I allow dissensions sovexatious to exist? I am very sorry to inform your Lordship of this, but I cannot do otherwise; for it is not right that this religiousshould place these forts in the condition in which he left Cagayan. Forwith authority as judge-provisor, while my predecessor was exercisingthe duties of this government, he did his utmost to usurp the royaljurisdiction--arresting and punishing soldiers and other personswithout asking the royal aid, or fulfilling his obligation and hisMajesty's command. Will your Lordship be pleased to relieve thiscondition as the occasion demands, by sending a secular cura asjudge-provisor with the suitable despatches, so that this blessedreligious may not offer him any trouble. The island of Hermosa, October 13, 1635. 

_Francisco Hernandez_"

The provisor, Don Pedro de Monrroy, answered the governor's letteras follows:

"In response to the honor which your Lordship does me in your letterby ordering me to make a decision, I say, sir, that I have but littlehealth, as can be seen in my face; consequently, I do not dare toembark. Besides I am occupied with the duties of the offices whichI am, at my prelate's behest, exercising at present. If I were quitewell, I would ask my prelate for permission to go anywhere in orderto give pleasure to your Lordship. May our Lord preserve your lifefor many years. Manila, October eight, one thousand six hundred andthirty-five. Your Lordship's chaplain, _Licentiate Don Pedro de Monrroy_"

The archbishop raised a great disturbance on account of this, declaring that the governor was a violator of the ecclesiasticalimmunity. He immediately summoned the two bishops of Zebu and NuevaSegovia (who were here) and the orders and the clerics to a meeting, by a letter of the following tenor. 

But, before mentioning the letter, I wish to recount to your Gracecertain actions of the governor, which, as the relation of theDominicans asserts, obliged the archbishop to assemble the bishopsand orders, and others; but which (as I suspected) happened afterthe meeting, so that your Grace may see how they are stirred up, and engaged on the side of evil. The first was, that the governor'sguard detained several priests by force one whole night, withoutallowing them to leave the palace. It has been seen above alreadythat this happened by accident, and without the governor's order. 2d, that he gave orders at the [city] gates for the soldiers not to allowany ecclesiastics to leave. The justification for that was, that itwas rumored that several ecclesiastics were trying to take flight, and to carry with them a number of soldiers and sailors who were inthe pay of his Majesty. That did in fact happen, for two religious, one secular, and more than thirty soldiers and seamen who had justbeen paid more than three thousand pesos from the royal treasury, deserted. [Third], that he did not allow the religious to enter orleave their convent. It has been already seen above that the occasionfor the surrounding of the convent of St. Augustine was in order toprevent the escape of the treacherous fugitive. Consequently, all elsethat happened was the over-zeal of the soldiers, who take militaryorders very literally. [Fourth], that he tried to exile the provisor, Don Pedro de Monrroy, by virtue of an old royal decree, the executionof which had been repealed. It is outside of all truth to say that itwas repealed; for it is certain and appears that it had full force andvigor, as I have said above. [Fifth], that he was persuaded that noone could excommunicate him but the supreme pontiff. This opinion isnot so improbable, as I have heard discussed by men who know more thanI. But Burguillos, [55] a learned man of the Order of St. Francis, holds and supports it valiantly; and at the least the governor, byhis membership in the habit of Alcantara, enjoys by a bull of Leo Xthe privileges and immunities of the Cistercian religious; [56] and, by another bull of Alexander III, the privileges of the knights ofSantiago, who can be excommunicated only by the supreme pontiff orby his legate _a latere_. [57] As for saying that the governor canexile from these islands any of his Majesty's vassals whom he wishesto, I do not know that it is said in so harsh terms. What I do knowis that the royal patronage gives him authority, in punishing theseculars and ecclesiastics, to remove them when they undertake tomeddle with what does not concern them. [In regard to the charge]that he prevents the soldiers from becoming religious, no such thingenters his mind. His order is that, before the soldiers embrace areligious life, they shall inform him of it, so that their accountsmay first be examined, to ascertain whether they owe anything tothe king, in order that it may be paid before they become religious[58]--as was ruled by Sixtus V in his bull. Here in Manila there isanother thing which further justifies this action of the governor, namely, that many soldiers embrace a religious life with the soleintention of getting rid of their duties as soldiers; and then aftera few months as novitiate, many vagabonds go out. In order to avoidthat annoyance, it is well to have it appear and to have it noted intheir accounts that they became religious, so that, if they leavethat life, they may be compelled to serve the king. If this is notso, let the authors of the other relation tell [of any one] who hasasked permission to become a religious who, if he is not indebted tothe king, has not obtained his desires. 

[Resuming my narrative], the formal letter, then, which the archbishopwrote to the father rector of the Society, Luis de Pedrasa, isas follows:

"The governor has today written a letter to the provisor, in whichhe says that it is fitting for the service of his Majesty for himto go to the island of Hermosa, to serve as chaplain-in-chief andvicar of those presidios--and this without any opportunity beingafforded the provisor to ask my consent. It appears to me, FatherRector, that this is a very grave matter; and it seems best to calla council of the bishops and of all the orders, so that, we maydecide that two of those at the meeting shall proceed to ascertainthe authority possessed by the governor _in spiritualibus_ [_i. E. , _"in spiritual matters"], in order that we may not continue day afterday with these letters and these mandates. Since I advise you of thepoint which is to be discussed in the meeting, I beg your Paternityto do me the favor to be present at it, and to bring with you thefather confessor of the governor and two father readers tomorrowmorning, Tuesday, at eight o'clock; for thus is it advisable for theservice of our Lord and of His church, and that of his Majesty KingDon Phelipe. Your Paternities are bound to follow the footsteps of theother and mendicant orders in matters so justifiable and for the commonwelfare; and I am confident that I shall receive your support. May ourLord preserve your Paternity for many years. From the [archiepiscopal]house, today, Monday, October, 1635. 

_Fray Hernando_, archbishop. "

The bishop of Nueva Segovia, Don Fray Diego Duarte, excused himselfby saying that that measure calculated not to quiet but rather todisturb the citizens. The clergy excused themselves--one for illness, another for ill-health, a third because he could not attend, and afourth because he did not wish to attend; and so no one went. YourGrace should note here the malice of the other relation; for althoughthe bishop of Nueva Segovia and the ecclesiastical cabildo had excusedthemselves, that relation makes no mention except of the dean--sayingthat he could not attend, because of sickness--and of the fathers ofthe Society, in order to stigmatize their motives and to make themmore odious. Although it is true that the latter excused themselves, they did so by a courteous letter, which was written for that purposeby their rector; and in order that your Grace may read it, and knowexactly its contents, since from it originated the disputes thatfollowed, I place it here. 

"Most illustrious Sir:

"It appears that the more the Society endeavors to serve your mostillustrious [Lordship], and your provisor, in striving for the peaceof the community, and harmony and friendly relations between theecclesiastical and secular leaders, in the same proportion do some(I know not whether with so good intention)--making, as is said, a poison from the antidote--endeavor to injure that peace. Hence Iam unable to see what benefit our attendance can be, or what lackthere will be if we fail to offer our opinion; since whatever we saywill be received in the manner that the so pious efforts that havebeen made during these last few days have been received. Therefore, I beg your Excellency, with due humility and respect, to be pleasedto excuse us on this occasion, for the love of God our Lord; forother occasions on which we can serve your Excellency will not bewanting. May our Lord preserve and augment your person as we all, your chaplains, and I the least of them, desire. 

_Luis de Pedraza_"

Some at the council read this letter, and the archbishop and religiouswere very angry at the absence of the members of the Society from themeeting. They paid no attention to the fact that the clergy and thebishop of Nueva Segovia were also absent. They couched their lancesagainst only those of the Society; and the first thing done in thesaid meeting was to enact an act and resolution so harsh that itseems best not to mention it at all, but to copy it word for word, so that your Grace may judge what may be your pleasure, and whether itwas only to express some resentment, as the other relation declares, or to disclose their passion by not telling the hatred that theyfelt. The act is as follows:

"In the city of Manila, on the ninth of October, one thousand sixhundred and thirty-five, his Excellency the archbishop of Manila, andat his summons, the most reverend bishop of Zebu, and the prelatesof the orders of St. Dominic, St. Francis, and St. Augustine, andthe Recollect fathers of the last order, and the readers of all ofthe said orders, having assembled in the archiepiscopal palace, it was resolved that, inasmuch as the fathers of the Society ofJesus had been summoned to the said assembly, this and another time, by his Excellency, in order to communicate matters to them touchingthe service of God and of His Church, which his Excellency wished toexecute with the advice of all for their better result; and sinceboth times when they were summoned they excused themselves and infact did not attend the said meeting, by which one can see that theyseparate themselves from the cause of the Church, and that they leaveher deserted and abandoned in whatever pertains to them: thereforeit was resolved in the said meeting, that from any one who separatesfrom his mother in her greatest trials and necessities, his brothers, the children of the Church, ought to separate themselves--namely, by not attending the functions of common interest that shall be heldor celebrated in the convents and church of the Society of Jesus, such as are feasts, contests in debate and other things similar tothese; and by not inviting them to those which are celebrated eitherin the cathedral church and parochial churches of this city, or inany other churches whatsoever, whether subject to his Excellency orto the prelates of the said orders. Also, from this time henceforth, his Excellency deprives them of the sermons [assigned to them] on thelist of the said cathedral, and of all other sermons that they haveor can have throughout his archbishopric, so that they can preach innone of the churches subject to his Excellency. His Excellency alsoresolved that no cleric of his archbishopric, of whatever rank ordegree he be, either by himself or in the name of the communities whichhe represents, may or ought to go to the said functions celebratedin the convents or churches of the said Society. His Excellencyalso deprived them of the title of synodal examiners in all hisarchbishopric. The said archbishop promised that he would observeall the above until a decision should be made by another assemblyof like character with this. And thus his most illustrious Lordshipaffixed his signature with the rest who attended the meeting, [59]on the said day, month, and year. 

_Fray Hernando_, archbishop. _Fray Pedro_, bishop of Santisimo Nombre de Jesus. _Fray Domingo Gonsalez_Fray Geronimo del Spiritu SantoFray Juan de MontemayorFray Gaspar de Santa Maria [60]Fray Francisco de HerreraFray Alonso de San JoanFray Joseph de Santa MariaFray Antonio GonsalezFray Vicente ArgenteFray Alonso de CarvajalFray Sebastian de OquendoFray Diego de OchoaFray Pedro de Santo ThomasFray Miguel de San Juan [61]

By order of his Excellency, the archbishop, my lord, _Bachelor Joan Fulgencio_, notary. "

But it is to be noted that although the above act is signed by so many, some of them afterward stated that they had been misled. For the Orderof St. Augustine afterward renewed through its definitors its formerfriendship with the Society, saying that those who had signed had noauthority to do so; and the bishop of Zebu, Don Fray Pedro de Arçe, retracted it as a mistake, as your Grace will see by the encloseddocument that he drew up. 

"In consideration of a council called by Archbishop Don FrayHernando Guerrero, on the ninth of this month of October--at whichI was present, together with certain religious of the orders ofSt. Dominic, St. Francis, and the caked and discalced religious ofSt. Augustine--and of a paper that was drawn up against the Society ofJesus, in which the archbishop deprived them of the sermons [assignedto them] in the lists of the cathedral and of other secular churchessubject to the said archbishop, as well as the other things thatthe said document contains because the fathers of the said Societyof Jesus did not attend the said council: I signed the said paperat the meeting, on account of the relation that was made then in theabsence of the said fathers of the Society. But afterward, having beeninformed of the truth, and that the fathers had very just reasonsfor not attending such meeting, I declare for the discharge of myconscience, that my opinion given then is null and void, and thatthe action taken in the said document is not just. On the contrary, I think that the said fathers of the Society are worthy of praise andreward for their great devotion, holy doctrine, and excellent method ofprocedure--of which it is not proper to deprive the faithful, by takingfrom them the fruit that is received from their sermons and admirableinstruction everywhere. In order that this my sentiment and opinion maybe apparent for all time, I affixed my name to this present documentin Manila, October eighteen, one thousand six hundred and thirty-five. 

Fray Pedro, bishop of Santissimo de Jesus. 

His most reverend Lordship signed in my presence and I witness thereto, and know him. 

_Juan Soriano_, notary-public. "

Following the decree enacted by the archbishop, another pointwas discussed in the assembly, which concerned the attempt of thegovernor to have Don Pedro de Monrroy go to the island of Hermosaas its chaplain. In this regard they resolved to offer effectiveopposition; and the archbishop, at the advice of the assembly, wrotethe following letter to the governor:

"I have read the letter written by your Lordship to my provisor, andhis answer, and the resolution of your Lordship to send him to theisland of Hermosa. As I desire peace and harmony with your Lordship, I entreat you to receive his excuse, since it, and my need of hisperson, are well known. Besides this, I ask your Lordship to notethat the appointment of a vicar, or the granting of ecclesiasticalauthority and jurisdiction, or the administration of sacraments, is the prerogative of the ecclesiastical prelates, and not of thecivil government. Therefore, I request your Lordship to refrain frommaking similar appointments in this regard. I write all the above toyour Lordship by the advice of the bishop of Zibu and of the orders, so that your Lordship may see that I am not moved by passion, but byreason and justice; and that I do not trust to my own opinion, but tothat of many. I entreat your Lordship to form another like opinionin making your decisions, and with persons who are free to speaktheir minds to your Lordship. May our Lord preserve your Lordshipand prosper you in His holy service. Today, Tuesday, October nine, six hundred and thirty-five. 

_Fray Hernando_, archbishop. "

The governor answered the above letter of the archbishop as follows:

"I do not think that your Lordship desires peace and harmony asyou say, since you order me to receive the excuse of Don Pedro deMonrroy in what I ask from him, which is fitting to the service ofhis Majesty. I am doing it with all peace, without desiring war, and without seeking war with anyone. Many can supply your Lordship'sneed of his person, who are better intentioned and more learned, in accordance with his Majesty's orders in his royal decree. 

On the contrary, your Lordship has rather too much of Don Pedro deMonrroy than too little, for the quiet, harmony, and good governmentof your church. 

I am not ignorant that the approval of ecclesiastical persons isreserved to the prelates in order that they may administer thesacraments; but the appointing of them belongs to the governmentby virtue of the royal patrimony, just as his Majesty appointedyour Lordship bishop and archbishop, and as his Holiness approvedand confirmed it. Consequently, I cannot, even though your Lordshiporders it, abstain from appointing curas and vicars, choosing fromthree whom your Lordship ought to nominate, the person whom I shallconsider most suitable. In the case of canons and dignidades of thisholy church, governors of vacant bishoprics, and chaplains, superiorand subordinate, of the soldiers, presidios, and galleons of hisMajesty, I need no nomination by your Lordship, although they needyour approval. If your Lordship writes me thus 'at the advice of thebishop of Zebu and of the orders, so that I may see that your Lordshipis not moved by passion, but by reason and justice, ' I am moved bypassion in ordering that all who came to these islands at the king'scost or in his galleons, and who are his vassals, whatever be theirrank and degree, shall serve him. And when I say that this is fittingfor his royal service, only his Majesty can call me to account for it. 

I value the advice given me by your Lordship that, when I makedecisions, I take counsel with persons who are free to speak theirmind to me. When I take counsel for the better service of God andthe king, I look for the most learned men of good reputation, andmany disinterested persons, so that they may not confuse me withso many different opinions. To them I do not declare my intentionor determination, as is the general custom, until all have spoken;and then I conform to the opinion of those which I deem best. 

May your Lordship understand this truth, and that I fear God morethan the king and his vassals. May His Divine Majesty preserve yourLordship for many happy years. The palace; October nine, six hundredand thirty-five. 

_Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera_"

The archbishop and the orders seeing that the members of the Societywere not disturbed (which seems to have been their intention, to judgeby the resolution of the assembly), the archbishop sent a notary, afew days afterward, to notify the superiors of the Society of an act, which I shall place here together with the reply of the father rector, Luis de Pedraza. 

"We, Don Fray Hernando Guerrero, by the grace of God and the holyapostolic see archbishop of these Philipinas Islands, member of hisMajesty's Council, etc. Inasmuch as we ordered for just reasons thatmoved us thereto, in harmony with the rules of the holy Council ofTrent (in chapter four, _De reformatione, _ session twenty-four), that the religious fathers of the Society of Jesus be notified--thefather-provincial, Joan de Bueras, the rector, Luis de Pedraza, andthe other superiors of the said order who live in this city--not topreach outside of their convents in any part of all this archbishopric, or in camps, or guardhouses, by any manner of talk or preaching, or in any other manner: that order they shall observe to the letter, under penalty of major excommunication, _late sentencie, ipso factoincurenda una protina canonica monitione premisa_, [62] and a fineof four thousand Castilian ducados for the Holy Crusade, to whichwe hold them immediately condemned if they do the contrary. Given inour archiepiscopal palace, in the city of Manila, October twenty-six, one thousand six hundred and thirty-five. 

_Fray Hernando_, archbishop. 

By order of his Lordship: _Diego Bernal_

"At the residence of the Society of Jesus in Manila, on thetwenty-ninth day of the month of November [_sc_. , October], onethousand six hundred and thirty-five, I read and announced the actcontained in the other part [of this document], exactly as is thereincontained, to the father rector, Luis de Pedraza, in the presenceof the witness Diego de Rueda, royal clerk, and the fathers Pedro dePrado, procurator-general, and Gregorio Bellin. In their presence, hedesired me to give him an attested copy of the act, as a protectionof his right, and they were witnesses of the entire proceeding. Iattest this. 

_Juan de la Cueva Moran_, notary-public. 

"Then immediately the said father Luis de Pedraza required me once, twice, and thrice, to set down the reply which will be declared, notwithstanding that the notification is set down. And, inasmuch asI am constrained by the said requisitions, I give it; and it is ofthe following tenor:

'That in all things that were not a violation of their privileges, they were prompt to obey, since they were under that obligation; butif any demand were in violation of those privileges, then they wouldmake use of the means afforded them by the law for their defense andwhich his Holiness granted them. He affixed his signature, in thepresence of the above witnesses. 

_Luis de Pedraza_

Before me. _Joan de la Cueva Moran_, notary-public. '"

The fathers of the Society thought that act was a manifest injuryto their order and privileges, for three reasons. First, becausethey were deprived of preaching to all persons, with no exception, without there being other cause therefor than those which yourGrace may infer from the document. Second, by commanding them withexcommunication and pecuniary fines, a thing which is manifestly aviolation of the immunity of the regulars. Third, because they wereprohibited from giving instruction in the camps and guardhouses, which is a violation of a _Clementina_, [63] as I am told, and towhich no contrary decision has been rendered by the holy Council ofTrent. The fathers of the Society attempted to maintain peace by allpossible ways, but they were unsuccessful; and they could find noroute to that end. The past governor, Don Juan Cerezo [Salamanca]who was desirous of settling the matter, undertook to secure thatend by writing to the archbishop the following letter:

"Our friendship, and the respect with which I always view the affairsof your Lordship, and my obligations, constrain me to representaffectionately to your Lordship, on the present occasion, the greatdanger that is being incurred in maintaining the provisor in hisoffice, in hatred of him who represents to us the royal person, sothat your Lordship may consider in time the scandalous end that isthreatened. And although your Lordship will doubtless proceed, I mustwarn you through my experience of European affairs, heedfully, thatthe reasons that operate in this small presidio, which is surrounded bybarbarians and hostile nations, have no place in populous cities. Thegovernors base their defense on the public peace, in the attainment ofwhich the prelates [should] always aid, without trying to examine thegovernor's intention, or throwing obstacles in his path under pretextof ecclesiastical immunity; and although peace is composed of bothestates, and it is the business of both to secure and maintain it, its prerogative belongs only to the royal jurisdiction. 

"In order to repair these troubles, so that we can hope for greatharmony in the future, I consider it as the only remedy, and the onemost fitting for the authority of your Lordship, for Don Pedro deMonrroy to display his nobility of character, and resign himselfof his own free will to the will of Don Sebastian, thus valuinghis favor more than the comforts which he is now enjoying. If he soact, I am sure that it will open a free door for greater promotions[for him], and for the consolation of this community. Your Lordship, as a father, ought to pay attention to this without permitting thematter to be carried to a compulsory settlement, of which I havecertain proofs. This opinion seemed good to father Fray DomingoGonsalez--although, after having conferred with your Lordship, he replied to me that he does not find any secular who can fill thevacancy of the said Don Pedro de Monrroy. But I remember to have seenthat your Lordship was inclined to the canon Don Pedro de Quesada. Ihave here been addressing your Lordship with tenderness and love; andyou may believe that any action contrary to this would be held as agreat disservice by his Majesty--especially, as it is understood thatthe points of [ecclesiastical] government are reduced to assembliesof theologians, your Lordship being their counselor. May God our Lordpreserve your Lordship. From my residence. 

_Don Juan Çerezo [de Salamanca]_"

Don Juan de Cerezo was not content with this letter, but, beingconstrained by his excellent desires, wrote another letter of thefollowing tenor:

"As no beginning has been made in procuring the desired peace, I shall charge myself to treat of it, as it concerns so deeply thelicentiate, Don Pedro de Monrroy, to whom I remain a true friend;and at the pace at which the matter is being matured it must be thatsome little devil has been unchained, and that he is defrauding allthe gains. But, nevertheless, as all this cause is for the service ofour Lord, I am confident that your Lordship and all the orders willfavor it. I am awaiting joyful news this afternoon, in order to beable to commence openly to be the mediator of harmony which, it isrepresented to me, this community will hereafter enjoy. And shouldthat harmony unfortunately be not attained, I rely, in everything, upon this assembly. At least will your Lordship be pleased to givesuch direction to it, by your great prudence, that these matters maynot be further disturbed. May God preserve your Lordship, as He isable, and as I desire. From my residence, October 12, 1635. 

_Don Juan Çerezo Salamanca_"

The dean of this holy church, Don Miguel Garçetas, also did on his partwhat he could to stay this storm; and he with three other dignidadeswent about among the four orders, to talk to their superiors in orderthat they might aid with their advice, so that the affair of Don Pedrode Monrroy might be directed to the satisfaction of the governor, sincehe had so good an intention; and, at the same time, so that they mightannul the resolution taken against the Society in the meeting abovementioned. Each one in private promised mountains of gold. They metwith the archbishop; and the bishop of Nueva Segovia and some secularshaving attended that meeting, they were not allowed to take part init, because others thought that they were on the side of the Society, and that they were inclined to support the governor's decision. Inthat assembly not only did its members not revoke the resolution, as each one had promised, but they confirmed it and refused to givesatisfaction to the governor in regard to Don Pedro de Monrroy. 

Immediately the obstinacy and stubbornness of the participants in themeeting was learned; and those who had tried to act as angels of peacefelt it keenly, especially Don Juan Cerezo. As he had exerted himselfmost in striving for peace, his grief at seeing that his good desirehad not been obtained was greatest. Therefore he wrote the followingletter to the archbishop:

"By your Lordship's letter I have learned the opinions of the religiouswho attended the meeting of last night. Of the purpose that animatesthem and their hearts, may God judge. With this outcome I retire fromthese matters, and my only desire is that they come out right. Imeddled in the affair because I thought it expedient and desirableto procure, by honorable means, the restoration of your Lordship'sliberty of the ordinary jurisdiction. That was injured and enslaved, the moment when it was subject to the hindrance of not being able toalter anything without a fresh intervention of the orders, and of beingobliged to temporize with them so much as your Lordship indicates;for the person and dignity of the archbishop of Manila are of greatimportance, and his feelings of anger should be of less duration, so that he should not be compelled to chide the quarrels of otherswith his crozier. 

"I petition your Lordship to keep this in mind, for I say it throughmy love as a son of your Lordship, as a corrective for the presentand a warning for the future; and the greatest happiness exists whenthe two heads of the state are in harmony. May God direct it, as Heis able, and preserve your Lordship, as I desire. From my residence, October 19, 1635. 

_Don Juan Çerezo [Salamanca]_"

The fathers of the Society, seeing that the peace measures had beenuseless, and that the doors to any suitable settlement were tightlyclosed on them on the part of the archbishop and the religious whowere their opponents; and that two days afterward they had notifiedthe rector of the Society of the first act, they had notified theminister of Santa Cruz of another (that place being a mission ofthe Society), in order that he should not instruct certain Indians, a right which the preceding prelate had given to the Society. [64]It was rumored that the archbishop was trying to deprive them ofthe confessional. Daily new troubles were feared, and the fathersof the Society were compelled to appoint a judge-conservator; andone was in fact appointed on the second of November, 1635. Thiswas Don Fabian de Santillan y Cavilanes, schoolmaster of this holymetropolitan church. He was not serving _ad interim_, as the otherrelation declares, but held that office in regular appointment, and had held it for several years. He was the son of a treasurerof the royal exchequer. Alonso Baesa del Rio was assigned as hisnotary, a notary-public and a man of vast experience and skill inpapers. The judge-conservator ordered the archbishop, under penaltyof major excommunication and a fine of four thousand ducados for theHoly Crusade, to repeal the acts passed against the Society, as theywere manifestly injurious. Before he was notified of this act, thesecretary read to him his appointment as judge-conservator made onbehalf of the Society. This is apparent by the identical acts, whichI have seen. I advise your Grace of this so that you may have accurateinformation on this point; for it is stated and restated often, in theother relation, that the archbishop was not notified legally beforethey notified him of the act of the judge-conservator. He was notified, for it is certain that the first document read to him by the secretarywas the appointment as judge-conservator, as above stated. Later, the same secretary read to him the bull for judge-conservators, and that of Gregory XIII, in which he concedes authority to thefathers of the Society to preach anywhere. The secretary entering thearchbishop's hall with the documents, the latter asked him what hehad, and he answered that they were the bulls. "But why?" added thearchbishop; and Fray Antonio Gonsalez, who was in his company, said:"He has been tired, for we have already seen them in the collectionof bulls. " If this is so, I am surprised that the hostile relationstates that the act of the judge-conservator was null and void, ashe did not first exhibit the briefs (of which no notice was taken)to the archbishop. The latter's procurators also were not bashful, and were so bold as to allege the same in public session of theAudiencia. But they were convinced by the secretary that he readthe acts, whereupon an auditor declared: "We must pay heed to this, and not to the new falsehoods that they bring. "

Next day the archbishop presented himself with a plea of fuerza, duringprison inspection, before the auditor Don Alvaro de Mesa y Lugo _[sic;sc. _ Zapata?]; and as there was no other auditor, he issued the usualorder. On Tuesday, the sixth of the same month, recourse was had tothe royal Audiencia, on behalf of both the archbishop and the Society, to examine the records. The royal Audiencia, seeing that the orderissued during the prison inspection was not sufficient, but defective, issued another and new one, and nothing further was discussed inthat meeting of the Audiencia. Next day, Wednesday, November seven, the records were brought. The archbishop was represented by thefather prior of St. Augustine, Fray Juan de Montemayor, and thefather reader, Fray Diego de Ochoa, of the same order; the fatherdefinitor of the Recollects, Fray Pedro Barreto; the father guardianof St. Francis, Fray Juan de Pina; and Bachelor Fulgencio de Ribera, a secular, and the deacon and servant of the archbishop. The Societywas represented by Father Diego de Bobadilla, [65] and Father LorencoGoreto, masters of theology. The latter, before all else, declared thatthey had no quarrel with the holy orders, and that in consequence thefathers had nothing to do there. But the others replied that they hadbeen authorized by the archbishop. The royal Audiencia ordered theauthorization to be read. It made mention only of the father reader, Fray Diego de Ochoa, father Fray Pedro Barreto, and the bachelorFulgencio de Ribera. Thereupon, they ordered from the room the fatherprior of St. Augustine, and the father guardian of St. Francis, who went out somewhat shamefacedly. The secretary read the records, but was interrupted at every step by the reader Fray Diego de Ochoa, which resulted in some animosity. After the reading, the presidentasked the representatives of the archbishop whether they had anythingto state. The bachelor Fulgencio de Ribera took the floor, and said infew words that the judge-conservator was not legitimately appointed, for there were no manifest injuries in the case. Then the presidentinvited the two religious who had remained [to speak]. They said thatthose of the Society should state their case first, and accordinglythe latter were given the floor--Father Diego de Bobadilla first, and then Father Lorenço Goreto. They proved in the judgment of thoseof us who were present (and it so seemed to me, although not much isobtained from these things) that the acts which I have mentioned aremanifest injuries; and that, consequently, the judge-conservator waslegally appointed. In order that your Grace may understand more ofwhat was declared, I am sending you a summary of the allegation madeby the fathers of the Society, which one of them communicated to me, and I enclose it herewith. Hence I shall not go into greater detailhere, by mentioning what I have heard erudite men say in reply tocertain arguments by which the other relation tries to prove thatthe enactments of the judge-conservator were null and void. I shallonly say a word, if I remember it, on three or four points which therelation heaps together, but which are of small moment. It declaresthat the judge exceeded his authority in not giving the archbishop morethan one hour's time-limit in which to read the bulls and to withdrawthe act, while in reality twenty-four hours were granted him; and whenthe secretary, Alonso Baesa del Rio, went to notify the archbishop ofthe act, to his offer that he could easily obtain more time from thejudge, answer was made by Diego Bernal, who was the secretary of thearchbishop, that they had time enough, and that no more was necessary, as they had read the bulls often enough. The point was not in this, butin the fact that the judge-conservator could not command the archbishopto withdraw the act that he had made against the Society. By thatone may see the calumny in alleging that the time was insufficientto withdraw the act. The relation states that it was a dispute overjurisdiction, and that consequently, according to the ruling ofthe Council of Trent, judge-arbitrators were to be appointed. Thatis an error; for there was no contest over jurisdiction, but onlythat the judge-conservator, as the delegate of the supreme pontiff, ordered the archbishop to withdraw an act manifestly injurious tothe Society. The relation declares that the bulls were authorizedby the same judge-conservator and his secretary. That is true, buthow did that cause any nullification? For the judge did not feignbriefs, or say that the one that he presented was the original one, but that it was a faithful copy of the original, which the Societyhad showed him. Therein he obeyed the behests of the supreme pontiff, in order that such copies might have legality and authority. When thefathers of the Society had finished their statement, the president toldthe father reader Fray Diego de Ochoa, and the father definitor FrayPedro Barreto, to make what further statements they had to make. Butthey, changing color, and being uneasy, answered clearly and franklythat they had nothing more to say, as they had not come prepared forit. I confess to your Grace that we who were present were put to theblush at seeing so shameful a thing; and we asked, since they hadnot come prepared, why they had come and why they had received thearchbishop's authorization. They requested that audience be grantedthem the next day, and, although that is contrary to common practice, it was conceded to them, so that they could at no time say that theyhad not presented their side of the matter, and that they were withoutdefense. That was so clear and manifest a victory for the fathers ofthe Society, and before the tribunal, the officials, and the greatcrowd which was present, that I am surprised how those of the otherside dared to utter a word. They returned to the conflict on thefollowing Thursday; and other religious besides the two above mentionedand the secular, were summoned. Those who came newly were father FrayAntonio Gonsalez, vicar-provincial of St. Dominic; Fray Diego Collado, of the same order; and father Fray Pedro de Herrera, of St. Augustine:on entering the Audiencia, they presented their authority withoutbeing requested to do so--fearing to encounter any such jest as hadhappened to the others the day previous, for lack of authority. Thefather reader Fray Diego de Ochoa spoke first in this Audiencia, ina loud voice and with many exclamations, and casting opprobrium onthe person of the judge-conservator. Then the father definitor FrayPedro Barreto spoke. He read a short paper that he had written, sayingthat he had not been able to commit it to memory. He was followed byfather Fray Antonio Gonsalez, who alleged a very trifling defect inthe bull. After him Fray Diego Collado spoke. He said that he was theconfessor of the president of Castilla when the bishop of Cordoba hada similar suit with the orders in España. Father Fray Pedro de Herreragave his opinion last. All of them together consumed more than one andone-half hours. The fathers of the Society answered, Father Diego deBobadilla first, and then Father Lorenso Goreto. Such was their replythat, to all of us who were present, it seemed that they had provedtheir case, and it is sure that they showed the act to be a manifestinjury: first, because they had been ordered not to preach outside oftheir churches, under pain of excommunication and pecuniary fines;second, because the archbishop, through his anger toward only oneof the Society, had forbidden all of them in his archbishopric topreach. The controversy then hinged on [the question] whether theprelate may prohibit some of the Society, for just causes (which hesaid that he had, but did not express), from preaching in camps andguardhouses. The friars said that he could, and their whole argumentconsisted of what the Council [of Trent] says, according to what theyalleged--making fuerza out of those words, _contradicente episcopo_[_i. E. _, "the bishop opposing"], and giving as explanation that theprelate may by his own authority oppose and forbid the regulars topreach, even in their own churches. Thence they inferred that thearchbishop had not laid on the fathers of the Society all that hecould. Those of the Society answered this at length, and showed byseveral books which they brought to the Audiencia that that phrase_contradicente episcopo_, ought not to be understood in that manner, but according to a certain Clementina which, if I am not mistaken, is that of _De sepulturis_, and begins with _Dudum_. As this was thepoint of all their controversy, I refer you to the statement thatis enclosed herewith. But I am unable to conjecture why the otherrelation wastes so much paper, and becomes wearisome, by bringingin so many statements to prove that the religious may not preach inthe churches of others without the permission of their owners, sincethe Society never claimed anything else, nor were their statementsintended to prove it. And believe me, your Grace, on this second dayno less glory fell to the Society than on the first. I have relatedthis point so extensively, as some prejudiced persons have stated thatthe adherents of the archbishop silenced the fathers of the Society. 

The gentlemen of the royal Audiencia remained in the hall, andon voting on the point of fuerza they were divided. Thereupon, his Majesty's fiscal was appointed, as that pertains to him bylaw. His vote, it appears, was cast in favor of the fathers of theSociety. Consequently, it was declared that the judge-conservator hadnot used fuerza toward the archbishop, and that he should proceedwith his commission. Some persons were not lacking who tried tosuspend the proceedings and declare them null and void, because thearchbishop's representatives were not notified that it was because theauditors' opinions were discordant that his Majesty's fiscal had beenappointed judge. They did not take note that this matter of makingnotifications and summons is an act of superiority and jurisdiction;and that, as the royal Audiencia does not hold that in ecclesiasticalmatters, it does not employ such acts, and only declares whether theecclesiastical judge practices fuerza or no--and this not as judgeof the ecclesiastical estate, but as a political governor who desirespeace in his country. The other and contradictory relation also triesto prove the proceedings null because, before the royal Audienciadeclared that the judge-conservator was not committing fuerza, theprocurators of the archbishop drew up a petition which they presentedto the president, in which they challenged the auditor Zapata. Buthe who regards this as nullification, proves that he is but littleaccustomed to the manner of procedure of the Audiencia; for in thefirst place the petition was not presented in time, and second, it wasnot signed by a lawyer--an essential lack, as that is contrary to hisMajesty's orders for what is to be done in such cases of challenginga judge, and especially so superior a judge as an auditor. 

As the judge-conservator was declared by the Audiencia to be legal, he proceeded, constraining the archbishop with censures so that heshould furnish an official statement of the acts issued against theSociety. He did so, sending the original act already mentioned, theoriginal [record of the] meeting that he held with the religious, and the act that was issued ordering the fathers of the Societynot to minister to the Indians of Santa Cruz. Within a few days thematter was well on the way to a conclusion and settlement, when itwas discovered that the archbishop and some of the said three ordersof St. Dominic, St. Francis, and St. Augustine, had held a meeting, and under color of a protest had issued a defamatory libel, in whichthey linked the same judge-conservator, the Society of Jesus, thegovernor, and the royal Audiencia, because these had declared againsttheir will. This document was a matter of common talk and notoriety, not only because it was declared by many of the townspeople, whohad heard it from those who had been present at the meeting (and asthere were so many of them it could not be kept secret); but also, as soon as it was requested, the archbishop told the father rector, Luis de Pedrasa, that he would not give up such a paper, even ifhe were deprived of the archbishopric; and father Fray Pedro deHerrera, his procurator, said that they would not give it even ifthey were hanged. The father provincial of St. Francis asked AdjutantJuan de Vega Mexia, why he demanded such a paper, for it was notwell for the Society, or their judge-conservator, or the governor, or the royal Audiencia to see it. This tone increased the reportsof the townspeople, and the constant rumor that that protest was adefamatory libel and contained grievous things about many persons. Itwas authenticated by a royal clerk named Diego de Rueda, who is alsoa familiar of the Holy Office. The judge-conservator arrested him, and took his confession, in which, although he did not tell openly allthat the protest contained, he made known sufficient of it so that onecould get light on the matter. The judge-conservator petitioned thegovernor for the aid of the civil arm, and on Friday, November 16, arrested the clerk by its help. The commissary of the Holy Office, Fray Francisco de Herrera, of the Order of St. Dominic, came out todemand his familiar from the judge-conservator. The judge answered thathe had already taken his statement; that, although he had arrested himso that he might declare more, the man was no longer necessary to him;and that it did not concern him, and they should demand the familiarfrom the governor, who had him. The father commissary answered that thereply of the judge was not satisfactory, and that his familiar shouldbe handed over to him. The judge answered that in writing, as follows:

"In the city of Manila, November twenty-three, one thousand sixhundred and thirty-five. Don Fabian de Santillan y Gavilanes, schoolmaster of the holy cathedral church of this said city, apostolic judge-conservator of the Order of the Society of Jesus, etc. , declared that [he makes this declaration] inasmuch as thereverend father preacher Fray Francisco de Herrera, of the Order ofSt. Dominic, commissary of the Holy Inquisition in these islands, sent him an oral message by the accountant, Alonso Baesa del Rio, notary-public and apostolic notary of this tribunal, yesterday, Thursday, between six and seven in the morning, asking to have Diegode Rueda sent to him (as he said that he had arrested him), for acertain declaration that he had need of making before the said fathercommissary. To that message the said judge-conservator also respondedorally, saying that although he had arrested the said Diego de Rueda, because of what pertained to his office as judge-conservator, it wastwo days since he had finished with him, and that the said Diego deRueda was no longer held prisoner at his account. Therefore, he shouldgo to Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, governor and captain-generalof these islands, to ask for him. Nevertheless, after his declarationthat he was not holding the said Diego de Rueda a prisoner, the saidfather commissary, by an act that he issued today, ordered the saidjudge-conservator, under penalties and censures, to deliver the saidDiego de Rueda within two hours, and he was notified of it at the hourof nine in the morning. The judge-conservator made the same answerin writing that he had given orally to the said apostolic notary, and more fully (although the said [oral] reply was sufficient). Atthe hour of ten in the morning he wrote a letter to the said fathercommissary, sending it by Adjutant Juan de Vega Mexia, in which heoffered to the commissary to draw up a document requiring, exhorting, and notifying the said governor and captain-general of these islandsthat, in what pertained to this court of the said apostolic judgeconservator, inasmuch as the latter had no longer anything to do withthe said Diego de Rueda, the governor should set him free and send himto the said father commissary. The latter answered in writing throughthe said adjutant, Juan de Vega Mexia, that the said governor declaredthat it was not his Lordship, but the said judge-conservator, who hadarrested the said Diego de Rueda. And after the said reply, and forgreater satisfaction, and so that his obedience, as an obedient son ofthe Church to the mandates of the Holy Inquisition may be recognized, the judge-conservator thereupon petitions and supplicates--and in anecessary case, requires, exhorts, and charges--Don Sebastian Hurtadode Corcuera, governor and captain-general of these islands, in whatpertains to this court of the said apostolic judge-conservator, inasmuch as the latter no longer has anything to do with thesaid Diego de Rueda, to free that man and send him to the fathercommissary, as the latter has ordered and commanded the said apostolicjudge-conservator, under penalties and censures. Thus did he enact, and affixed his signature. The schoolmaster, _Don Fabian de Santillan Y Gavilanes_

By his order:

_Alonso Baeza Del Rrio_, notary-public and apostolic notary. "

After receiving this reply, the father commissary left the judge, andrequested the governor to give him his familiar. His Lordship answeredhim that the said familiar had transgressed in the exercise of hisoffice by having authenticated, as a royal notary, a defamatory libel;and that the punishment for that devolved upon the royal jurisdiction, according to the agreement in the new compilation [of laws]. Thegovernor sent Diego de Rueda under arrest to the fort of Cabite, whereupon the father commissary had the governor notified of thefollowing act through a youthful friar called Fray Ignacio Muñoz, and another who accompanied him:

"In the city of Manila, on the twenty-sixth of the month of November, one thousand six hundred and thirty-five, the reverend father FrayFrancisco de Herrera, commissary of the Holy Office in these islands, declared that he is at present engaged in a cause pertaining to thetribunal of the Inquisition, in regard to a protest which is reportedto be a defamatory libel against the holy Order of the Society ofJesus, and other persons occupying places of dignity. The principalwitness in it is Alférez Diego de Rueda; and, for lack of him, theservice and execution of the Holy Office in investigating this causeis suspended and prevented. Inasmuch as the pontiff Pius Fifth, and other pontiffs order in very strict terms that the causes ofthe Inquisition take precedence over all others, and that all causescease and be superseded until the Holy Office concludes its business:therefore the said commissary ordered (and he did so order) GovernorDon Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, who says in his letters that he hasarrested the said Diego de Rueda for having become an apostolic notarywhen he was a royal notary, for the purpose of authenticating theprotest that is said to be a libel--an offense which by being committedin connection with this cause, belongs by law to the Inquisition, and to no other tribunal, as it is in regard to what is said to be adefamatory libel against the said order and persons; and gives him atime-limit of thirty hours within which to present Diego de Rueda atthe Holy Office, under penalty of major excommunication and a fine offive thousand ducados for the expenses of this tribunal. And, under thesame penalties, he orders the said governor not to make any furthereffort to demand or inquire about the said protest, since if it is, as is asserted, a defamatory libel, it belongs to no other judge, butonly to the Holy Office; and the governor shall not molest the saidprisoner until the Holy Office has entirely concluded its cause. Andhe thus decreed in this act, which he ordered and signed. 

_Fray Francisco de Herrera_

Before me:

_Fray Ignacio Muñoz_, notary. "

The friar commenced to read his act, and, at the commencement of thereading, the governor asked the friar to hand it to him. Seeing thatthis was the beginning of disturbances in the community, he ordered anadjutant to conduct those friars courteously to their convent at theport of Cabite, and charge their superior to retain them there andlook after them well; and that they should not disturb the peace ofthe community for him, nor talk with the freedom and levity that theyhad displayed to him. The fathers of St. Dominic took occasion fromthat to utter innumerable evil reports about the governor, so thatthere was no place where they did not murmur aloud about him. FatherFray Sebastian de Oquendo of the Order of St. Dominic, in especial, went one morning to the auditor-general of war, Manuel Suarez, with abull which he declared had been promulgated by Pius V; and having readit, he declared that the governor was excommunicated for preventingthe exercise of the Inquisition's authority (although the governordeclared that he did not prevent it but that he was maintaining, ashe ought, the royal jurisdiction); that he was deposed, that he wasnot governor, and could not act as such; and that the senior auditorshould immediately assume the government, and arrest Don Sebastianand place him in a fort. The auditor-general referred all the aboveto the governor; and, as a confirmation of this and other rumorsthat were current through the city, the same fathers of St. Dominicbrought a friar from Cabite, named Fray Francisco Pinelo, [66] a manof talent and eloquent in the pulpit, in order that he might preachon the second Sunday of Advent, December 9, 1635. He did in factpreach [on that day], and before beginning his sermon, he said thathe had called and invited the people to read a bull that he declaredwas given by Pius V, and was translated from Latin into Romance, inwhich his Holiness regards those who prevent the exercise of the HolyInquisition's authority as infamous, and incapable of holding officesand dignities, and as _ipso facto_ deposed from them. The said fatherasserted all the above with such tones and manner, and at such a time, that it was clearly seen that he meant it for the governor; and thathe was scoffing at him as an infamous person, and as one deposed fromthe government of these islands, because he had sent to Cabite the twofriars who had been sent to him. He began his sermon after that, andit was throughout a satire on the Society, on the judge-conservator, and on the governor and the royal Audiencia. He said of the fathersof the Society that they were the cats of the Church, and a damnableand corruptible milk, who were trying by their deceits to influenceother religious not to go to Japon. He added that such as they weremembers that had been lopped off from the Church; and that by theirshrewdness and political methods they were insinuating themselvesinto everything. Of the judge-conservator he said that one wouldbelieve him a canon of London rather than of the cathedral of Manila;that the Jesuits had made him a pope or popelet, and that throughhim they had undertaken to give them [i. E. , the other orders] pap;[67] that he was a gambler, and that he had lost some thousands ofpesos, which I know is not the case. Of the governor, the preachersaid that he was a Pilate, and even much worse; since Pilate hadrefused to intervene in the death of Christ, while the governor wastrying to take part in the controversies with the archbishop; he alsocompared him to Herod. He talked very venomously about an auditor, and, although he did not name him, it was just as if he had done so, for one could plainly infer of whom he was speaking. He characterizedhim as unjust and vicious, and all without other foundation than hishaving declared that the judge-conservator was legal, contrary towhat the fathers of St. Dominic claimed. The muttering and commotionamong the audience were very marked. It is a fact that many of usthink that the preacher had no other aim or motive than to disturb androuse the crowd so that there should be an uprising, as there had beenin Nueva España. And as I have already begun this matter of sermons, and so that I may not afterward interrupt the thread of my discourse, I shall say somewhat here to your Grace of the many disorders thathave happened in this direction. 

On the day of St. Lucy, December 13, in the convent of theRecollects of St. Augustine, father Fray Andres del Spiritu Santopreached. I was present, and his whole sermon was a satire against thejudge-conservator, the fathers of the Society, and the governor. Hesaid many evil things of them, all of which I do not rememberin detail, except that he said, by mistake, of the fathers of theSociety that they were Hippocrates; and then, immediately correctinghimself, that they were hypocrites and arrogant fellows, and that itwas the Society not of Jesus, but of the devil. He characterized thejudge-conservator as a vicious fellow. The same father preached onthe afternoon of Palm Sunday, in his convent. He said of the governorthat he was not setting [a good] example in having founded the royalchapel in the palace, where he hears preaching, because he does notgo out to their churches to hear these things. He said also that thegovernor was obstinate because he did not humiliate himself before thearchbishop, as it was Holy Week and the season of the jubilee. Theworthy father did not consider in the midst of his zeal what thegovernor has done for the archbishop, and how he has aided him. Headded that the governor did not understand the law of the Christians, as he had said (according to the preacher's statement) that he couldnot be excommunicated. That scandalized the hearers, and was themotive for many of the city to declare (as I hear) that these sermonskindled the fire that raged, and were the cause of these revolutions. 

On Sunday, the third day of Lent, February 24, 1636, at the publicationof the ordinary edict, the whole city gathered in the cathedral, where I was present. The father guardian of St. Francis, Fray Juande Piña, preached. He mentioned in the pulpit a balance that theaccountant Juan Bautista de Zubiaga had brought forward against thefathers of St. Francis (who have had charge of the royal hospitals), of more than thirty thousand pesos. Inasmuch as soldiers withoutweapons have not been received in the hospital for many years, and agreat number of men have died in it, and there is no account of whathas been done with those arms, they amount, when appraised at lowprices, to over thirty thousand pesos. The preacher declared thathe had reason to make a greater charge and declare a larger balanceagainst the king of España. The charge was that Fray Francisco Ximenezconquered Oran; and that one of their friars, named Zumarraga, [68]pacified Nueva España. Thus a great part of his sermon was taken up inindecorously contending and taking issue with the king of España. Onthe Wednesday following, February 27, the same preacher deliveringa sermon in the same cathedral church, returned to the same balance, and treated the said computer of accounts, Juan Bautista de Cubiaga, with great contumely. He called him a Gascon devil, disguised as aViscayan or Navarrese, who getting a smattering of accounts, gave outthat he was an accountant, in order to come to give him a beating. Andthis he said amid the laughter and commotion of the audience. 

On one Friday in Lent, the fifteenth of March, I was present at theconvent of St. Augustine; Fray Diego de Ochoa of the same order cameout to preach. At the beginning, he read a notice which said thatFather Lorenso Goreto would preach on the following Tuesday at thechurch of the Society of Jesus, on the good thief. [69] He addedthat that feast of the thief was very suitable for the Society, characterizing its members as thieves. Later in the course of hissermon, he brought in the balance which, as I have told your Grace, theaccountant Juan Bautista de Zubiaga presented against the Franciscanfathers concerning the hospitals. He declared it to be an Inquisitioncase, and that, if that holy tribunal did not take cognizance of it, he himself would seize him. This he said with loud words and a menacingaspect. And, so that your Grace may have a good laugh, I will tellyou his argument for saying that it was an Inquisition case--namely, that the pontiff had seen in dreams St. Francis and St. Dominic withtheir shoulders holding up the church of San Giovanni in Laterano, which was about to fall--a sign that their sons must keep the Churchof God upright by means of their glorious labors, as if for thatreason no one of the said orders could do anything wrong. Besides thefact that your Grace will see that this vision is not of the Divineattestation--although it pertains to Christian piety to believe it, as so many others--I would never finish if I should try to tellyour Grace the disorder that has reigned in the pulpits all thisyear. I only tell, in general, what occurred this past Lent, andeven since Advent. I and many others have gone through curiosity tohear the preachers of St. Dominic, St. Francis, and the Recollects ofSt. Augustine. Most of the sermons have consisted of satires againstthe governor, the Audiencia, the judge-conservator, and the fathersof the Society of Jesus; and in utterances so extravagant that theycaused a great scandal, and in things ridiculous and unworthy of thepulpit. The latter they made a professor's chair for the avengingof their passions, instead of one for teaching the doctrine ofChrist. Your Grace can see what fruit the audience would get from it. 

Returning to our narrative, the fathers of St. Dominic were notcontent with saying the above-mentioned things in and out of thepulpits, but they incited a petition to the dean of this holy church, Don Miguel Garçetas, who, as the archbishop was excommunicated bythe judge-conservator, was exercising the office of provisor andvicar-general in it; they asked him to declare the governor to beexcommunicated. For I cannot tell your Grace the fear which seized thereligious orders in this matter, that they must place the governor onthe excommunicated list; and how many actions that he had committed forwhich, as they said, he had incurred excommunication--so much so, thatin a paper that appeared afterward, there was mention of twenty-fiveexcommunications that he had, in their opinion, incurred; and I do notknow whether there are any more in the law. With that petition theypresented a paper proving that the governor was excommunicated, andspeaking indecorously of him, saying that he was a mean and foolishgentleman. The dean, who is a discreet man and aged, was quite farfrom assenting to the request made of him, as he saw that they wereuneasy and their disturbance was superfluous. 

The judge-conservator afflicted the archbishop with new censuresand penalties to get him to hand over the protest, but the latterwould agree to do so under no considerations. He declared that hehad given it some few days before to Fray Diego Collado of the Orderof St. Dominic, and that he could not get it back from him. Thearchbishop did not consider himself as excommunicated, although hehad been declared as such. Neither did the religious consider him assuch, but persuaded him that he could say mass, and he did so. Thereligious went in and out of his archiepiscopal palace as before, holding meetings and causing trouble in the community. Therefore, measures were taken to establish some sentinels at the archbishop'sdoor, so that so many religious might not enter to disturb him;but the fathers of the Society interceded with good results, sothat the sentinels should be removed. That was done immediately. Thearchbishop left his house on the twelfth of November and retired to[the convent of] St. Francis. On the eighteenth, the four provincialsof the said four orders went to consult the governor. He told them notto overturn the community as they were doing. All the efforts possiblewere made and various means were taken to get hold of the protest, since it was fundamental to the conclusion of the peace which wasdesired. The archbishop wrote the following letter to the governorfrom the convent of St. Francis:

"Sir:

"Since your Lordship did me the kindness to come to console me and showme favor, I have made the most strenuous efforts in the world to havethe protest returned to me; but it is hammering on cold iron. Whatcan I do? For if my intent had been not to show it, I could say thatI had torn it up, or could have alleged some other pretext; and Iwould not have mentioned the person to whom I gave it to keep, as Iknew that there was an order to sequestrate his [70] property. Since, sir, it is impossible, and it is not my fault, I do not accept theexcuse that your Lordship gives me in your letter, in order to freeyourself from showing me favor and undertaking to act, settle thisaffair as governor and friend. Therefore, I petition your Lordship, [71] as you can do for one who avails himself of your protection;for I desire ever to remain in your Lordship's favor, and only boundto serve you all the days of my life. May our Lord preserve yourLordship's life for long years. From this convent of St. Francis, November 24, 1635. 

_Fray Hernando_, archbishop. "

The governor responded as follows to the above letter:

"Most thoroughly do I believe what your Lordship says in your letterin regard to the efforts made to get hold of the protest, and thatyour Lordship does not have it. But it is an exasperating and seriousthing that Father Collado, or whoever else has it, should displaythis tenacious obstinacy; and that so many efforts, so many mediators, and so much argument are not sufficient to get it. It is certain, sir, that so great obstinacy in a subordinate ought not to be overlooked;for it is hindering good men so that we cannot go farther in thismatter, until we have subdued that disobedience, which is unworthy ofso religious a person--especially since I have given my word to burnit in the presence of your Lordship, without letting any person seeit except Diego de Rueda, so that he may acknowledge before witnesseswhether it is the paper which he wrote or authenticated. All theseconsiderations, and many others which occur to me, almost render itimpossible for me to serve your Lordship. On the other hand, yourLordship's present need of my service constrains me more; and as DonSebastian de Corcuera, I am doing more, I judge, in charging myselfwith these affairs than I would do in concluding them had I all theauthority that your Lordship mentions. 

Now, sir, that I may move in the matter with more security, it willbe necessary, since there is no other remedy, to compel Diego deRueda to declare to me, and attest as a notary, the contents of theprotest; and in order to cause him to do so, even though he resist, I shall have to make use of the means, however harsh, that I shallfind available. May God direct the matter, and may He guide me in allthings so that I may be successful in serving your Lordship. Givenat the palace, this day, Sunday. 

_Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera_"

In order to bring about that settlement, the governor went, November20, to see the archbishop, whom he consoled; and he offered to doall in his power in favor of his Lordship. The next day the samegovernor called a meeting of the gentlemen of the royal Audiencia, his Majesty's fiscal, and all the learned jurists in Manila. Theyagreed that this matter could not be settled so long as the protestdid not make its appearance. In accordance with that decision, thegovernor wrote the following letter to the archbishop:

"From the time when I went last evening to pay my respects to yourLordship, I have thought of nothing else excepting how I might manageto serve you. With that purpose, I had the four advocates of theroyal Audiencia summoned, and others--ecclesiastics, jurists, andtheologians. On meeting them, I set before them my great desire forpeace and for the quiet and comfort of your Lordship. I had them readthe letters that your Lordship wrote me, the efforts that had beencommenced, and the papers given me yesterday by the father readers ofSt. Augustine. After discussing them, little credit was given to thestatement of father Fray Pedro de Herrera and to the mandate of fatherFray Antonio Gonsalez; for both of them are accomplices. Moreover, it was not well for them that the people should see them meddlingin a matter that is so unrighteous and one so unbecoming to theirprofession. [I told those who were assembled] that, accordingly, theyshould protect these papers, so that neither the mandate of fatherFray Antonio should bind father Fray Diego Collado or any other ofhis religious, or the statement of the said father Fray Pedro deHerrera have any effect. For it was considered also that the latterhad been issued nine days after the incident [of Rueda's arrest]had occurred; and more especially was noted the obstinacy of fatherFray Diego Collado in refusing to return to your Lordship the paper orprotest that had been made. For these reasons all unanimously, withoutone dissenting voice, were of the opinion that your Lordship shouldmake new and more strenuous efforts to secure and surrender the saidprotest on account of the difficulties that so evidently result fromsecreting it. And since, sir, it contains nothing that can tarnish thereputation of the Order of the Society, or that can be of importance toany other, I would judge it impossible that there can be any agreement, or that the cause can be concluded to the pleasure and satisfaction ofyour Lordship, except by handing over the said paper--with the promisethat I hereby give, as a gentleman, that if it be handed over to me, Ishall only allow the notary to see the signature, so that he may attestthat it is the document that he authenticated; and then immediately, in the presence of him who hands it to me, or in the pretence of yourLordship (for which purpose I shall go to your residence), I shall burnit so that nothing of it can remain. It has also seemed best for meto ask the judge-conservator to grant your Lordship four or six daysmore than the time-limit that he has assigned; and I shall do thatimmediately, so that your Lordship may have more time to see thatthat religious may not ruin the whole affair, and that he may handover the paper. And in case that he always prove obstinate, I shallimmediately refrain from meddling in this matter, either for or againstyour Lordship. I beg you to pardon me for having made this resolution, in accordance with the opinion of so many erudite and well-intentionedmen. And, even had they not given it, I would have made it of my ownaccord, after hearing what the sargento-mayor has just told me ofthe religious of St. Dominic, who have broken into the guardhouse atone of the gates of the wall, defying the soldiers stationed there, and forcibly bringing inside Don Pedro Monrroy--contrary to the orderthat I had given that he was not to be allowed to enter, since he isnot provisor, and has nothing to do inside the walls. And if thesedisorderly acts are committed while I am seeking means and methods ofdoing your Lordship a service, by which I may aid you in paying thecondemnations that have been ordered, I am freed from the obligationof having anything to do with these matters, either pro or con. Onthe contrary I shall inform the king our sovereign of the effortsmade on my part; and all the community will have understood them andwill know that your Lordship, taking counsel of the three orders, neither desires nor tries to secure peace. I beg your Lordship'spardon for speaking so boldly, and rest assured that there is not, nor will there be, more than I have said here. May God preserve yourLordship for happy years. Given at the palace, November 21, 1635. 

_Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera_"

Since the above letter makes mention of the forcing of the guardhouse, I shall narrate to your Grace what occurred. Don Pedro de Monrroy, since he was not provisor, left the city. The governor, fearing thatif he returned hither, the matter would be more unsettled than ever, left orders at the city gates that Don Pedro should not be allowedto enter, should he make the attempt. But on November 21--on the sameday and at the same hour when the governor was with the archbishop inthe convent of St. Francis, trying to settle the matter--the said DonPedro Monrroy, clad as a Franciscan friar, with another Franciscanfriar as companion, attempted to enter by a gate near the convent ofSt. Dominic, at the time of the Ave Marias. A great number of religiouswent out of the convent to receive him. The commandant at the gate, one Alférez Don Francisco de Ribera, recognized him; he seized him, andcalled out to his soldiers to take their arms, and prevent Don Pedro'sentrance. But there were so many friars of St. Dominic, who chargeddown and defended him by fighting with their fists, that the soldierscould not use their weapons or prevent his entrance. Consequently, forcing the guardhouse, they took him into the city. The governorfelt just anger at this. He ordered the commandant and soldiers to bearrested, and he was about to garrote the commandant and punish thesoldiers for not having obeyed his order. They exculpated themselvesquite sufficiently in the report that they made of having done theirutmost, but that the fury of the religious gave them no time to do anymore. The governor in great anger wrote to the father vicar-provincialof St. Dominic, Fray Antonio Gonsalez, regarding the matter; and thelatter responded very coolly that his religious had not done such athing, and that he had proof and information to the contrary. Thefather vicar added that Don Pedro de Monrroy had entered the cityin obedience to the summons of the Inquisition. For your Gracemust suppose that as the friars saw the matter was ending ill, andas their passion against the fathers of the Society was so great, they endeavored by all means to make it a case of Inquisition againstthem. Therefore, on November 19, the father commissary sent for a copyof the act of the judge-conservator, in which the latter ordered thearchbishop to produce the protest or defamatory libel, under penaltyof suspension; that act was affixed to the archbishop's door, as hewas not at home, and as he could not be found to notify him. FatherFray Francisco de Paula [72] acted as notary on this occasion. Heordered a writing-desk to be placed in the street, and, with greatpomp and clatter, had the said act removed, and copied it on thewriting-desk. Next morning the father commissary sent another friar, named Fray Ignacio Muñoz, [73] to act as notary to summon the judge, Don Fabian de Santillan; he did it in so clamorous a manner, and atsuch a time, that people thought he was trying to place some stain onthe said judge. The latter, in order to purge himself from it, askedthe father commissary for an official statement stating that he had notbeen summoned for any crime, but only to be told that the trial of thesaid protest did not pertain to him. At nine o'clock in the morningof the twenty-third of the same month of November, two lay brothersof the same Order of St. Dominic, also in the capacity of notaries, went to the judge-conservator, who was at [the convent of] the Society, to notify him that he must surrender Diego de Rueda. And because thedoorkeeper of the Society told them to wait a moment, they began tocry aloud and to attest by witnesses that they were being preventedfrom attending to the affairs of the Inquisition. On the twenty-sixthof the same month, another notification was made to the same judge, asking for Diego de Rueda, and ordering that he be sent to demandthe protest. Many other notifications were served on him through theagency of Fray Antonio Espexo [74] of the same order. From this yourGrace will observe that they had a different notary for each day;this is a matter on which I may reflect much, and I even imaginethat the inquisitors of Mexico would not be pleased with so great avariety of notaries for one commissary--some being lay brothers andothers ordained priests, some youths and others of greater age--andusually but little restrained. To show that, I will only tell yourGrace of one thing that one of those notaries, Fray Ignaçio de Muñoz, said, when going one day to a garden with another friar of his order, Fray Pedro de Ledo, [75] and with the collegiates of Santo Thomas:"I shall not stop until I see all the Theatins [_i. E. _, Jesuits]put to the knife. " What a fine disposition is that, your Grace, and what a good inclination in a notary of so holy, upright, anddispassionate a tribunal as is that of the holy Inquisition! Finally, the father commissary asked the judge-conservator to surrender tohim an information that he had brought against Don Pedro de Monrroy, because he had said that Lutero and Calvino [_i. E. _, Luther and Calvin]and other heretics had not done so much harm to the Church of God ashad the fathers of the Society. The judge gave him the original, butkept a copy, which the father commissary also sent to get from him. Thejudge refused to give it to him, saying that he could not give it up, and that it was necessary to adduce in the cause; and that althoughit pertained to the father commissary, as far as it was a mischievousstatement, yet it pertained to the judge himself, so far as if wasan injury against the Society, of whom he was the conservator. Thefather commissary notified him, besides, that he himself would sendto demand the protest or defamatory libel, since, being such, itpertained to the Inquisition to try it. The judge answered him thatit did not pertain exclusively to the Inquisition, and that he hadbegun to try that cause, as it concerned the principal cause. Thefather commissary served many different notifications on the judge, in which it could be plainly seen that he was trying to embarrass theaffair, so that if should not proceed further. Accordingly, the judgenotified the commissary, or rather, father Fray Francisco de Herrera, not to lay obstacles in the path of his apostolic jurisdiction, and tocause him no hindrance in it. In order to conclude this part of thematter, I shall cite here the answer given by the judge-conservatorto an act by the father commissary; it is as follows:

"I, Don Fabian de Santillan y Gavilanes, schoolmaster of the holycathedral church of this city, apostolic judge-conservator for theobservance and immunity of the privileges, rights, and actions, of the Order of the Society of Jesus, etc. , declare that, havingexamined the reply of the reverend father Fray Francisco de Herrera, commissary of the Holy Office of the Inquisition, given to the actissued by myself on the twenty-eighth of the present month and year, he says therein that he is not trying and never has tried to disturbthe peace, or anything that the said judge-conservator could do inits defense; but only to take cognizance of what pertains to theHoly Office of the Inquisition in order to fulfil his obligation(to which pertains all that of which he has been notified), and toobtain the papers regarding the said causes, according to the termsof the briefs of the supreme pontiffs, so that no paper shall remainin possession of any judge, notary, or any other person; and thatthe said judge-conservator has no brief to oppose to this, nor can hehave such. As for the chief order in the said my act, it is not thatthe said reverend father commissary should not disturb the peace, nordo all that which he may do in defense of it, but that he restrainhimself from hindering and disturbing, in any manner, the exerciseof my apostolic jurisdiction, which I am actually exercising; and, especially, that he do not ask for papers which do not pertain to him, but to my court and to the cause that I have in hand. Such are thepapers that the said reverend father commissary asks from me; for theoriginals of those which belong to the cause of Don Pedro de MonrroyI have delivered without waiting to have them asked from me, as Ihave mentioned in the said my act--only because in a certain mannerthey may belong to the said tribunal of the holy Inquisition. Butthey belong principally to my court, and to the cause that I havein hand; for the words spoken by the said Don Pedro de Monrroy areespecially injurious and insulting to the said Society of Jesus andits religious. It is necessary for this reason that an authenticatedcopy of the papers which I delivered to the said reverend fathercommissary remain in the records of this cause, in order that I maynot fail in my duty and jurisdiction, and that I may give a goodaccount to his Holiness of the affairs under my charge. As for theassertion that the briefs of the supreme pontiffs order that the saidtribunal of the Holy Office shall obtain all the papers (both originaland copies) touching the causes that pertain to the Holy Office, andthat no paper remain in possession of any judge, notary, or any otherperson--that is understood, as is apparent from the said briefs, tomean the causes which belong strictly to the said tribunal of the HolyOffice, and to no other court. Likewise, those which are asked from mebelong--inasmuch as they contain injurious and insulting words againstthe said Society, whose apostolic judge-conservator I am--peculiarlyand chiefly to my court; and if I handed them over I would be greatlydelinquent in the obligations of my office, and I would cease to bea judge-conservator of the said Society of Jesus. Neither can I beordered to refrain from requesting the protest or paper that I amasking from the archbishop of Manila, Don Fray Hernando Guerrero;for it contains affronts and insults uttered recently against thesaid Society of Jesus, and against my jurisdiction, and the actsthat I have pronounced. And supposing that it could also pertain tothe said tribunal of the Holy Office to try the defamatory libelsagainst religious persons, it has not hitherto been understood thatthe exclusive trial of such causes has pertained to it. And sincethis cause is at least _mixtifori_; [76] and since I am actuallytrying this cause as apostolic judge-conservator, and consequently, with exclusive apostolic authority, without anyone having the powerto take it from my hands, except his Holiness (whose delegate I am, and to whom only I am immediately subject); and since, for all this[authority], it is unnecessary for me to produce any other brief exceptthe apostolic authority and jurisdiction of judge-conservator whichI hold and which I am exercising; and since with less justificationcan the said reverend father commissary restrain me from asking thesaid paper or protest from the said archbishop, and make me leaveit to the said reverend father commissary--first, because he has apart in this affair, as he was present and signed the first act ofthe said archbishop against the said Society of Jesus on the ninthof October of this present year, together with certain religious ofhis order, whose signatures I have in my possession (that act havingbeen the foundation and origin of all the insults received by the saidSociety of Jesus, and the reason whereby they were incited to appointme their judge-conservator); and second, because, the said archbishophaving made the said protest or defamatory libel, the said reverendfather commissary cannot lawfully demand it, for the said archbishopis not his subordinate, while I, forsooth, can ask it as being hislegitimate apostolic judge, and moreover I can constrain him with finesand censures against his obstinacy and disobedience to the apostolicmandates; hence the said reverend father commissary's command thatI leave to him the demand for the said protest or defamatory libel, and that I refrain from asking for it, means that I should allow himto exceed the authority of his commission, and that I refrain fromfulfilling mine: therefore I order the said reverend father commissaryto observe and obey the act of which he was notified yesterday, thetwenty-eighth, exactly as is therein contained, without exceedingit in any point, under the penalties and censures therein contained, to which I regard him as immediately liable in their fullest measureif he does the contrary. By this act, I decree and order, and affixmy signature. If the said father commissary should not appear so thatthis notification may be served by the notary who shall make it, thelatter shall serve it at the doors of the college of Santo Thomas, where the said father commissary is rector and where he lives; andthe notary shall affix a copy of this act to the doors so that he mayconsider it as completely a damage and injury as if the notificationwere made and read to him in person. And the notary shall establishthis act by an attestation. Given in Manila, November twenty-nine, one thousand six hundred and thirty-five. The schoolmaster, _Don Fabian Santillan y Gavilanes_

By his order:

_Diego de Aldave_, apostolic notary. "

"In the city of Manila, on the twenty-ninth of November, one thousandsix hundred and thirty-five, about half-past eleven in the morning, more or less, I, the present notary, read and announced the act onthis folio to the reverend father Fray Francisco de Herrera, of theOrder of St. Dominic, and commissary of the tribunal of the holyInquisition of these islands, in his own person, exactly accordingto its contents. Having heard it, he said that it was impossible tonotify him of the said act on the said day, as it was a holy day;and that I should accordingly return on the first workday, when hewould answer in due form and at greater length. In accordance withmy orders in the said act, I affixed a copy of it, signed by thehand of the said judge, and authenticated by me the present notary, to the gates of the college of Santo Thomas, where the said reverendfather commissary lives, in the presence of fathers Fray Sebastian deOquendo and Fray Andres Gomez de Espexo and other persons. Witnessespresent were Juan Ortiz de Sossa, Benito de Cañeda, Francisco Correa, and Juan Garcia de Nava, soldiers of the company of Captain Pedro dela Mata. I attest it. 

_Diego de Aldave_, apostolic notary"

At this juncture all the community was thrown into an uproar bycertain religious, who showed the hate that they had toward theSociety--to such an extent, that on the day of the Presentation, November 21 (which is the chief day of the holy Misericordia of thiscity, which the orders always attend), not any of them went exceptthose of the Society. The others refused to meet with them althoughthey had been invited--a matter that scandalized us not a little. Asoften as possible, the same religious uttered innumerable evil andinfamous things against the fathers of the Society, which the latterpassed by, silencing their suffering. The orders discussed innumerableinnovations, all apparently in order to make confusion. As it pertainsto the governor to preserve peace, he one day (namely, November27) had the superiors of the orders of St. Dominic, St. Francis, St. Augustine, and the Recollects, summoned to the royal Audiencia. Hesummoned also the father commissary of the Holy Office, but he refusedto attend, and sent no excuse. The others attended. They were told inthe royal Audiencia that they must quiet their friars, so that theymight not continue to stir up the community. The governor orderedtheir superiors to banish from the city those who were ringleadersin this--namely, Fray Francisco de Paula, and Fray Sebastian deOquenda, of the Order of St. Dominic; and two others of the Order ofSt. Augustine. The superiors would, however, under no considerationsobey. On the contrary, on St. Andrew's day, the thirtieth of November, while celebrating the feast of the apostle, who is the patron saint ofthis city, in [the church of] Santa Potenciana, the master Don Juande Ledo ascended the pulpit to preach. A notice was given to him [toread] which stated that father Fray Francisco de Paula would preachon the following Sunday in his convent of St. Dominic. That was a veryill-considered act, since it was equal to giving the governor and theroyal Audiencia a slap in the face, not paying any attention to whatthey had ordered in his Majesty's name--all of which the governorprudently overlooked, in order to avoid other annoyances. 

At this time the despatch of the galleons which were to take thereënforcements to Maluco was being discussed. The religious enticeda pilot, named Francisco Domingues, who had been honored and favoredby the governor by being made captain of infantry, and who had beenappointed pilot of the flagship, to flee with some of them by wayof Yndia. The governor learned of it, and was obliged to arrest thesaid pilot, and to order at the city gates that two religious of theOrder of St. Dominic, namely, Fray Francisco Pinelo and Fray DiegoCollado--who were the ones who had planned that escape--should not beallowed to pass through them. Then that order also began to say thatthe governor was incurring a thousand excommunications, not stopping toconsider that he who has charge of this city and these islands is boundto preserve them and watch over them, and to give the proper militaryorders that he considers necessary; and that he could not prevent thatloss, except by not allowing those religious to leave the walls. Byanother method, other religious stirred up a goodly number of sailors, and as many soldiers; and they, having already received money for thejourney to Maluco in the galleons which were about to sail, fled ina champan by way of Yndia. There was in this affair a cleric namedDon Francisco Montero, who had been expelled from the priesthood, and who was a restless man. He carried papers and authority fromthe archbishop. There was also a French Recollect friar, named FrayNicolas de Tolentino, who was angered at his order because they didnot elect him provincial in accordance with his claims. A friar ofSt. Dominic went also. It was said that he was going on to Españawith grievous complaints against the governor, the royal Audiencia, and the fathers of the Society. But much greater can be the complaintsof the governor of him because he had committed so unreasonable an act, and one so much to the disservice of his Majesty, in taking away themen who were to aid his royal service in the royal fleet. 

The judge-conservator weighed down the archbishop with censures, to make him give up the protest or libel. He had declared himexcommunicated and suspended; but the archbishop refused to surrenderthe protest, while the judge-conservator did not cease to demandit. While matters were in this condition, at the petition of thefathers of the Society the governor took hold of affairs, in orderto settle them. He called a council of four lawyers--the best inManila--among whom was his Majesty's fiscal. The father provincialand the father rector of the Society were at the meeting, and also thejudge-conservator. The lawyers read the opinion which they had studiedover for several days; and all agreed that the judge-conservatorcould remove the suspension that he had imposed on the archbishop, in order to obtain from him the said protest or libel, as they saidthat the said suspension was comminatory. For the same reason, theydeclared that the pecuniary fines could be moderated or completelywithdrawn. The fathers of the Society, although they were the offendedparties, took the part of the archbishop and supported the opinionof the lawyers; they made every effort that the archbishop might comewell out of the affair, and they managed so well that I promise yourGrace that the settlement of this matter is wholly due to them. Thejudge-conservator only was somewhat harsh, and would agree to noneof all this; for he thought that it could not be done, accordingto the counsel that he had received from some learned men. But thegovernor had the prudence and wisdom to smooth over all difficulties, and finally, the archbishop was absolved, January 28, 636, from thecensures and penalties. The governor went in person to his house forhim and took him in his carriage to the cathedral, giving him theright-hand side, notwithstanding the ruling of the royal decree thatorders that he shall not give it. He took him as far as the choir, where, seating the archbishop in his chair, and bending his knee tohim, he kissed his hand, which he had already done in the archbishop'shouse. The governor paid from his own pocket more than one thousandpesos, in costs and expenses of the suit. Great was the happiness atthe conclusion of these suits, and all the orders assembled. FatherJuan Antonio Sana, of the Society of Jesus, preached at the feast ofthe dedication of the church, celebrated that day in the cathedral. Thearchbishop was full of expressions of thanks for what had been done forhim, but that happiness was of little duration. For as the archbishophad at his side and at his ear certain religious who, it is to bebelieved, did not desire peace, but, on the contrary, did their utmostso that it might not exist between the leaders of the community, andwere taking the archbishop as a means to oppose the governor, and, as it were, to avenge themselves on the latter for injuries that theythought that they had received from him; from that so many were theangry feelings that arose, that they led to the last rupture; but, before going on to relate that, I shall relate some matters of lessmoment that happened. 

A few years ago, a surgeon came to this country, named FranciscoGarçia, who had been exiled by the viceroy of Nueva España for certainlibels and crimes; and he was ordered to come to these islands, toserve at the will of the governor. The latter having need of him togo with the galleons which, I have already said, were to go to Malucowith the reënforcements, he was fitted out for the expedition. Buthe took refuge in [the convent of] St. Dominic, alleging that hewas a familiar of the Holy Office. From that occurrence also arose athousand lies against the governor, declaring that he tried to takethe surgeon from his retreat--as if the church can be of any availto a soldier, so that he need not go to serve in the post where hiscaptain orders him. And if the fact that he was a familiar of theHoly Office (which was not proved), did not avail him in Mexico, inthe opinion of the inquisitors, to exempt him from coming here undercondemnation, it is a token that those gentlemen did not wish that pleato be of any use to him in Filipinas so that the sentence should notbe executed upon him. However, a few days after he had taken refuge, the said Francisco Garçia came to a better resolution, and, leavingthe church, delivered himself to the governor. The latter received himkindly, and told him that he need not go in the said galleons. Buta few months after, as the hospital of the port of Cabite had beenput in order, so that the soldiers and sailors might have a placeof retreat in their illnesses, Francisco Garçia was detailed as thephysician of that hospital, with a salary of one peso per day--whichwas not a bad stipend. But, that he might not obey his orders, thearchbishop ordained the said Francisco Garçia on Tuesday, April 20, with the tonsure and with minor orders; and he, garbed in very reverendfashion as a cleric, began to walk through the city in sight of thegovernor--to whom those orders meant to give a slap in the face, although he passed it by. In truth, sir, I cannot see that they couldbe of any use, since, for one to enjoy the clerical privilege, it isnecessary that one be already ordained when the crime is committed;but without that, then it matters but little whether he is ordained, according to what I have read in some authors. Your Grace will ask, then, why the archbishop ordained him and did not think of that. Ianswer that even as he ordained him, he ordained a few years ago, a Portuguese physician who was living in this city, who went to thecity of Macan, one Licentiate Pereira. I have heard that he wastwice married in Portugal, and that one wife was a widow. Such aone as this did the archbishop ordain in Pampanga, _extra tempora_[77] in the three days of a feast, proceeding from the two degreesthat he lacked, namely, those of subdeacon and priest. According tothe account that I have heard given by learned men, there were morethan twelve irregularities, all of which the archbishop passed by, without its being proved that there should be any dispensation, orwithout considering that there can be no dispensation here in thiscase--a matter that was considered by many men, both the learned andthe ignorant. 

The governor thought that there was a great waste of the royal revenue, which was not carefully spent, in the royal Spanish hospital ofthis city of Manila, and that the sick were not well cared for. Inorder to remedy both these evils, the governor conceived the ideaof appointing a chaplain in the said hospital, and of ordering thefathers of St. Francis, who had it in charge, to leave it. Althoughthe Franciscans objected, they finally left the hospital; for therewas no royal decree ordering that the hospital should be given intothe care of those religious--since, although the governor asked forsuch a decree, it was never shown to him. Many of the religious ofthe same order, zealous for its welfare, wrote to the governor thatit was advisable for their own order that the friars be withdrawnfrom the hospital. What machinations did they not begin to setin motion because of this deed! What councils did they not holdwith the archbishop! What excommunications did they not heap onthe governor! The newly-appointed chaplain went to the archbishopto get leave to administer the sacraments in the said hospital, but the archbishop steadily refused to give it; nor without thatwould he consider examining the chaplain, as the latter wished. Thearchbishop said that, if there had to be a chaplain, he must beappointed through an open competition--although there is a decreeof his Majesty against this, ruling that the choice of chaplainspertains to the governor alone, and that the person chosen shall goafterward to the ordinary, so that the latter may give him a license toadminister the sacraments. There was more in this than the key of themost holy sacrament at that hospital. The archbishop interposed, andhad the said chaplain ordered, under penalty of major excommunication, not to administer the sacraments or say mass in the said hospital, so that the hospital remained many days without succor. The governorsent his Majesty's fiscal to bring the archbishop to reason, but hecould not do it. And although the royal Audiencia, whither recoursewas had on the plea of fuerza, declared that he had committed thatoffense, not for that would the archbishop soften or change his mind. 

At that time a general visitation of the clergy was ordered, and it iswonderful to see along what rough lines the archbishop conducted it, and what harsh methods he took, so that the remedy was worse than thedisease; he placed the clerics in irons among the negroes and vilepeople, and that not for serious causes. That was a thing that tendedto produce contempt for the priestly estate; and its effect was thatall the clergy, as a body, became thoroughly disgusted, and viewedtheir prelate and shepherd not as a father, but as a severe judge, who treated them very harshly in his language--behavior which theygreatly resented. I will relate to your Grace one instance of this. Iattended the cathedral of this city on Holy Thursday, March 20. I sawon the platform (where the oils had been blessed that morning) thatthe said archbishop was clad in his pontifical robes, and that he hadbeen given the towel for the washing of the feet. The twelve clericswhose feet he was to wash were already barefoot, the gospel had beensaid, everything was ready, and there were many people before him. Ithappened that, because some Indian singers and some one of the clergywere absent, the archbishop began to scold, saying that it was a mostshameless act for anyone to be absent from the cathedral during thatceremony. Then he began to disrobe himself in great wrath and fury, also removing his pontifical ornaments in his anger, and throwing onone side his miter (which fell to the ground), and his towel to theother side. Thus did he continue to lay aside the rest, and with allhaste he went to his own house--leaving the priests barefooted, andwithout washing their feet; and all those present, thunderstruck andamazed, and even scandalized at the sight of so great fury and wrathin a prelate, and during a ceremony that demanded so great humility. 

But to return to our governor; there was no action, howeverinsignificant it may have been, that they did not for it cast calumnyon him. The archbishop and religious drew up a paper with twenty-onequestions, which the archbishop put to the superiors of the religious, in the form of cases of conscience. The questions were prepared withsuch skill that, with the reply that would be given to them, they wouldpresent weapons against the governor. They proceeded to set down on apaper whatever he did, even in matters of the political government, in order to write to his Majesty. That paper certainly twisted thetruth, in many of its statements; and it contained more than sixtyor seventy sections. One of the religious who were concerned in itgave it to the governor. Just consider, your Grace, what a tax onhis patience this would be, and how it would wound him! Furthermore, the paper ended with twenty-five excommunications which the governorwas said to have incurred. Everything was quite ready for the greatestkind of a rupture. 

The archbishop went to visit La Hermita, a district where Master DonAndres Arias Xiron was cura. It was well known that the archbishophad a prejudice against him, on account of various matters thathad occurred between the two, chiefly because Don Andres was anintimate friend of the judge-conservator, Don Fabian Santillan. HisLordship was very harsh with the affairs of the said Don Andres Xiron;and on Saturday, April 26, after the Ave Marias, he ordered him tobe notified of an act by which the archbishop commanded that withinfourteen hours he be taken before a fiscal at a village outside Manila, called Calompite. Don Andres tried to answer that act, but they wouldnot allow him to do so; nor would they give him a copy of the act, which he requested. He claimed that the notification was null and void, because it was made at night; but no attention was paid to that. Seeingthat the whole affair was being conducted with violence, very earlyon the morning of Sunday, April 22, he presented a petition, appealingfrom the said act and claiming the royal aid against fuerza, for whichhe made representations in the royal Audiencia. The latter declared onthe following Monday that the archbishop had employed fuerza againstthe said Don Andres Xiron; and notified the said archbishop of thatdeclaration. On Tuesday, the twenty-fourth of the same month, atthree in the afternoon, the archbishop notified Licentiate Marcos deZapata y Galves--the only auditor of this royal Audiencia, because ofthe death of the others--that he should consider himself as publiclyexcommunicated, because he had meddled in ecclesiastical affairs; andnotices to that effect were placed on the churches. Upon receivingthat notification of excommunication, the auditor Marcos Zapata deGalves made a spirited reply; he alleged the invalid points in theact (which were many), and finally, for greater advantage, appealedto and threatened the royal aid against fuerza. The master Don AndresArias Xiron, inasmuch as he had hidden, was not found, in order to benotified of another excommunication; but he was placed on the listsas publicly excommunicated. On the following Wednesday, April 30, the governor, the auditor Marcos Zapata, his Majesty's fiscal, andthree advocates of the royal Audiencia--namely, Doctor Luis Arias deMora, Licentiate Nicolas Antonio de Omaña, and the auditor ManuelSuarez--met in the royal Audiencia. The auditor Marcos Zapata setforth the manifest violence shown him by the archbishop. The lawyerswere sworn so that they might serve as judges, and they so acted. Theauditor Marcos Zapata leaving the hall, they judged that fuerza wasemployed against him. Without doubt it was so, for the auditor MarcosZapata had not sinned further than in admitting Don Andres Xiron intothe royal Audiencia on his appeal from fuerza. If that were a sin, so also was it to admit the said archbishop, when, in his suit withthe judge-conservator, he appeared before the royal Audiencia witha plea of fuerza. And if Don Andres Xiron incurred excommunicationfor having thus presented himself, the archbishop likewise incurredit when he appeared there. But no consideration was given to this, and the point of fuerza is a stale one in España, and consequently itwas not discussed. The archbishop was notified of a royal provisionissued by Don Phelipe, by which he was ordered to absolve the auditorMarcos Zapata. The archbishop obeyed it, and that afternoon he sentMaster Juan Velez to absolve him. That was done _ad cautelam_; forin truth he did not consider himself as excommunicated, nor did thelearned jurists so consider him. 

Not only was the master Don Andres Xiron not absolved, but new actswere passed against him and new penalties imposed on him. All this wasto prevent his presentation, that the governor had made, for the postof archdeacon of this metropolitan church, because of the resignationof the said post by Don Francisco de Baldes. The archbishop refused toaccept the said master Don Andres Xiron, as he asserted that he washis mortal enemy, and for that purpose he threw out all the rest [ofthe governor's nominations]. He had the prebendaries of the cathedralnotified not to accept Don Andres, under penalty of excommunication, and notified Don Francisco de Baldes to assist in the choir as before, since he was the archdeacon--telling him that his resignation had beeninvalid, as it had been made through the governor and not throughthe ordinary, before whom the resignation of any ecclesiasticalbenefice must be made; but the good man did not heed the archbishopand those who were aiding him. Although it is true, and a matter thathas been settled by law, that the resignation from an ecclesiasticalbenefice in which the incumbent has been canonically installed must bepresented only through the ordinary, yet Don Francisco de Baldes didnot hold the post of archdeacon _in titulum_, but only in charge, anduntil his Majesty should appoint another. Therefore, the resignationfrom it was governed by the same rule as the resignation from otherchaplaincies of the king, who was the one to appoint other incumbentsto them. It is not necessary that those who hold these should maketheir resignation before the ordinary; and this, it seems, is thepractice. For the same object of preventing that presentation, the archbishop exiled Don Andres Xiron, and announced that he wasexcommunicated. But his Majesty likewise orders in a royal decreethat, when the governors should present any persons as prebendaries, the archbishops should accept them, unless they had some objection tooffer to them; but that if any exception were made, then such were notto be accepted--with the proviso that the exception must be proved, and, if it should not be proved, then they must pay damages to the onepresented. Therefore, the archbishop came forward for this purpose, and entered several exceptions before the royal Audiencia againstthe said master Don Andres Xiron. The latter manfully repelled theseaccusations, and purged himself from them all; for at the outset, in reply to a formal accusation with evidence that he had caused amiscarriage, some years before, by ordering a pregnant Indian womanto be whipped, the said master Don Andres Xiron came forward withanother report made by the same judge, in which the witnesses whohad sworn against him retracted their oaths, and declared that theyhad been induced by others to swear; whereupon the judge declared himfree from that calumny. Further, on the part of the archbishop, theyaccused the master Don Andres Xiron of an act of simony; but he gavethe lie to that, as salt dissolves in water, by means of authenticdocuments and reports. They opposed him with other things of lessaccount, but these were not proved, nor was there any witness of them, nor were the accusations completed; they could, therefore, prove ofno harm to him, and he did not have to clear himself. Consequently, the royal Audiencia declared that the archbishop had not proved hisexceptions to the master Don Andres Xiron, who must be admitted intothe archdeaconate, according to the royal patronage. But the archbishoprefused to admit him. Hence the royal Audiencia despatched a royaldecree, issued by Don Phelipe, ordering that Don Andres be admitted, under penalty of [losing] the temporalities and of banishment from thekingdoms. The archbishop was tied to what the religious who sided withhim incited him to, as will be seen from the following letter whichhe wrote to the master Don Joan de Toledo, his provisor, who counseledhim to obey the royal decree, as that was advisable in order to avoidtrouble; and that, if he did not obey, without doubt his exile fromthe kingdoms would be an assured fact. The letter is as follows:

"All that those gentlemen have enacted is in violation of the royalpatronage, and contrary to [the precepts of] God and justice; and, although it comes in the name of the king, I am not under obligationsto obey it, since men so governed by passion have made it. It is lessharmful that I go into exile, and that I suffer, than that so evil apriest enter the cathedral contrary to the will of his Majesty--who, even for but one of the exceptions that I have made, is unwilling thatthe canonical institution be given to him. It is a piece of nonsenseto assert that the cabildo must take charge of the government, for Iam not excommunicated or suspended. Already I have appointed governorsfor the archbishop, and I pray your Grace not to give me any counselin such things, for I do not wish it. It will seem an admirable thing, in Roma and in Madrid, that an archbishop should be exiled in behalfof Don Andres Arias Xiron, who is a person of great importance in thiscommunity. If I shall go, I shall leave the city, so that they shallcome to seek me; and they must not think that I shall do through fearwhat is wrong. Rather will I die twenty deaths. Such is my resolve, and I shall not change it. Accordingly, your Grace may advise them toprepare immediately a ship in which to embark me. I shall not failto have persons who will go with me, and God will defend so just acause and will not permit so great evils and tyrannies, for theseacts have no other name. Perhaps God is permitting this in orderthat some one or some persons may pay for their evil acts--whichGod allows, but not forever. All the community will judge whetherthose actions are justified, and they will write to his Majesty;since those actions stand out so clearly. May our Lord preserve yourGrace many years. From La Hermita, Friday, May 9, 1636. 

_Fray Hernando_, archbishop. 

"In regard to your Grace saying that the king, as sovereign, is ableto give the prebends to whom he likes, even to natives, your Gracecould not have reflected when you wrote that; since his Majesty, beingso Christian and Catholic, is not one to waste the ecclesiasticalproperty, for the purpose of giving it to unworthy men. And you, your Grace, do not you venture to write such words, for they areill-sounding. I shall not go without forbidding the saying of mass, and without hurling a curse, in the name of God and of the Church, on the circumstances and persons who have caused my exile. "

As the archbishop refused to obey the royal decrees, the royalAudiencia had him notified by an act on the morning of May 9, at nineo'clock, that the temporalities were taken from him, and that he wasdeclared an exile from these kingdoms. Then began the trouble. Thearchbishop summoned the religious of all the orders, and notified thefather rector of the Society to go to a meeting with the rest of thereligious. The latter excused himself, for reasons that your Gracewill see in the following letter written to the archbishop:

"Most illustrious sir:

"Licentiate Don Bartolome de Cañedo, coming from outside, hasjust now notified me, at half-past six o'clock, to go to a meetingwhich your most illustrious Lordship is holding with the religiousof our fathers St. Dominic, St. Francis, and St. Nicholas [_i. E. _, the Recollects], who drew up against the Society of Jesus the paperand resolution that your Lordship knows of, and which has not asyet been revoked--as we understand ought to have been done beforethe matter went so far as closing the doors of the church on us, ashappened in Cabite. Consequently, so long as the said paper remainsin force and is not revoked, your Lordship can well understand thatwe are legitimately excused from such meetings, although never fromserving your most illustrious Lordship very willingly and lovingly. "

The resolution made in the meeting with the religious was, that underno circumstances would the archbishop obey the royal decrees, besidesother disorderly things, which continued to happen, and which I shallrelate in their order. 

In the afternoon of that same Friday, the archbishop sent themonstrance with the most holy sacrament to the convent of St. Francis, whence it was carried irreverently in his sleeve by a friar, andtaken to the house of the archbishop. The latter, at nightfall, sent two clerics who had taken the minor orders, to excommunicatethe governor and Auditor Marcos Zapata; the latter, together withhis Majesty's fiscal, were assembled in the tribunal of the royalAudiencia. Seeing things in so great confusion, they ordered theclerical notaries to enter. The latter, upon reaching the tribunal, with wisdom and prudence did not dare to give notice of anything. Inorder not to lose any time, which was fast fleeting, they went firstto the doors of the auditor Marcos Zapata, and commenced to read theexcommunication by the light of a torch. But a soldier, who happenedto be passing along the street, gave the torch a flick with his hat, and extinguished it. They were unable to proceed with the reading, and accordingly went to give an account of events to the archbishop, who was at home with the most holy sacrament and a great number ofreligious of all the orders--except those of the Society, who werenot summoned and who did not go. The archbishop ordered the saidexcommunication against the governor and Auditor Marcos Zapata tobe read at the door of the master-of-camp, Don Lorenzo Olaso. Theywere read, and great bills were posted on the church doors, whichread as follows:

"Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, governor and captain-generalof these islands, and the senior auditor, Marcos Zapata de Galves, will be considered publicly excommunicated, because they prevent theexercise of ecclesiastical justice and the general visitation that isbeing made by his Excellency Don Fray Hernando Guerrero, archbishop ofthese islands. No person shall dare to remove or destroy this paper, under penalty of major excommunication, _late sententie, ipso factoincurrendo una protina canónica monitione premissa_, and a fine ofone thousand Castilian ducados for the Holy Crusade, for those whoviolate the commands herein contained, which penalties they shall beregarded as having forthwith incurred. Given in Manila, on the ninthday of the month of May, one thousand six hundred and thirty-six. 

_Fray Hernando_, archbishop. 

Before me:

_Francisco de la Roca_, notary. "

I am told that an act was issued by the archbishop for the purposeof announcing to the said master-of-camp that he was not to obeythe governor, as the latter was publicly excommunicated. But Ihave been unable to assure myself of the truth of that statement, and consequently, I do not mention it, except with the doubt thatsurrounds it. But, if it were a fact, let your Grace consider whetherthat were an act of mutiny or no. 

The governor had sent a company of soldiers under command of anadjutant of the camp, and the chief constable of the Audiencia, CaptainBartolome Tenorio, with orders to execute the royal decrees and toexpel the archbishop from these kingdoms. The latter was clad in hissurplice, stole, and cope, and was holding the most holy sacrament inhis hands. He was surrounded by the said religious and by a number ofseculars. The chief constable disliked that execution exceedingly, but he was ordered to carry it out under severe penalties, as itpertained to his duty. But, since the archbishop had the most holysacrament in his hands, he could not do so; accordingly, the governorordered it to be done when he should lay the sacrament aside. Threetimes did he send to order the religious, in his Majesty's name, to leave that place, and not to cause that disturbance and scandal, but they refused to obey. Hence the soldiers took them away by mainforce--first requesting them with great courtesy to go away of theirown free will; and, if not, to give them leave to obey the ordersof their superior officers. But the religious asserted that theywould not obey, and that, if they were garroted by the soldiers, theywould be martyrs. The said chief constable declared that, if he didnot obey his orders, he would lose his head, and several thousandducados which had been imposed upon him as a penalty. A religiousreplied to him: "If your Grace should die for this matter, we of allthe orders will give you our signed statement that you have died asa martyr. " The father guardian of St. Francis, Fray Juan de Piña, showed himself to be a great prater--now crying out about the mostholy sacrament, now threatening the soldiers with the wrath of God, now exhorting the archbishop to stand firm; and it is even assertedthat the said father, appearing at the balcony, commenced to callloudly to the inhabitants to come to the aid of their archbishop. Thatappears probable to me, since a religious of St. Dominic, after theconfusion was over, remarked to a resident of Manila, as if chidinghim, that the citizens of Manila were worthless, since they hadnot hastened on that occasion to the aid of their archbishop. Theinhabitants answered as follows: "Father, we are faithful vassalsto the king, and not traitors. " There was a religious who went tothe archbishop and told him to be steadfast, saying that, since thegovernor was excommunicated, most of the infantry would declare inthe archbishop's favor. While the soldiers were busied in clearingthe hall from the religious, it was seen that the whole convent ofSt. Francis was coming in a close procession with lighted candles intheir hands. The soldiers went to meet them, and prevented them frompassing farther, but forced them to return to their convent. Thuscan your Grace see that all the actions of those fathers at that timewere for the purpose of creating confusion and stirring up the people. 

The city seeing that the disturbance was increasing, assembled atthat time in the cabildo houses, and sent commissaries to consultwith the archbishop on the part of the city, and to protest againstthe disturbances and mischief. The commissaries were the castellan, Don Fernando de Ayala, and General Don Joan Claudio, and I think thatthere were two others. Bearing before them the maces of the city, they talked with the archbishop, who was clad in his pontifical robes, and held the most holy sacrament in his hands. But they got nothingout of the archbishop; and taking, by way of testimony, the protestthat had been made to him, they retired. 

Now at that time, namely, at the hour of ten at night, the interdicthaving been rung at the cathedral, and all the orders, without anyexception, having followed it, and ringing the interdict (as theywere obliged to do, in order to follow the metropolitan church), the uproar caused the governor some anxiety. He went out with anescort of soldiers, and gave orders that no one be allowed to go tothe house of the archbishop, in order that there might be no greaterconcourse of the people. The soldiers began to remove the religiousand seculars who surrounded the archbishop, by violence, for theyrefused to go willingly. On going to take away a secular who had holdof the lunette of the monstrance, the most holy sacrament fell to theground, causing a great scandal. The father guardian of St. Francisbegan to call out, and beat himself and fell to the ground. Withthat the infantry, scandalized, began to be more gentle. There wasone soldier who drew his sword, and turned it on himself, crying:"It is finished. " Although he did not kill himself, he was grievouslywounded. Thus wounded, they took him away for treatment, and at thesame time arrested him as a rioter. Some praised that soldier's act, but I think that the devil would have laid hold of him as of Judas, had he died. 

That affair had occupied all of Friday until twelve o'clock;and all that time the bells were ringing the interdict, and thecity was in a great uproar and confusion, which was caused by thereligious. Their purpose seems to have been no other than to arousethe people; and beyond all doubt they would have succeeded in it, had not the fidelity of this city been so great, the infantry sonumerous, and the military discipline so strict. Saturday, May 10, was already dawning; and, at one o'clock at night, the archbishopordered a suspension of divine services, of which all the orders andthe other churches were warned. Thereupon the bells stopped ringing, and the inhabitants were allowed to snatch a little sleep. By thistime most of the people had been driven from the hall where thearchbishop was, some of those who accompanied him leaving him, for he remained steadfast with the most holy sacrament. But now, tired out and overcome, it dropped from his hands; although he againtook it whenever he saw any soldier entering; until in the morning, a Franciscan friar came and put about his neck a reliquary with a beadof St. Joanna, as if the most holy sacrament--the lunette of whichthey fastened with a ribbon to his neck, after removing it from thebase of the monstrance--were not more efficacious. But as that couldnot endure, at last the archbishop grew tired and laid aside the mostholy sacrament. They returned it to the convent of St. Francis, whenceit had been taken, with the same irreverence. The archbishop divestedhimself of the stole and cope, whereupon the infantry took him outsidethe city, and embarked him in a champan which was prepared at a portcalled St. Dominic. With an escort of an adjutant and twelve soldiers, he was taken to the island of Mariveles, opposite and in sight ofthis city, so that they might await the order there, and prepare aship and the necessary supplies to convey him outside these kingdoms. 

The ecclesiastical cabildo assumed the powers of the government, and assembled, and authorized the bishop of Camarines, Don FrayFrancisco de Zamudio, to act as provisor until the bishop of Zebu, Don Fray Pedro de Arze, should be notified, to whom the governmentof this archbishopric belongs by a bull of Paul V. However, it waslearned that he did not care to come to assume the government becauseof his ill health and age; in such case, the government would pertainlegitimately to the said bishop of Camarines. He absolved the governorand the auditor Zapata from the censures _ad cautelam_, for there wereinnumerable invalidities in the censures, as they did not observe thecitations and legal terms. He raised the interdict and the suspensionof church services; and at twelve o'clock at night, at the end ofSaturday and the beginning of the Sunday of the [feast of the] HolyGhost, the cathedral bells were chimed. All the other bells of theorders followed suit; and in the morning the churches were opened, and the divine offices celebrated. Thus passed the three days ofthe feast, while Fray Antonio Gonsalez preached in his convent ofSt. Dominic, uttering a thousand choice things against the governor. 

The governor had appointed Fray Francisco de Paula of the Orderof St. Dominic, a father of St. Augustine, and a Recollect fatheras governors of the archbishopric. Father Fray Francisco de Paula, who had been named in the first place, went to the dean, Don MiguelGarsetas, and other prebendaries of the cabildo, with his paper, inorder to have them admit him as governor. But they did not do so, and it appears that they were right; for it is a common judgmentof theologians and those versed in canonical law that no mendicantreligious can be a provisor or governor of a bishopric; and there isan express prohibition in law to the Friars Minor of St. Francis. 

After the feast of the Holy Ghost, on the following Wednesday, May 14, it appears that the three orders of St. Dominic, St. Francis, and theRecollects, determined to observe the interdict and the suspension ofdivine services. Consequently, they did not open their churches; and, although they opened them later, the altars were draped in mourning, and they did not say mass. On the contrary, they gave out that it wasa mortal sin to hear it, for the interdict and the prohibition to saymass could not be raised. These were observed so strictly that thereligious did not ring their bells at the Ave Marias or at the Animas, as usual, as if that were a prohibited action. That shows that it wasnot devotion but fear, as the other Portuguese said. [78] But I askthose fathers, if it could not be removed, why did they ring theirbells at midnight on Saturday, and why, during the three days of thefeast of the Holy Ghost, the doors of their churches were open whilethey said mass, and celebrated the other divine offices? For to saythat that feast is privileged by law, like Corpus Christi day, wascorrectly stated when there is only an interdict, but not when thereis a suspension of mass--as is the common opinion of the doctors andthe general practice. Thus that is demonstrated; besides which, ifthe cathedral and the other secular churches have lifted the interdictand the suspension of divine services, the religious were obliged tofollow the action of the mother-church, according to a Clementina thathas been cited to me. Thus the fathers of St. Augustine and those ofthe Society acted very prudently, in concurring with the cathedral. 

The royal Audiencia, seeing the schism, and that some of the orderswere observing the interdict and suspension of mass, while others didnot observe them, called a meeting, on the afternoon of May 14, of thesuperiors of the orders. They charged the superiors not to disturb thecommunity, and that all should conform to the mother-church, accordingto their obligations, in harmony with the said Clementina. But therewas nothing that they heeded less than this; and hence proceeded withtheir interdict and suspension of mass. The most amusing thing wasthat they did as they pleased, observing it when they chose to, andnot observing it when it did not suit them. On the afternoon of theeve of St. Bernardine, the fathers of St. Francis rang their bells;and on the morning of the following day they celebrated solemn mass andhad a sermon. A trustworthy person assured me that during that periodone of the Dominican fathers went daily to say mass at the houseof an influential woman, very devoted to him, one Doña Constanza, or that they admitted her into their church to hear it. But perhapsthose fathers had a privilege of observing the interdict and suspensionfrom mass _ad libitum_, and toward what persons they pleased; for atthat same time, they condemned to sin and cast into hell the otherfathers who said mass. But that your Grace may not be surprised thatthat difference should exist between distinct orders, you must knowthat there was a difference of opinion among those of the same Order ofSt. Dominic. For father Fray Diego Collado, superior and vicar-generalof the new congregation of San Pablo--who by the aid of the seculararm had already taken possession of the convents assigned him byhis general, namely, those of the Parián, Binondoc, the hospital, and Cabite--drew up for his general a document which proved that theorders ought to conform to the mother-church and raise the interdictand the suspension from mass, as the mother-church had raised them. Hesent that paper to the fathers of his order at Manila, telling themthat, so that they should not imagine that he was trying to oppose andcontradict them in everything, he was conforming with them for two orthree days, and was keeping the interdict and suspension from mass;but that now he was thinking of doing so no longer, but of conformingwith the cathedral. Hence from that moment he ordered the bells to bechimed in all his convents, and the divine offices celebrated. However, finally, at noon of Tuesday, May 20, the three orders of St. Dominic, St. Francis, and the Recollects rang their bells most joyously;for until then they had observed the interdict and suspension frommass. Some of them being asked why they rang their bells, repliedthat the archbishop sent them permission from the island of Maribeles, where he was detained, to raise the interdict and the suspension frommass. Surely, sir, I do not understand this, nor do I understandthose fathers, nor do I know what they are desiring and attemptingin affairs of this sort. 

The archbishop remained in the said island of Maribeles with theadjutant and soldiers above mentioned, awaiting his despatch. Threeprebendaries of the cathedral--namely, the precentor, Don GregorioRuiz Descalona, the canon, Don Juan de Ledo, and the canon, DonPedro de Quesada--asked permission of the governor to take him somerefreshment, and to go to visit him in his trouble. The permissionthat they asked was given them, and they went. While they were there, the prior of the Indian village of Maribeles, a Recollect friar, arrived. With him occurred the quarrel that your Grace will gatherfrom the following letter written from the island of Maribeles tothe governor by the adjutant, Don Diego de Herrera. 

"Sir:

"The prior of Maribeles made great efforts to come to this islandto see the archbishop; but I did not allow him to come until yourLordship sent the order by the prebendaries. Notwithstanding the ordersent by your Lordship, had I known the intent of that religious, Iwould not have allowed him to come. He came here at eight o'clock onTuesday evening. The first thing that he did was to ask the infantrywhy they subjected themselves to the mandates of a man, and did notobey the mandates of God. I was angered, and told him not to talklike that, and that the members of his order are commanded, underpenalty of obedience, to perform certain duties; and that we in ourturn are like religious, and are under penalty of our life and of[being denounced as] traitors. The prior said that, if the religiouswere garroted, his Holiness would publish them as martyrs. Then hebegan to cry out to the archbishop not to subject himself to anyone, for if he submitted now, he would be ordered on the following day toput his head in the stocks. Then the precentor and the others tookpart in the discussion, and began to treat him as he deserved. Theysummoned me to tell the archbishop not to be guided by what thatfather told him, and that I might cause his Lordship to see how illhe was advised, and that submission was not damaging to his Lordship(for the decree was issued in the name of the king, our sovereign), and the troubles that he could cause. Your Lordship will not care toknow more, than that the prebendaries brought a letter from a religiousof St. Dominic for the archbishop. It said that he should refrain fromexecuting the [governor's] mandate, and that all would follow him, even should not a single order be left in that city. The precentoropened it, and on seeing its contents tore it to pieces. He willrelate everything to your Lordship. The reason that these gentlemenhave not gone to that city is that, in the first order given me byyour Lordship, I am ordered not to allow the archbishop to write tothe government; and in this letter that these gentlemen brought me, your Lordship does not order me to allow him to write, but that I allowthem to talk and communicate to him as much as they wish. Consequently, I have done that. The archbishop gave two powers of attorney beggingthat the execution of the royal decrees that have been issued againsthim be suspended in the royal Audiencia, saying that he is ready toobey and observe them. These were given to the precentor, to Don Pedrode Quesada, to father Fray Francisco de Paula, and to the Recollectdefinitor, as your Lordship will see when they are presented. Thereis nothing else to write your Lordship, except that may God preserveyour Lordship long years in more important stations. From this island, today, Wednesday, May 14, 1636. Your Lordship's most humble servant, _Don Diego de Herrera_"

The said prebendaries consoled the archbishop, whom they foundrepentant over his disobedience of the royal decrees. Accordingly, hegranted them authority to present themselves in the royal Audiencia, to make in his name declaration to the effect that he would obeythe royal decrees, and to ask that they should not proceed fartherin exiling him from these kingdoms. The prebendaries came to Manila, and petitioned in the royal Audiencia in the said archbishop's name, heoffering to obey the royal decrees. A copy of the petition was given tohis Majesty's fiscal, and his answer was that the archbishop could bebrought back to the kingdoms by the one who had exiled him from them. 

Wednesday, May 21, the governor called a meeting of lawyers; and, according to what I have been told, most of them delivered as theiropinion that the archbishop, although exiled, could still remaingovernor of the archbishopric, but no mendicant religious could actthus, as they were prohibited by law. And since there was no one leftbut religious, it was as if he had not left them; and the cabildoand the bishop of Camarines, to whom the cabildo gave their votes, were governing legally. Other matters were discussed in that meeting, of which I shall take no notice. 

Monday, the twenty-fifth of the same month of May, the archbishop'sagents brought forward another petition, urging his restorationmore forcibly, and offering to obey the royal decrees--especially byadmitting Don Andres Arias Xiron to the arch deaconship and to thechaplaincy of the royal hospital for its administration, which hadbeen the cause of the suits and quarrels. The royal Audiencia receivedhis promise, and ordered him to return to his archbishopric. Then theroyal Audiencia having reported to the governor, who was in Cabite, thegovernor replied, congratulating them on their decision. Accordingly, he signed, very willingly and gladly, the decree which the Audienciahad despatched for that restoration. The decree was sent to the islandof Maribeles, where the archbishop was; and at the same time an orderwas given to the adjutant and soldiers to bring the archbishop back toManila. They did so, and he entered his archiepiscopal house on themorning of Friday, June 6. There he was visited by all the orders, and many other people, and great happiness reigned at seeing the endof those suits. May God grant that the peace last. May He preserveyour Grace, as this your true friend and servant [79] desires. Manila, June 15, 1636. 

REQUEST FOR JESUIT MISSIONARIES

Sire:

The Order of the Society of Jesus is serving your Majesty with greatlove, without ever refusing to do what is asked from them in your royalname--not only as chaplains for the galleons, but for the forts, themissions, and whatever else is entrusted to them. They do not objectwhen it is necessary to decrease their stipends somewhat; for they arevassals in both good and ill treatment. They do not receive members inthese islands, for those who are of excellent ability are very rare;and, as your Majesty knows, they readily dismiss those who do notwalk on the highway and heed the royal law. [80] For this reason yourMajesty's governor is relieved in his conscience, whenever he asksfor any member of that order, to occupy him in your royal service;for the governor has no need of investigating or inquiring intothe qualifications of the religious given him, for the superior hasconsidered them thoroughly, and they know the intention to change themwhen advisable. This relief for the governor is not enjoyed with all[the orders]. Consequently, I petition your Majesty, in all humilityand reverence, to be pleased to have these islands furnished withsubjects of this order from España, to the number that your Majestycan send from it, and fewer from the other orders. Your Majesty will beserved, and God our Lord also. I assure your Majesty, as a good vassal, that neither prepossession nor prejudice influences me to make thisreport, but the belief that I am thereby discharging the obligationsof my conscience. May our Lord preserve the Catholic person of yourMajesty in its greatness, as is needful to Christendom. Cavite, June 19, 1636. Your Majesty's vassal kisses your feet, _Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera_

LETTER FROM THE BISHOP OF NUEVA CACERES TO FELIPE IV

Sire:

We vassals and servants of your Majesty, who behold ourselves so farfrom your presence and in so remote districts in these FilipinasIslands, are ever desirous of knowing of your Majesty's health, which may God our Lord give you for many years; and in much greatertroubles we declare with the holy king Josias: _Cum ignoremus quidagne debeamus hoc solum residum havemus ut oculos nostros dirigamus_, etc. This remedy alone is left us, namely, to turn our eyes toward yourMajesty, as to our natural lord and sovereign; indeed there is greatneed that your Majesty apply with your powerful hand that remedy thatis necessary in the affairs in these islands that are happening withthe archbishop of this city of Manila, and the orders of St. Dominic, St. Francis, and the Recollects of St. Augustine. They, irritatedbecause Don Sevastian Hurtado de Corcuera, who is now governingthese islands, has restrained them and limited their excesses, haveunited with the said archbishop, and have endeavored to impair his[_i. E. _, the governor's] Christian actions directed to the serviceof God our Lord and of your Majesty, and the increase of your royaltreasury. They preach in the pulpit things unworthy of that place, trying to seduce the citizens, both in that place and in their houses, irritating them and making them restless, and disturbing the peace andquiet of the community. They cause innumerable scandals, by reportingwhich I might enlarge this letter to great details. In fact, Sire, they are trying to make themselves masters of the spiritual andtemporal. In all the provinces of these islands they live so absolutemasters of all things that they do not recognize your Majesty. Forthey say openly in their missions that they are kings and popes. Theyhold the Indians so subject, and have such control of the wills of thealcaldes-mayor in their districts that the latter neither administerjustice nor can do more than the religious wish. And if, perchance, they exceed that, the religious impeach them, and try to discreditthem. They live without God, without king, and without law. Forthem there are neither bulls of his Holiness nor decrees of yourMajesty, nor Council of Trent or of Mexico; nor do they recognizeany bishop; for, even in regard to the administration of sacraments, they say that the bishop is not their prelate. Without his consentthey confess and marry, although they are not curas. In short, theylive as they please, and there is no further law than their ownwills. They are more notorious traders than those who are tradersby profession. Their only efforts are to increase their convents, taking away from the bishops the benefices and patrimonies whichyour Majesty has given them. In such condition do they keep theseislands that I have considered it advisable to come to this city andto leave my bishopric of Caçeres. I am resolved not to return to it, while there should be any discalced Recollect Franciscan friars, fortheir life is not that of religious. Those sheep are at my account;and I can but poorly instruct them, if whatever I build for them inone part is destroyed for them in another. They [_i. E. _, the friars]are a mischief-making folk; and although I know that Don Fray HernandoGuerrero does not possess the talent that he ought to have for theposition which he occupies, I consider it beyond doubt that if thefriars had not perverted him by their ambition and haughtiness, hewould not have committed so many blunders, nor would he have givencause that through them the royal Audiencia of your Majesty wouldpronounce him an exile from your kingdoms, banishing him for somedays to an island six leguas from Manila. But as the governor haslearned that his sin was one of ignorance, and that he was carriedaway so greatly by the prejudices of the orders, who have advised himto what has not been for his good, the governor has contrived to havethe said royal Audiencia, in the exercise of kindness and clemency, return the archbishop to his church--as, in fact, has been done. Itwas the act of a Christian gentleman; for not only has he not paidany attention to the annoyances that they have caused him, but, justas if he had received many acts of kindness from the said archbishop, he has given him prudent counsels, directed to his peace and to theservice of God and of your Majesty. I fear lest they will prove ofno use to him, for the religious are disturbing and disquieting him. 

In order to visit the friars of my bishopric, which the religiousthere would not permit, it was needful to seek the aid of your Majestyfrom your governor. He gave me a dozen soldiers with a corporal, sothat they might guard my person; and yet the friars refused to let mevisit them _de moribus et vita_ [81]--saying that they knew of no royaldecrees, bulls of his Holiness, or decrees of councils, that treat ofthe matter, and they shut the doors of the churches against me. Letyour Majesty judge whether I have courage to return to my bishopric, among such people. They have tried to kill me, and God does notoblige me to go there, since I know what they will do, and that such acourse would place me in danger. So many lawless acts in men who saythat they profess religion are worthy of correction. This is hopedfrom your Majesty as soon as possible; for, if it be delayed long, I doubt whether these islands can be saved. For there is no measurethat the governor enacts for your Majesty's service that they do notresist and oppose _in toto_. The most effective method that I find forcutting roots that produce so evil fruit is to deprive the religiousof their missions, and send virtuous seculars to serve these in theirstead. May God put His hand to the work, so that so many disordersmay be driven out. May He preserve your Majesty in your greatness forthe many years that Christendom needs. Manila, June 20, 1636. YourMajesty's humble chaplain and servant, who kisses your hands, _Fray Francisco_, bishop of Cazeres. [82]

LIST OF PROMINENT ECCLESIASTICS IN MANILA AND THE ISLANDS

_Memorial on the state of the ecclesiastical cabildo of this cathedralof Manila, and the dignities which are subject to his Majesty'sappointment; and the persons who are serving them in the meantimeby appointment of the governor, and their qualifications, origin, and ages. _

The dean is named Don Miguel Garsetas. He is a native of Toledo, andcame to these islands more than thirty-eight years ago. He is not agraduate. He was given the deanery, to serve _ad interim_ after thedeath of Licentiate Francisco Gomez Arellano, and your Majesty favoredhim with a confirmation thereof. He is more than sixty years of age. 

The archdeaconry was held from your Majesty by Don Alonso Garcia deLeon; and at his death the governor gave it to Juan Mre to serveit _ad interim_. On the death of this said person it was given toDon Francisco Valdes, who likewise served it _ad interim_. He isa secular ecclesiastic. He placed his resignation in the hands ofGovernor Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera because--I would rathernot admit it--of a very serious simony; as it has now been wellestablished that Master Don Andres Arias Giron, claimant of the saidarchdeaconry, promised the said Don Francisco de Valdes five hundredpesos of income to make the said resignation, as he did. Thereuponthe said governor gave the appointment as archdeacon to the said DonAndres Arias Giron, on account of the latter's illegal negotiationsand gifts--on which account I came to be exiled from the kingdom, and fined two thousand ducados, because I would not give the collationinside of an hour. He was excommunicated and posted on the bulletin, [83] as a result of his visitation which I conducted; and there weremany very ugly accusations to prove against him, which had been broughtup in court. He has now admitted that he is not archdeacon, becausethe collation was given him by a judge thrust into that office, forI had left my vicar-general and two ecclesiastical governors whom Ihad appointed. He sent, while on his deathbed, asking me to give himthe collation for the said archdeaconry; but I did not do so becauseit is not expedient, according to the opinion of learned men. Fromthis it follows that the stipend from the royal treasury ought notto be paid him; and, if it is collected, your Majesty may commandthat it be returned from his property to the royal treasury. 

The office of precentor was held for your Majesty by an honored secularecclesiastic named Santiago de Castro, who died a number of yearsago. Since that time it has been served _ad interim_ by four others, with appointments from the governors. He who serves it at present(likewise _ad interim) _is named Master Don Gregorio Ruiz de Escalona, who came to this country with his father (who was your Majesty'streasurer) as a boy, and studied in these islands, graduating as amaster of arts. He is a good student, and is thirty-two years of age. 

The office of school-master was, on the death of the man who heldit, given by your Majesty to a secular ecclesiastic, Don Alonso deCampos, who was in Nueva España and had lived many years in theseislands. Although authority was sent for the members of the cabildoto take possession for him, they would not give it to him because inthe foundation of the church it was decreed that candidates for thesedignities must be graduates. Although the said Don Alonso de Camposprocured a decree from your Majesty dispensing with the said act offoundation for this time, the cabildo would not receive him even then, although he sent a second power of attorney. They accepted a man who isfilling the office by appointment from the governor of these islands, who is named Don Fabian de Santillan. Not only is he not graduated, but he is ignorant and lawless; and for his excesses while a canon_ad interim, _ he was excommunicated, and kept out of the cabildofor four months. Although he has no qualifications for the dignity, and is serving merely _ad interim_, contrary to the fundamental ruleof the church, he was accepted as judge-conservator by the fathers ofthe Society, and proceeded in the manner of which I have advised yourMajesty. He is a creole of this country, and his ancestors came toserve Governor Don Francisco Tello, formerly of these islands. He isonly present in the choir on rare occasions; and he it is who causesall the hard feelings, misunderstandings, and quarrels in the cabildo, losing the respect of all its members, as well as mine. He is aboutthirty-four years old, more or less. 

The treasurership was held for your Majesty by Thomas de Guimarano, and on his death the governor gave it to Don Juan de Achoteguy Olaso, as a favor, for he is an uncle of the master-of-camp. He is serving_ad interim_, contrary to the fundamental rule of the church; forhe is not only not graduated, but hardly knows Latin, and has noability which would make him capable of being a dignitary, or even forbeing a member of the cabildo. He came from España with his nephew, the master-of-camp. He must be about thirty-four years of age, moreor less. 

The first canonry is held for your Majesty by Juan de Miranda Salazar, through the death of Don Juan Valentin. He has served in the churchmore than thirteen years, and is a very good singer. He is not agraduate, although he knows Latin and has studied, having been forsome years steward of the cathedral; and he has acquitted himselfvery well. He is a native of Nueva España, and came to this countryas a boy. He is about fifty years old. 

The second canonry, on the death of the man who held it, was given byyour Majesty's favor to Don Francisco de Valdes, who would not acceptit, as he was serving _ad interim_ in the dignity of archdeacon, which he held for some years. He is the secular ecclesiastic whoresigned the said archdeaconry to the governor, as I have said above, for the reasons mentioned. This canonry is being served by him _adinterim_ through nomination by the former governor, Don Juan Cerezo, who came to govern _ad interim_. He is not a graduate, although heknows Latin, and is an honored and exemplary ecclesiastic. He was thisyear made steward of this cathedral, and is acting satisfactorily. Heis fifty-six years old. 

The third canonry was held for your Majesty by Doctor Juan MreBriseño, and on account of his death two or three have served it_ad interim_. At present it is being served likewise in the samemanner, through appointment by Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera, byBachelor Don Pedro de Quesada, son of the auditor Quesada, who diedin Mexico. He came to this city with his brother Don Juan de Quesada, fiscal of your Majesty. He is a canonical lawyer, and for this reasonI have appointed him as our provisor and vicar-general. He is aboutthirty-two years of age. 

The fourth canonry, which was served by Thomas de Guimarano, and wasleft vacant when your Majesty favored him with the treasurership, was last year discontinued, in accordance with what your Majestyordered me by his royal decree. 

The first racion that your Majesty has confirmed and granted arrivedlast year for Master Don Gregorio Ruiz de Escalona. He did not useit, as he is serving the precentorship _ad interim_, as I have saidabove. The said racion is being served _ad interim_ by Pablo Rodriguez, a fine singer, who has served in this church many years, and is ofgreat service here. He is a Portuguese, and is about sixty years old. 

The second entire racion your Majesty had granted to Juan de MirandaSalazar, and it became vacant when he was promoted to the canonry, as I have said above. At present it is being served _ad interim_by Bachelor Diego de Gastetu, who came from Nueva España in searchof his father (who is in this city, and is a regidor here). He hasstudied here, and is about twenty-nine years of age. 

The first media-racion has never been filled by your Majesty, and the governors have made appointments to it. It has been heldby many different persons, and at present is served _ad interim_ byBachelor Luis de La Calle, who is ordained as reader on the gospel side[_del evangelio_]. He was born in this city, of an honorable family, and graduated as a bachelor of arts. He is a virtuous and exemplaryyouth, and serves punctually in the cathedral. He is twenty-threeyears of age. 

The second media-racion has been served by many persons, with thegovernors' appointments, and at present is served _ad interim_by Pedro Flanio, who came to this country as a soldier, studied inthe college of the Society, and is already a priest and bachelor ofarts. He is about thirty-five years of age. 

_Fray Hernando_, archbishop of Manila. 

_Memorial on the honored and able ecclesiastics in these islands, furnished in case your Majesty should be pleased to have removedfrom the cathedral those who are serving ad interim contrary toits fundamental rule, and who have not qualifications, so that yourMajesty may name others in their places. _

Licentiate Don Pedro de Monrroy, a learned man and an exemplarygentleman, is known to be from Badajoz. In the time of my predecessorhe was provisor and vicar-general, and commissary of the crusade forfour years, acquitting himself very well. During my time he has beenprovisor and vicar-general one year, and would have been that stillif Governor Don Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera had not disturbed him;for there is no one of more ability, or longer in service, or more fitfor the said office, and for any dignity of the cathedral whatsoever. 

Doctor Juan Ochoa de Arriola is a very learned ecclesiastic, andan excellent preacher. In his graduation as doctor, he made veryevident his great competency and ability. He obtained the curacyof the port of Cavite (which is one of the best hereabout) in acompetitive examination, in which he was opposed by very learned menand masters. He might honor the cathedral with his person and learning, if your Majesty would grant him the favor. 

Master Don Juan Fernandez de Ledo is a learned man and a goodpreacher. He served the canonry _ad interim_ in the cathedral, andit was taken from him last year because the one which he was servinghappened to be the one which was suppressed. Last year he was provisorand vicar-general, and deserves that your Majesty should honor himwith a place in the cathedral. 

Master Juan de Velez is a learned man and a very good preacher. Heis at present proprietary curate of the cathedral, which place heobtained in competition. 

Master Francisco Martinez de Paz is a learned, virtuous, and exemplaryman, and knows the language of the Tagal natives of this province. Helately obtained the living of Lobo and Galban in competition, as heis a good minister. 

Master Pablo de Avalos is a learned and exemplary man. He last yearobtained in competition the benefice of Santo Thomas, which is anallotment of Tagal Indians, as he knows their language very well. 

Licentiate Don Juan de los Cobos is a learned and exemplary man, who has been six years governor of the bishopric of Nueva Caceres, _sede vacante_, where he acquitted himself well, and is today chaplainof the royal college of Santa Potenciana. 

Licentiate Manuel Rabelo is a learned man, and is a very good preacherin Spanish and in three native languages, each different from theother. He has the benefice of the district of Tabuco, as he is aswell acquainted with the Tagal language as are the Indians themselves;and he is loved by them, because he treats them with gentleness. 

Licentiate Juan de Arguijo Plata has long been versed in canon law, and had experience in this country; he has been for many years thefiscal-promoter of this archbishopric, and has been so often before. 

Bachelor Amaro Diaz is a very virtuous and exemplary ecclesiastic, well liked by all, and trustworthy in any office. 

Bachelor Diego Donoso, chaplain of this royal Audiencia, is a learnedman and well liked. 

Licentiate Don Bartolome de Cañedo is master crossbearer. 

Master Josef Cabral is a learned man, a preacher, and well versed inthe Tagal language. He has the benefice of the district of Balayan, which he obtained in competition. He is much liked by the Indians, as he treats them with love and gentleness. 

_Fray Hernando_, archbishop of Manila. 

_The year 1636. Memorial of the dignities and other prebends of thecabildo of this cathedral of Manila; and of those which are confirmedin order to be served ad interim. _

The dean is named Don Miguel Garzetas. He came to these islandsthirty-eight years ago, and is more than sixty-six years old. Heis a graduate in no branch of learning. He is a good ecclesiastic, and is present in the choir whenever his health permits. He has yourMajesty's confirmation for the said dignity. At present he has enjoyedit ten years, more or less. 

The archdeacon is named Master Don Andres Arias Giron. He has beenthe stone of offense in this city, through his empty pretensions, trusting to the fact that he has thirty thousand pesos, which heacquired--quite unscrupulously, as is publicly known--in profitsfrom Indians where he held benefices. He is a creole of this country, thirty-four years of age. Although he has the title of master of arts, it was given to him more through his schemes than for his learning. Hehas been an evil example with his licentious mode of life, for he is ofkin with the Biscayans, who have the most power in this country. Abouttwo months ago the governor gave him the appointment of archdeacon, although the dignity was not vacant. They exiled me from the kingdomand condemned me to two thousand ducados fine, because I would not givethe collation, he being at the time excommunicated. It was given to himby an unauthorized judge, while I was exiled and had left governorsfor the archbishopric. I am certain that the master of the schools, who is investigating it for the cabildo, will inform your Majesty ofthis in a very distorted way; for he is a great friend to the said DonAndres Giron, and gave him entertainment and presents when he exercisedthe duties of judge-conservator, and they did not leave each other'sside. He cannot enjoy the income which your Majesty gives him fromyour royal treasury with a good conscience, for I have not given himcanonical investiture; nor can it be given or confirmed, conformably toclause seven of the royal act of patronage; for he is guilty of manygrave misdeeds, which will be presented in the royal Council. Rather, he is deserving of punishment; for he brought this commonwealth to theverge of ruin, as will appear from the relations and other information. 

The precentor is named Master Don Gregorio Ruiz de Escalona. Heis a learned and exemplary man, a son of your Majesty's treasurer, Juan Ruiz de Escalona, who died, and brother of the treasurer whonow fills the place, Don Baltasar de Escalona. He is thirty-threeyears of age, and came from España while a boy, with his parents. Hehas served in this cathedral for ten years as a medio-racionero, anentire canon, and master of school. At present he has been precentorfor about a year and a half, all the time _ad interim_, until thisyear the confirmation of the prebend which he held arrived. He is agood preacher and has ability; and your Majesty should favor him withsome of the dignities for his virtue, learning, and exemplary life. 

The schoolmaster is named Don Fabian de Santillan. He is a creole ofthis country, and is thirty-six years of age, more or less. While hewas chaplain to Don Juan Niño de Tavora, formerly governor of theseislands, a canonry became vacant and was given to him. He has studiedno branch of learning, except Latin; and if he knew that well itwould not be so bad. While he was a canon he was suspended from thecabildo for four months, on account of his licentious life and evilexample. He has lost the respect of the dignitaries on every hand, for his arrogance. He was given the said dignity a year and a halfago, by the intercession of Licentiate Marcos Zapata de Galvez, the auditor, as the latter was under obligation to his relativesand sisters--contrary to the fundamental rule of the church, whichcommands that they should be graduated. He exercised the office ofjudge-conservator, in which he insulted me, and posted me on thecorners as excommunicated within twenty-four hours. He had not beenrecognized as judge, nor presented papers for it, as will appear fromthe information which was sent in regard to this. 

The treasurer is named Don Juan de Achotequi y Olaso. He is the uncleof the master-of-camp, and is ignorant and of little ability. Hewas given the said dignity contrary to the fundamental rule of thechurch, which commands that he should be a graduate. He came fromEspaña about ten years ago, and is about thirty-six years of age. Hemerits no dignity. He has no confirmation from your Majesty, havingenjoyed the place three years, and having been first canon. 

The first canon, who has served longest in the church, is named Juande Miranda Salazar, who came from Mexico while he was a boy. He hasstudied nothing but Latin. He was a prebendary several years, and fornine years has been a canon. This year he received the confirmationof your Majesty. He is a very good singer, and exemplary of life; hehas been many years steward of the cathedral, and has attended to thisvery well. As having served so long in the said church, he deservesthat your Majesty should favor him. He is forty-four years old. 

The second canon is named Don Pedro de Quesada. He is a graduate incanon and civil law. He came from Mexico with his brother Doctor DonJuan de Quesada, who was fiscal of the Audiencia about seven yearsago. He is about thirty-four years of age, more or less, and hasserved the said canonry more than six years. He is a learned man, and might be favored with some dignity. He has no confirmation. 

The third canon is named Pedro de Rivera. He is more than sixty yearsold. Don Juan Cereço, who came as governor _ad interim_, brought himwith him as his chaplain, and when he was done with that office, gave him the canonry. He has not had it confirmed, as he has notenjoyed it much more than two years. He signs himself "Bachelor, "although this is a misrepresentation. 

The fourth canon is named Master Don Juan Fernandez de Ledo. Hecame when a boy from Nueva España, and is a learned man and a goodpreacher. At present he is exercising the duties of provisor; andhis father, Doctor Don Juan Fernandez de Ledo, holds the office offiscal in the royal Audiencia _ad interim_, owing to the death ofthe proprietor. He is thirty years old, and was given the canonry alittle more than a year and a half ago. It is not confirmed. 

The first racionero is named Pablo Rodriguez. He is a Portuguese, andhas been many years in this city. He is a very good singer, and servesvery well in the choir. He is about seventy years old, and has enjoyedthe racion more than seventeen years, without its being confirmed. 

The second racionero is named Diego de Veas [_sic_]. He came to thiscountry as a soldier, about nine years ago, and is about twenty-eightyears of age. He is a bachelor of arts, and was given the racionabout a year ago by an exchange which he made with the man who held it. 

The first medio-racionero is named Pedro Flanio. He came as a sailorto this country fourteen years ago, and is about thirty-four yearsof age. He is a bachelor of arts, and has held the media-racion fora little more than two years. It is not confirmed. 

The second medio-racionero is named Luis de la Calle. He is a creoleof this country, and is ordained as reader on the epistle side. Heis graduated a bachelor of arts, and is a virtuous and exemplaryyouth. He exchanged with the person who held this media-racion, fora chaplaincy. He is twenty-two years of age, and has served a littlemore than two months. 

_Memorial of the deserving and honored ecclesiastics in this city, besides those mentioned by the cabildo, so that your Majesty may beinformed in regard to them and can favor them. They are as follows:_

Licentiate Don Pedro de Monroy, a lawyer, was provisor and sub-delegateof the crusade for four years, in the time of our predecessor, DonFray Miguel Garcia. When I entered into the government last year, as he was the most worthy I gave him the office of provisor andvicar-general--which he was obliged to leave because of GovernorDon Sebastian Hurtado de Corcuera; for that gentleman was anxiousfor it, and we had a great many disputes over it. He ordered thatDon Pedro should not be allowed to go in or come out through thegates of the city; and the judge-conservator made some accusationsagainst him which obliged him to conceal himself and retire, later, to the convent of the Dominicans, entering disguised, in the habitof a Franciscan. He is a very exemplary clergyman, of good life. Mypredecessor informed your Majesty of his abilities and excellentconduct. It would greatly please me if your Majesty would order bya royal decree that he be restored to the office of provisor andvicar-general, which [he holds] by my consecration (which is theonly one adequate for the said office), and as there is no one elsewho can fill his place in these islands. I do not dare to do this, for the governor would oppose it, and we would have many disputes;and Don Pedro has suffered many hardships for defending the immunityof the church. 

This city contains another grave and learned ecclesiastic, who iscalled Licentiate Don Francisco Montero Saavedra, who has been visitorfor several bishoprics, and cura of the cathedral of Cebu. I senthim to Goa in the month of December past with two other religious, in his own boat, in order to give an account to his Holiness and toyour Majesty of the grievances and affronts which have been offeredme by the judge-conservator who was appointed by the fathers of theSociety. He must have already arrived at your court, and deservesthat your Majesty should favor him for his great ability, and for thetrouble which he has taken in returning [to Europe] for the affairsof the church. 

The third is named Master Juan de Veles, who is curate of thiscathedral of Manila. He is a learned man and a good preacher, andexemplary in his mode of life. For two years he has been judge ofwills and chaplaincies. He sent his papers approved. 

The fourth is named Licentiate Don Juan de los Cobos. He has beengovernor of the archbishopric of Nueva Caceres for ten years, andhas acquitted himself well in what was entrusted to him. At presenthe has just finished visiting the districts of the clergy in thisarchbishopric. 

The fifth is named Bachelor Amaro Diaz, who is a very virtuousecclesiastic, of so exemplary and moral life that no one is more so;and he can be trusted in any matter whatever. 

The sixth is named Gabriel de Muxica Buitran. He is an ecclesiasticwho has been here long, and is rather aged. He is very exemplary, learned in archives, and very retiring. 

The seventh is named Don Pedro Enriquez de Artosa. He is a gentleman, and has attended lectures in arts and theology. He is an exemplaryecclesiastic, and is well liked in this city on account of hischaracter. 

The eighth is named Don Bartolome de Cañedo. He is the son of one ofthe conquerors who served your Majesty many years in these islands. Heis a prominent and estimable man and has attended lectures in artsand theology. He is at present my crossbearer [in processions]. 

The ninth is named Licentiate Manuel Rabelo. He has been long in thiscountry, and is a learned man and a good preacher. On account of hisqualifications he has obtained the best benefices which have beenassigned; and at present has the district of Tabuco, twelve leguasfrom this city. 

The tenth is named Don Diego de Velasco. He has studied arts andtheology, and is the nephew of the most deserving, exemplary, andhonored ecclesiastic that we have had in this cathedral--who wasprovisor for a number of years, and schoolmaster, and distributedall his property among pious works. He was named Don Miguel de Velazco. 

_Fray Hernando_, archbishop of Manila. 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DATA

The following documents are obtained from MSS. --except No. 2, whichis printed--in the Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla:

1. _Manila treasury accounts_. --"Simancas--Secular; Audiencia deFilipinas; cartas y espedientes del gobernador de Filipinas vistosen el Consejo; años 1629 á 1640; est. 67, caj. 6, leg. 8. "

2. _Letter from Andres del Sacramento_. --The same as No. 1. 

3. _Letter from commissary-general_. --The same as No. 1. 

4. _Discussion regarding Portuguese trade_. --"Simancas--Secular;Audiencia de Filipinas; cartas y espedientes de personas secularesde Filipinas vistos en el Consejo; años 1635 á 1642; est. 67, caj. 6, leg. 41. "

5. _Military services of Filipinos_. --The same as No. 4. 

6. _Request for Jesuit missionaries_. --The same as No. 1, save thedates, "1629 á 1637. "

7. _Letter from Zamudio_. --"Simancas--Secular; Audiencia de Filipinas;cartas y expedientes de los obispos sufraganes de Manila; años 1579á 1679; est. 68, caj. 1, leg. 34. "

8. _List of ecclesiastics_. --"Simancas--[Eclesiastico?]; Audienciade Filipinas; cartas y expedientes del arzobispo de Manila; años 1579á 1690; est. 68, caj. 1, leg. 32. "

The following documents are taken from the "Cedulario Indico" in theArchivo Historico Nacional, Madrid:

9. _Royal decrees_, 1633-35. --"Tomo 39, fols. 209, 196b, 197b, 201b, 203b, 213b, 214, 217b. "

10. _Tenure of encomiendas_. --"Tomo 32, fol. 276b. "

The following documents are obtained from MSS. In the Academia Realde la Historia, Madrid:

11. _Letter of consolation_. --"Papeles de los Jesuitas, tomo 84, no. 20. "

12. _Letter from a citizen of Manila_. --The same as No. 11, except"no. 42. "

The following document is obtained from a MS. In the BibliotecaNacional, Madrid:

13. _Memorial by Monfalcon_. --"Tomo de papeles varios, impresos yMSS. Relativos á Indias; Aa--47. "

The following document is taken from _Recopilación de leyes de Indias_:

14. _Laws regarding navigation and commerce_. --In lib. Ix, tit. Xxxxv. 

The following documents are taken from Pastells's edition of Colin's_Labor evangélica_:

15. _Opinion of Council and decree_. --Vol. Iii, pp. 755, 756. 

16. _Letter from Pedro de Arce_. --The same as No. 15, but pp. 796, 797. 

The following document is taken from Diaz's _Conquistas de las IslasFilipinas_:

17. _Conflicts between civil and ecclesiastical authorities_. --Inpp. 323-343. 

NOTES

[1] A note to this law in the _Recopilación_ says that the prohibitionof reciprocal commerce between Perú and Nueva España for naturalproducts, and with various limitations, was raised by a decree ofJanuary 20, 1774. 

[2] Título xxii is entitled: "Of the captain-general of artillery, the artillerymen-in-chief, and others of the war and trading fleets;the artillery, arms, and ammunition. " It consists of forty-eight laws. 

[3] The above law refers to lib. Viii, tit. Xvi, ley xvii, which readsas follows: "We order that the valuation of Chinese merchandise bemade in Nueva España, in the same way as the merchandise which issent from these kingdoms, observing in it the ordinances that havebeen established. After it has been made, it shall be remitted tothe bureau of accounts of Méjico, so that it may make the account, and give certifications of what must be collected, and from whatpersons. " The law is dated Madrid, December 6, 1624. 

[4] See VOL. Xvii. P. 34, law lxxi. 

[5] See _VOL. XVII_, pp. 39, 40. 

[6] The parenthetical clause is evidently the work of one of the clerkswho copied the decrees in the "Cedulario Indico. " The decree mentioned, whose general tenor can easily be seen from the present decree, is not given, probably owing to an oversight of the transcriber, too late to rectify. 

[7] The decree whose location is above given. 

[8] Also contained in the "Cedulario Indico, " immediately followingthe decree here presented, to which it is very similar in tenor. 

[9] An island off the south coast of Batangas, Luzón, midway in thechannel between that island and Mindoro. 

[10] The manuscript has a side- or sub-heading at the right that reads"Pieces of gold, " and in the margin at this point is the figure 10. 

[11] Spanish, _el cargo de penas de Camara_. _Cargo_, as thus used, refers to the amount charged on the books of the accountant, andespecially to the general balance struck; in a general sense, _cargo_and _data_, in the old Spanish system of accounting, corresponded to"debit" and "credit" in modern bookkeeping. The difference betweenthese (_alcance_), in an individual account, would be nearly thesame as our term "balance of account. " The old Spanish methodsof accounting were somewhat different from the modern, and basedon more complicated procedure; and it is difficult to find modernequivalents for various words and phrases used therein--especiallyfor some which designate the duties of accountants, and for otherswhich are no longer in actual use. The whole accounting and auditingsystem was very elaborate and characteristically suspicious. Therewere, in every case, two men working together; and, if one of themwas absent, some different work must be assigned to the other for thatday, by the bureau of accounts. There were three classes of employeesin this work, in the Spanish colonies: the _contadores de cuentas_(who apparently were of higher rank than the others), _contadoresde resultas_, and _ordenadores de pago_. The second of these termsis no longer used in accounting, and no satisfactory explanation ofits commercial use is given in lexicons. The _ordenadores de pagos_(an office abolished at intervals) might correspond to our disbursingofficers, save that they did not, I think, actually handle themoney; hence, their functions rather correspond to a part of theduties of our auditors. It may be that the term _cuentas_ is usedin the accounting system to define accounts in general, items ofany and all sorts owed to the state; and _resultas_, as referringto the accounts kept of money paid out, on one or another account, by the public treasury--its balances (_alcances_) being, therefore, the sums remaining over and above the amounts spent. This would giveus a system of accountants for the items owing to the state--in otherwords, for its incomes; and another system of accountants for theexpenditures of the government. In such case, _resultas_ might alsodesignate the balances reverting to the credit of the state--that is, the unspent balances of various funds; this meaning would harmonizewith the related functions of the _contadores de resultas_ and the_ordenadores de pagos_, who supplied each other's places. These aresuggestions rather than definitive statements, for which latter isneeded expert knowledge of the old Spanish accounting system. The_Recopilación de leyes de Indias_ contains much information onthese points; see especially lib. Viii, tit. I, ii, xxix; lib. Ix, tit. Viii. --_James A. LeRoy. _

[12] _Mesada_: a month's pay or salary. The _derecho de mesada_ wasa tax of that amount levied (like the half-annat on civil offices)on ecclesiastical benefices and preferments which had been grantedby the popes to the crown of Spain as part of its royal patronageof religion. Laws regarding this tax may be found in _Recopilaciónde leyes de Indias_, lib. I, tit. Xvii; the first of these is dated1629. See also _Teatro de la legislación universal de España y Indias_(Madrid, 1791-97). The mesada was to be collected on the basis ofthe receipts from each preferment during the five years precedingthe new incumbent's entry upon his office. --_James A. LeRoy_. 

[13] _Estrados_: literally, "platforms;" the platform on which stoodthe royal throne, or the seat of the judge, afterward came to meanthe court itself. Perhaps the Manila treasury received from Mexicoa sum for the proper maintenance of the dignity of the tribunals, for the hangings, furnishing, platforms, etc. This might also referto the platforms and carpets and hangings provided in the cathedralfor certain royal officials. --_James A. LeRoy. _

[14] In the margin at this point occurs: "4 [pieces of gold]; 3 rings. "

[15] In the margin at this point occurs: "4 [pieces of gold]; 3 rings. "

[16] In the margin at this point occurs: "4 [pieces of gold]; 3 rings. "

[17] In the margin at this point occurs: "88 taes, 1 real of gold. "

[18] This raid spread fear and alarm throughout the Visayas; and thereligious, especially the Jesuits, urged the governor (then Cerezo deSalamanca) to provide some defense against the pirates. Accordingly heordered (although in the face of much opposition) the establishmentof a fort and garrison at Zamboanga, Mindanao; and to aid in theexpenses of this enterprise, a contribution of a ganta of rice fromeach tribute in the Visayas. (Combés says that this measure originatedwith the Jesuit Bueras. ) This contribution was afterward extended toall the provinces, and was known as "the Zamboanga donation. " The fortat Zamboanga (begun June 23, 1635) was planned by the Jesuit Melchorde Vera, and built under his direction. See accounts given by Combés(_Hist. Mindanao_, col. 213-224), Murillo Velarde (_Hist. Philipinas_, fols. 76b-78a), and Montero y Vidal (_Hist. Filipinas_, pp. 190-192). 

[19] "The seed is the blood of Christians. "

[20] A corruption of _kasis_ (VOL. XVI, p. 134), or _kázi_, anappellation of Mahometan preachers. 

[21] Part of the thirty-fifth verse. The quotation should end with_eam_. The English is: "And whosoever shall lose his life for my sakeand the gospel, shall save it. "

[22] Translated: "_He that shall lose (his life)_, He says, _for mysake. _ There is the whole cause. _He that shall lose_, not in any waywhatsoever, not for any reason that you like; but: _For my sake_. Inprophecy those other martyrs already said: _For thy sake we are killedall the day long_ (Ps. Xliii, 22). Not therefore is it the punishment, that makes a martyr, but the cause. " This is found in St. Augustine'ssermon _In natali martyrium_ ("On the festival of martyrs"), cap. Ii, sec. 2; it is Sermon 331, ed. Migne, Paris, 1841 and 1845--in oldercodices, "Sermon 100 _de Diversis_. "--_T. C. Middleton_, O. S. A. 

[23] Translated: "If a robber should assault, or a wild beast attack, or hunger or thirst or cold afflict, one fleeing in the desert andmountains, or a storm or hurricane drown one making haste through theseas in precipitate navigation, Christ beholds in him His soldier, wherever he may be fighting; and He gives the reward to him whodies persecuted for the name of His honor, which He promised that Hewould give at the resurrection. Nor less is the glory of martyrdom, in having perished not in public, nor in the midst of a multitude, when the cause for which he dies is to lose his life for the sakeof Christ. For the witnessing of martyrdom, it is enough that He waswitness who approves and crowns the martyrs. "

[24] Théophile Raynaud was born November 15, 1587, at Sospello, inthe county of Nice, and entered the Society of Jesus November 21, 1602. He taught grammar and the humanities at Avignon, philosophy forsix years and theology for ten at Lyons, where he was also prefect ofstudies for two years. He lived for some years at Grenoble, Chambéry, and Rome, and passed the last thirteen years of his life at Lyons, where he died October 31, 1633. He was a most voluminous writer, buthis style was poor. Some of his works have been printed, while othersexist only in manuscript. He had planned to print them all together, but death hindered the project. The book referred to in the text is_De Martyrio per pestem Ad martyrium improprium, et proprium vulgarecomparato, Disqvisitio Theologica, Theophili Raynavdi SocietatisIesu Theologi_ . .. . (Lvgdvni, Sumpt. Iacobi Cardon, M. DCXXX. ) SeeSommervogel's _Bibliothèque_. 

[25] "In goodness and liberality. "

[26] A portion of St. Mark x, 30. The Latin of the entirepassage is: _Qui non accipiat centies tantum, nunc in tempore hoc:domos, et fratres, et sorores, et matres, et filios, et agros, cumpersecutionibus, et in sæculo futuro vitam æternam_. The English ofthe Douay version is: "Who shall not receive an hundred times as much, now in this time; houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions, and in the world to comelife everlasting. "

[27] Translated: "I greet you, well-beloved and blessed brethren, yearning also myself for the joy of seeing you, if only the conditionsof place would allow me to reach you. For what could be more tomy wish and my joy than to be with you now? . .. But because noopportunity now offers for this happiness of being present myselfto your eyes and ears, I am sending this letter instead; whereby Iequally felicitate and exhort you to stand strong and firm in yourconfession of the heavenly glory: and, having entered upon the waythat the Lord has honored, to go forward in spiritual strength toreceive the crown. " This is the "Letter of St. Cyprian to Sergius andRogatianus, and other confessors in the Lord"--no. Vi in Tauchnitzed. (Lipsiæ, 1838). --_T. C. Middleton, O. S. A. _

[28] "Let them be of a considered and chaste eloquence, that theymay be a cause for edification. "

[29] _Bancon_: "A boat with three oars to the side, which is used inChina. "--_Dic. Nacional . .. De la lengua Española_ (Madrid, 1878). 

[30] The language of this sentence is somewhat obscure and elliptical, but would seem to indicate that the Portuguese fear the diminution oftheir trade in China with its natives, and the loss of their prestigein the carrying trade outside that country. 

[31] Gaspar de San Agustín, the author of the first part of theAugustinian history of the Philippines (Madrid, 1698), was one of themost prominent Augustinians who have ever been in the islands. Hewas born in Madrid in 1650, and professed in the convent of SanFelipe el Real in 1667. On going to the islands he ministered atLipa (1689-1692), Parañaque (1693, 1708, and 1719), Pásig (1695 and1716), Malate (1698 and 1714), Tambobong (1702 and 1707), Tondo (1699, 1701, and 1710); and exercised the duties of procurator-general (1677and 1686), provincial secretary (1686), definitor (1689 and 1711), visitor (1701), and commissary of the Holy Office. He died after along and painful sickness, which deprived him of his sight, at theconvent of San Pablo at Manila, in 1724. He was a graceful poet, and, besides his history and the materials for the present work, he leftvarious writings, among them his famous _Compendio de la arte de lalengua tagala_ (Manila, 1703). His letter on the nature of the Indianswill be published later in this series. His history is said to be themost interesting of those on the Philippines. See Pérez's _Catálogo_, pp. 134-136. 

[32] Casimiro Diaz was a native of Toledo, being born in 1693. Hetook his vows in the convent of San Felipe el Real in 1710, and afterhis arrival at the Philippines completed his literary studies. Hewas stationed in the missions at Magalang (1717), Mexico (1728), Aráyat (1734), Betis (1735), Minalin (1737), and Candaba (1740). Hewas procurator-general (1719), provincial secretary (1722), definitor(1725), presiding officer of the chapter (1731), qualifier of the HolyOffice, chronicler of the Augustinian province in the islands, reader(1744), and conventual preacher. His death occurred in Manila in 1746, and he left behind many writings. See Pérez's _Catálogo_, pp. 222-224. 

[33] The editor of Diaz's work is Fray Tirso López, who is still livingat the Colegio de Filipinos in Valladolid. He was born at Cornombre, May 25, 1838, and took the Augustinian habit at Valladolid in 1855. Hespent the years 1864-1866 in the Philippines, while most of the restof his life has been passed at the above college, where he has filledvarious duties. He has several times refused an appointment as bishop, and is well known in certain circles as a writer, being a correspondentof the Royal Academy of History at Madrid. The editors of the presentseries are under many obligations to him for his kindly interest andaid. See Pérez's _Catálogo_, pp. 525-527. 

[34] Juan Ramírez was a native of La Mancha; and, after going to thePhilippines, was one of those who contributed most efficiently to thepacification of the Zambales in 1618, and in 1639 fought in the frontrank against the Chinese insurgents in Manila. He was missionaryin Lipa in 1621, in Taal in 1623, in Bay in 1626, in Taal for thesecond time in 1630; and definitor in 1632, and provincial in 1635, dying in 1641. See Pérez's _Catálogo_, p. 91. 

[35] Teófilo Mascarós was born in Valencia, and professed in theprovince of Aragon, and became doctor and master of sacred theology inthe university of Orihuela, and prior of the convent of Mallorca. Uponhis arrival in the islands, he became missionary in Malate in 1626and 1629, in Pásig in 1632, in Hagonoy in 1638 and 1641; and was alsoprior of Bay and Manila, and definitor in 1635. He died while priorand missionary of the village of Bay (June 26, 1644). See Pérez's_Catálogo_, p. 101. 

[36] Andrés Verdugo was a native of La Mancha, and professed in theprovince of Castilla where he became reader of philosophy. Having beendestined for the Tagál provinces, after having read theology and thecanons in the convent of San Pablo at Manila, he became a missionaryin the villages of Tambobong (1629), of San Pablo de los Montes (1630, 1638 and 1650), of Bulacan and Pásig (1641), of Taguig (1644), and ofBay (1656). Being elected prior in 1647, he resigned that office, andcontinued his ministry until 1653, when he was elected provincial. Hedied in Bay in 1656. See Pérez's _Catálogo_, pp. 99, 100. 

[37] Fray Diego Martinez was born in La Mancha, and professed in theprovince of Castilla in 1613. He was minister of Barbarán in 1626, of Passi in 1629 and 1632, of Mambúsao in 1635 and 1639, of Otonin 1641, of Dumalag in 1644, of Batan in 1648, of Dumangas in 1650, and of Panay in 1651 and 1653. His death occurred probably about theyear 1656. See Pérez's _Catálogo_, p. 99. 

[38] Diego Collado, O. P. , was a native of Miajadas, in Estremadura, and took his vows in the convent of Salamanca July 29, 1605. Helabored for some years in Cagayán, and in 1619 was sent to Japan, where he became vicar-provincial. Recalled thence in 1622, he was sentto Spain as procurator, where he worked zealously for the order. In1635 he returned to the islands with twenty-four religious, when hecaused great disturbances in the province. Being at last abandoned byCorcuera, his schemes came to naught; and he was sent to Cagayán, wherehe remained until 1641, when he set out for Manila in order to returnto Spain at the king's command, but was drowned at Cabicungan. Hecontinued the history of Japan written by Orfanell, and printed itin 1632 at Madrid; and he also compiled and published a Japanesedictionary in 1631 at Rome. See _Reseña biográfica_, i, pp. 338, 339. 

[39] Diego de Ordax was born in León in 1598, and professed in theconvent of Burgos in 1618. In 1626 he was missionary in Laglag, becamesubprior of Manila in 1629, prior of Santo Niño de Cebú in 1630, andcommissary-procurator in the court of Spain in 1632. He returned tothe islands in 1635, and in 1637 was appointed prior of Cebú for thesecond time and afterward definitor and missionary of Oton (1638), prior of Manila (1644 and 1656), and provincial (1647 and 1659). SeePérez's _Catálogo_, p. 103. 

[40] This interdict was imposed by only the local ecclesiasticalauthorities; but the period in which it occurred renders desirableand interesting a mention of the controversy (then fresh in men'sminds) between Paul V and the Republic of Venice, in which the papalinterdict on a state or commonwealth was deprived (1606) of its poweras a weapon of the papal authority. A full account of this episode, in which the chief figure was the celebrated Fra Paolo Sarpi, is givenby Andrew D. White in his "Fra Paolo Sarpi, " in _Atlantic Monthly_, xciii (1904), pp. 45-54, 225-233. Cf. Ranke's _Lives of the Popes_(Foster's translation, London), ii, pp. 110-130, and iii, 123, 124; andAlzog's _Universal Church History_ (Pabisch and Byrne's translation, Cincinnati, 1878), iii, pp. 365, 366. 

[41] The University of Mexico was founded in 1551 (some make itearlier), its endowment being begun with property left for that purposeby Mendoza, the first viceroy, and afterward increased by royal grantsand private bequests. In the troublous times of the nineteenth century, the national university languished, and finally perished. 

[42] This quotation includes a portion of the second verse and allof the third, fourth, and fifth verses of the sixth chapter of theapocryphal book of Wisdom, and is as follows in English: ". .. Learn, ye that are judges of the ends of the earth. 

Give ear, you that rule the people, and that please yourselves inmultitudes of nations;

For power is given you by the Lord, and strength by the most High, who will examine your works, and search out your thoughts;

Because being ministers of his kingdom, you have not judged rightly, nor kept the law of justice, nor walked according to the will of God. "

[43] Cf. La Concepción's account of these controversies (_Hist. DePhilipinas_, v, pp. 254-290). He says that Corcuera arrived in theislands at the height of the discussion in Manila over the maintenanceof a fortified post at Zamboanga in Mindanao; that he was on intimateterms with the Jesuits, who were anxious for the benefit of theirmissions to have Zamboanga occupied; and that their influence ledCorcuera to support that measure. La Concepción blames the Jesuitsthroughout the controversy with the archbishop; and his account is moredetailed than Diaz's. See also accounts by Murillo Velarde (_Hist. DePhilipinas_, fol. 86-89), and Montero y Vidal (_Hist. Filipinas_, pp. 192-197). 

[44] The exile of Archbishop Felipe Pardo occurred March 13, 1683, and his restoration to his see, November 15, 1684. The matter arousedconsiderable controversy which extended over a number of years. Thecontroversy was most bitter, and the manuscripts concerning it pro andcon aggregate some tons, and are scattered in various archives. Theepisode will be noticed in its place in this series. 

[45] Murillo Velarde says (fol. 89, verso) that this occurred in1637. Colin does not mention the controversy between the archbishopand governor; and most of the friar chroniclers omit it. 

[46] The following chapter consists of a short extract from book 1, chap. I, p. 4, of Baltasar de Santa Cruz's _Historia_, which isfollowed by a heavy and would-be learned discussion filled withclassical allusions, by an auditor, Licentiate Salvador Gomez deEspinosa, of which Tirso López, the Spanish editor, says that itmight have been omitted without any loss to Diaz's _History_. 

[47] This decrease and almost total disappearance of the sardinesfrom the bay of Manila from those times, is easily explained withoutthe necessity of considering it a miracle, by the great movement ofcoastwise trading vessels, which have come into those waters, fromwhich as is known, several species of fish flee. --_Fray Tirso López. _

[48] _Guerrero_ means "warrior. "

[49] He died on July 1, 1641, aged seventy-five years. La Concepcióncites (_Hist. De Philipinas, _ v, pp. 301-303) the book of memoirspreserved in the Manila cathedral (mentioned by Diaz, _ante_. Nearthe end of chap, xvii), for various particulars regarding ArchbishopGuerrero's life and character. 

[50] Lorenzo Goreto was born at Ferrara, November 1, 1592, and enteredhis novitiate at Rome, December 8, 1608. He went to the Philippines(1622), and labored in the Visayan missions, where he died June 17, 1638. Murillo Velarde says that he was master of theology in Manila, and that he was a very learned man. See his _Hist. Philipinas, _fol. 102 verso-103; and Sommervogel's _Bibliothèque_. 

Luis de Pedraza was a native of Baeza, Spain, and entered the Jesuitorder in the province of Andalusia. He was a prominent laborer inthe Visayan missions, and held important posts in the college ofManila. Later, he went to Mindanao, and died at Zamboanga, October 22, 1639. (Murillo Velarde, _Hist. Philipinas, _ fol. 107. )

[51] _Maestro de prima: prima_ was the name applied to the first threehours of the day, the term being extended to universities and studies, indicating the lessons that came during that period, or the professorwho gave his lectures during that period. 

[52] _i. E. _, "as a precautionary measure. "

[53] Lucas García, who belonged to the mission of 1615, performedmissionary duties in Cagayan, and was also vicar of Fotol, of Maquilá, and jointly rector of Santo Tomas, and procurator-general. He waslater vicar of Gattoron, of Fotol, of Tocolana, and of Lallo-c, and also served in the province of Cagayan for a number of years. Hewas also definitor several times, and vicar-provincial in Cagayan. In1633 and 1635 he was vicar-provincial in Formosa, being also vicar ofNuestra Señora del Rosario, at Tanchui. After thirty-six years' laborin the Indias, he died at Lallo-c about 1651. See _Reseña biográfica, _i, p. 349. 

[54] The ringing of bells at a certain hour (usually sunset), whichadmonishes the faithful to pray for the souls in purgatory. The_alabado_ meant a hymn sung in praise of the sacrament when it wasplaced within the tabernacle. 

[55] The only Burguillos mentioned by Huerta is Pedro, a laybrother connected with the Japanese missions, who died at Manila in1615--apparently therefore, not the one mentioned in our text. 

[56] The Cistercian Order was founded by St. Robert, the son ofa gentleman of Champagne, who had taken the Benedictine habit, atCistercium (the modern Citeaux) in 1098, and professed the rule ofSt. Benedict. The rule was very austere, but despite various reforms, it gradually became relaxed and approached the observance of otherorders. The Trappists are an offshoot of this order. See Addis andArnold's _Catholic Dictionary_, pp. 186-188. 

[57] An ambassador (generally a cardinal or bishop) sent by the popeto a foreign prince, with full powers. 

[58] The following royal decree on this subject was issued in 1637:"Inasmuch as I have been informed that many soldiers and sailors whoare in my service in the Filipinas Islands are becoming, and havebecome, religious, while indebted in large sums of maravedis to myroyal treasury for pay which has been advanced to them; and that, afterhaving been for some years in the orders, they leave them and wanderabout as vagabonds with the utmost freedom, and refuse to reëntermy service: desiring to apply a corrective to such delinquencies, and the matter having been conferred over in my royal Council ofthe Yndias, I have considered it fitting to issue the present. By itI request my very reverend archbishop in Christ, the father of themetropolitan church of the city of Manila, and charge the venerableand devout fathers-provincial and other superiors of all the orders inthe territory of his archbishopric, to note that they are to informmy governor of the said islands whenever such cases shall occur tothe prejudice of my treasury, and that the culprits be punished as isfitting. No one may take the vows of religion without first satisfyingthe amount that he shall thus owe. In order that the contents ofthis my decree may be well known to all, I order my governor andcaptain-general of the said Filipinas Islands to publish it in allthe necessary places, and to send a copy of it to the provincials ofthe orders throughout the said islands, in order that they may giveto its fulfilment the earnest attention to which they are obliged;for such is my will. Madrid, December 23, 1637. "

The copy of this decree existing in the Archivo general de Indias atSevilla--with pressmark, "Audiencia de Filipinas; registros de oficio;reales ordenes dirigidas á las autoridades del distrito de dichaAudiencia; años 1635 á 1672; est. 105, caj. 2, leg. 2, lib. 4"--bearsthe following endorsement in the margin: "In order that no soldieror sailor in the Filipinas Islands who may be indebted to the royaltreasury may take the vows of religion without first satisfying theamount of his debt. "

[59] _Dominicans_. --Domingo Gonzalez came to the islands in 1602;for several years he was an instructor in theology in the cathedralof Manila, and afterward spent five years as a missionary inCagayan. Returning then to Manila, he was rector of the collegeof Santo Tomás, provincial of his order (chosen in 1633, andagain in _1644_), and commissary-general of the Inquisition forsixteen years. He died November 5, 1647, at Manila, at the age ofseventy-three. 

Francisco de Herrera came with the mission of 1598. He filled numerousimportant offices in the order--among them, those of provincial(1629-33), rector of Santo Tomás, and commissary-general of theInquisition. He died at Manila, August 9, 1644. 

Antonio Gonzalez accompanied the mission of 1632, and at first wasan instructor in Santo Tomás; but early in 1636 he went to Japan, where he suffered martyrdom, September 24, 1637. 

Sebastian Oquendo also began his labors in the Philippines asinstructor at the college in Manila; he afterward held various officesin the convent there, but died at Méjico in 1651. (All these noticesare obtained from _Reseña biográfica, _ vol. I. )

_Augustinians_. --Juan de Montemayor came to Manila in 1613. He heldimportant posts in the order, and was minister in several Indianvillages; and died at Manila in 1638. 

Alonso Carbajal arrived at the islands in 1618. Among the posts ofhonor which he held was that of provincial (1644), and more than oncehe declined a bishopric offered to him. He also spent several years inmissionary labors, among the Pampangans and Visayans, and died therein(1654). 

Diego de Ochoa had just come (1635) to the Filipinas mission; heministered in several villages in Luzón, and died in 1648. (Thesenotices are obtained from Pérez's _Catálogo_. )

_Franciscans_. --Gerónimo del Espiritu Santo came to Manila in 1633, and in the following year became vicar-provincial. He accompanied thesisters of St. Clare to Macao (1634), who founded there a conventof their order. From January, 1635, to June, 1637, Fray Gerónimowas minister-provincial; he then retired to Sampaloc, and in 1638departed for Mexico. The ship was wrecked on the Marianas, and thispriest, refusing to save his life while he could console the dying, perished with the rest, September 21, 1638. 

Jose de Santa Maria began his labors in the Philippines as early as1621, and seems to have been a missionary among the Indians from 1626to 1637. He was minister provincial during the first half of 1638;and died at Manila in 1645. 

Vicente Argent arrived at Manila in 1630. In alternating periods ofhis life he was a missionary among the Indians, and an official of hisorder at Manila; from January, 1643, to January, 1646, he was ministerprovincial. In 1656 he sailed for Mexico, but died at sea, beforereaching Acapulco. (These notices are obtained from Huerta's _Estado_. )

[60] Another copy of this episcopal decree (found in one of Corcuera'sletters dated June 30, 1636) gives the name as here, but adds, "(I mean Santa Monica)"--an error of Corcuera's transcriber. 

[61] These last two names, with Fray Gaspar de Santa Maria and FrayAlonso de San Joan above, are apparently those of Recollect priests;but there is no available information regarding them. 

[62] _i. E. , _ "by the very act, immediately incurring canonical censure, already imposed. "

[63] A reference to the canons of Clement V, which are contained inthe collection called _Clementinas_, published by John XXII. 

[64] Reference is here made to a long and vexatious controversyover the spiritual jurisdiction of Santa Cruz and Quiapo, betweenthe Jesuits and the diocesan authorities; it was settled in favorof the Society, but not until 1678. See Murillo Velarde's account ofthis dispute, in his _Historia_, fol. 89 verso-91. Cf. Colin's _Laborevangélica_ (ed. 1663), p. 813; and La Concepción's _Hist. Philipinas, _pp. 281, 286. Santa Cruz is on the shore of the Pasig River oppositeManila; above it lies Quiapo, and below it Binondo (an island formed bytwo bayous from the Pasig). As previous documents have often mentioned, Binondo was inhabited chiefly by the Chinese, as also was Santa Cruz. 

[65] Diego de Bobadilla was born at Madrid, September 19, 1590;and at the age of sixteen entered the Jesuit order. He came to thePhilippines in 1615, and spent fifteen years as an instructor inthe Jesuit college at Manila, and five years as its rector. In 1637he went to Rome as procurator for his order, and returned in 1643with a band of forty-two missionaries. Again he became rector of thecollege, and in 1646 was elected provincial. While making an officialvisitation of the Mindanao missions, he died at Carigara, February 26, 1648. See Murillo Velarde's sketch of his life, _Hist. Philipinas, _fol. 159, 160. 

[66] Francisco Pinelo, who had been prior of the Dominican convent atTabora, Portugal, came to the Philippines in 1632, where for some timehe was vicar of San Telmo at Cavite. Afterward he went to Europe onbusiness of the order--part of which was to secure the dissolution ofthe Congregation of St. Paul, formed by Fray Diego Collado, in 1636, with the Dominicans who came then with Corcuera (who were called_Barbones_; see Diaz's account _ante_, p. 161). Pinelo remained inSpain, dying in the convent at Segovia, January 23, 1643. See _Reseñabiográfica_, i, pp. 391, 420. 

[67] There is an evident play on words in this passage. Theoriginal reads: "_Que le auian hecho papa ó papilla y que con elles auian querido dar papillas_. " "_Papilla_" is the diminutive of"_papa_"--meaning "pope, " or "pap"; and the phrase _dar papilla_is used to mean "deceiving by insidious caresses. "

[68] Referring to Juan de Zumárraga, guardian of the Franciscanconvent at Abrojo, Mexico; who was appointed (December 12, 1527)the first bishop of the new diocese of Mexico, and protector of theIndians. He filled these offices ably, although his energy and zealmade him numerous enemies. He was made archbishop when the diocese ofMexico was raised to an archdiocese (by papal bull of July 8, 1547);but on account of his great age he declined the honor, and died (June3, 1548) a few days after those documents arrived, being eighty yearsold. A cloud upon his memory is the ruthless and vandalic destruction, under his direction, of the Aztec images, manuscripts, and otherrecords, both public and private, for which his agents made closesearch, not only in the City of Mexico but in all the larger citiesand towns--a cruel and irreparable loss to scholars and historians. SeeBancroft's _History of Mexico, _ ii, pp. 297-300, 556-559. 

[69] Apparently alluding to the penitent thief who was crucifiedwith Christ. 

[70] _Secuestrarle_, in MS. ; but compare the same letter in Diaz'snarration, _ante_, where the word is _secuestrarme_ ("sequester my"property). 

[71] A line is omitted here by transcriber; see Diaz's copy, as above. 

[72] Francisco de Paula, a native of Segovia, arrived at Manilain 1618, where he ministered to the Chinese, and afterward gaveinstruction in the college of Santo Tomás for sixteen years. He fillednumerous important posts--among them that of provincial (twice), andcommissary-general of the Inquisition; and not long before his deathhe had been appointed bishop of Nueva Cáçeres. He died at Manila, April 5, 1664, at the age of sixty-seven. 

[73] The only friar of this name who is mentioned in _Reseñabiográfica_ came to the islands with the mission of 1635; "he returnedat once to España, summoned by his Majesty to take charge of thechair of mathematics at the court, with a stipend of one thousandducados a year. "

[74] Antonio Gomez de Espejo was born in Manila, in 1604; and madehis profession in the Dominican order, at the age of twenty-one. Heministered in various Indian villages in Luzón; and in 1678 died, at Lallo-c. 

[75] Pedro Fernandez de Ledo, a native of Mexico, made his professionas a Dominican friar in 1625, at the age of seventeen. He was oneof the faculty at Santo Tomás until 1651, when he was chosen prior, and afterward provincial. Ledo died at Manila, October 15, 1662;soon afterward, his appointment to a bishopric was received there. 

[76] Applied to a crime that may be tried either in ecclesiasticalor secular courts. 

[77] Dispensation for receiving orders outside the time specified bythe church. 

[78] Perhaps some allusion to a well-known proverb or saying. 

[79] There is no direct clue to the authorship of this document;but it was evidently written by a lawyer, and one who sided withthe Jesuits and the governor. It is possible that this was Fabian deSantillan, appointed by that order as judge-conservator; it would bevery natural for him, from prudential motives, to mention himself inthe third person in the letter, knowing that it would almost certainlybe read by others than his correspondent. 

[80] There is here a play on words, the text reading, _que no andanPor El camino Rl_ y derecho. _Derecho_ has a now obsolete meaning, "road, " or "path. "

[81] That is, to inspect their morals and mode of life. 

[82] Fray Francisco Zamudio, an Augustinian by profession, was a nativeof Mechoacán, Mexico. Little information about him is available; butPérez says that Zamudio was in Manila in 1594, and died in 1636--anevent which, according to Delgado (_Hist. De Filipinas_, p. 178), occurred in 1639. Diaz's mention of it, however (pp. 197-198, _ante_), would imply that the earlier date was the correct one. Pérez doesnot mention the fact that Zamudio became a bishop. 

[83] Spanish, _tablilla_: a list of persons excommunicated, exhibitedin churches.