Letter from the Fiscal to Felipe III
Sire:
Last year, sixteen hundred and five, during which I began to serve your Majesty as fiscal of this Audiencia, and as protector of the natives[1] of these islands by appointment of the Audiencia, I sent a statement of everything of importance which within the short time of my service I was able to discover. Since that time I have considered with care and attention the things of greatest consequence to your royal service, and have found that I ought to give your Majesty an account and statement of the condition in which I found affairs, and that in which they are at present.
I reported to your Majesty the uprising of the Sangleys in the year sixteen hundred and three, leaving military matters to the official reports which I knew were sent. I reported to your Majesty that it was well to consider with care what was necessary to be done for the good government and protection of this kingdom. Afterward I saw that, just as if the said uprising had not occurred, permission for Sangleys to remain in this city continued to be given. They were allowed to have habitations, dwellings, and shops—a permission which has caused much comment and discussion. The reason is that the Audiencia took upon itself the administration of this matter, assigning it year by year in turn to each auditor. With the course of time the permission has been extended, not by the will of the auditor alone, but by the decree and direction of the Audiencia itself. The Audiencia granted of its own free will and pleasure, without the assent of the city and its cabildo, permission to the Sangleys to remain. The city and cabildo remonstrated, but the Audiencia granted licenses to as many as it pleased. In the year sixteen hundred and four, there were 457; and in the year sixteen hundred and five they had increased to 1,648, as is shown by the official statement which I enclose. From this it will be seen that during this said year of sixteen hundred and five there came from China 3,977, and that 3,687 returned; so that 290 remained here, making with those of the previous year a total of 747. There actually remained 1,648; hence it is evident that, besides those who were registered, 901 came here. This has been done by granting licenses to many to live and make their abode outside of the city, among the mountains and in other places, where they easily receive those who disembark before the vessel has come here, or after the ships have set out on their return voyage.
In view of this disadvantage I petitioned the Audiencia that no Sangley may have permission to be absent at any time, especially when the ships are arriving or setting out. Although this demand was so just, they did not take action as I requested; and affairs remain as they were before. Inasmuch as the despatch of the vessels is not yet completed, I do not now make a statement of the evil results which I expect to follow, until I am able to state them with accuracy. All this results from a failure to observe the ordinance of the Audiencia with regard to the number which each ship may carry; for, although the number allowed was limited to two hundred in the largest vessel, one ship of no great size has brought about five hundred, so that this year six thousand five hundred and thirty-three Sangleys have arrived, of which I send a sworn statement. These, added to the almost two thousand of the previous year who remained, make up a great number. This is within two years and a half after so dangerous an uprising, and it promises more danger to follow. Therefore, in order to set this matter right, I reported that since this city and commonwealth could not allow and did not desire the Sangleys to remain, and had remonstrated against it (although it would be for their service) I therefore demanded, since this was necessary for the safety of the kingdom, that not one Sangley should [be allowed to] remain in these islands. I also asked that the number of ships to come from China each year and the number of men to be carried in them might be definitely stated, this number being made as small as possible, and severe penalties being assigned to anyone who should violate the rules. Although the community requested that what I asked for might be conceded, and the city confirmed what it had previously said (of which an account has already been given to your Majesty), the Audiencia has commanded that this year one thousand five hundred Sangleys shall remain. I fear that many more will stay, since they are scattered in the provinces, in the rural districts, and among the surrounding mountains, from which they could be brought out only with difficulty. The reason for so many Sangleys being brought in the ships every year is, that the penalties are so light and the execution of them is so relaxed. As it is to the advantage of the owners of the ships to get large returns from their vessels, they are not troubled at being obliged to pay the small fine levied on them by the city. In spite of the fact that the city declares that it does not wish Sangleys to remain, they have built many shops on the site of their old residence, named Parián, as will appear from the official statement which I send; and in every one of these live three of four persons, and in some are many. I opposed the building of these shops and caused it to cease, because if they were not under restriction the Parián would become very large. It is now as large as before the uprising. This evil result follows from the fact that your Majesty granted the city the income received from these shops; and many ducados are received for them, as is manifest in the said official statements. To remedy this wrong, it is desirable that your Majesty command the number of shops to be definitely limited, and direct that in one shop one man only may live, who shall have some known occupation and be a Christian. It would be well also to limit the number of ships which may come and the number of persons that they may carry, commanding that when the number is full no more shall be received into the port, and that no vessel shall be admitted which carries more than the appointed number. It would be well to provide also that if the city exceed these limits, in the number and kind of the shops, the grant allowed for the same be revoked.
When I entered upon the functions of this office, I discovered a serious irregularity in the succession to encomiendas of Indians. Your Majesty commanded that such encomiendas should descend from father to son or daughter, and, in default of children, to the wife of the encomendero, definitely stating that the succession should come to an end there. Yet without attracting the attention of anyone, important as the matter is, the wife has succeeded to her deceased husband, and then after she has married a second time and has then died, the second husband has succeeded the wife, and so on ad infinitum. Thus it has come about that nearly all the encomiendas are far from their original assignment, the majority being in the hands of undeserving persons. The result is that it is a marvel if an encomienda is ever vacant; for none has been regarded as vacant unless the possessor has died without being married or without issue. Since this wrong is universal, and is of great importance—affecting, as it does, the common interests of all the islands—I have deemed it proper to advise your Majesty of it, in order that you may ordain that which shall be most to your Majesty’s service. This may be carried out by commands given by your Majesty to the governor to declare all encomiendas vacant in which the rule of succession shall have been transgressed. Then since some of them are in the hands of deserving persons, in spite of the improper way in which they have been obtained, they may be regranted; while many others will remain unassigned and open for granting to soldiers who have served, but who remain in poverty and almost in despair of ever receiving a reward. The only reward in these islands is the encomiendas; and, as they are perpetuated in the way described, one is never vacated except in very unusual circumstances—unusual, that is, for this country. Here, for a woman to be of advanced age is not enough to prevent her marriage, so much is the succession to her encomienda coveted. The reason for failing to institute proceedings against all these people is, that they are in possession; and if proceedings follow the law of Malinas the cases can take no less time than would be consumed if your Majesty were to command them to be declared vacant, as I suggest. As for those which have been vacated during my term of office, I have begun to put a stop to this improper custom, and shall continue to do so until I am informed of your Majesty’s commands. It is desirable that these be sent very promptly and clearly, since correction of this evil will be rendered very difficult if there is any uncertainty.
The same illegality occurs in another way: an encomendero dies, and is succeeded by his wife; if she marries and has children, these have succeeded her, and even, when they are married, their wives or husbands succeed them. This is contrary to the statute that the succession shall end with the wife of the first encomendero. For all this your Majesty will make suitable provision.
By a section in a letter from your Majesty to Don Pedro de Acuña, late governor of these islands, your Majesty commands that the wine for celebrating mass which was provided to religious in charge of the instruction of Indians on private encomiendas shall not be given by the royal exchequer. This decree has caused resentment on the part of those concerned. They instituted legal proceedings against the execution of the command, claiming that the previous usage should prevail, and affirming that the wine is thus furnished in Mexico and Piru. I presented decrees showing that this is a grant made by your Majesty to the religious of those provinces for a limited time; and the Audiencia, on appeal, directed your Majesty’s commands to be executed. The encomenderos declare that your Majesty should meet this expense, and are sending documents on the subject. I give this information in order that your Majesty may be assured that this is entirely an act of bounty on your Majesty’s part, and that your Majesty has many obligations and expenses on these islands, which must be met; and that since your Majesty gives the wine on the royal encomiendas, they can and should provide it on their own.
Your Majesty has commanded that no offices or places of profit shall be given to those who hold Indians in encomienda. There are some encomiendas so small that they are insufficient as a means of support, and sometimes these are held by persons very well fitted for such offices as are to be granted. It would be well if your Majesty should command that which shall be most to your service on this matter, that no doubt may exist. The fiscal my predecessor, whenever offices were given to such encomenderos, was accustomed to begin suit appealing from the governor’s appointments; and he likewise appealed and brought suit against some of those to whom the governors made grants, on the ground that they were against decrees and the instructions of the governor. This was a fruitful source of irritation, the governors declaring that the offices are thus granted for the good of your Majesty’s service, although it appears that the appointees are making gain of them. Since that which has occurred and that which may occur is of moment, your Majesty will ordain according to your royal pleasure, observing that the governors are subject to residencias, and that it is difficult to bring a lawsuit with reference to every one of their decisions made after this manner, or to undertake to settle the question whether or no such decisions are proper.
This city of Manila is very near the villages of some Indians who support themselves by agriculture. If there are any places unoccupied they use them as sites for dwellings. They make use of the grass to cover their houses and also to cover their fields, for they always keep these covered thus during the time while the crops begin to grow. These Indians have suffered great oppression, for there have been established in the vicinity of this city more than twenty-four cattle-farms. From very small beginnings they have multiplied so greatly that in some there are more than four thousand head, while all of them have more than a thousand. These cattle, on account of their number, spread and wander out of bounds, and do much damage. Finding this wrong in existence when I assumed office, I began some suits to cause the cattle-farms to be abandoned. On one of the farms, which belonged to Captain Pedro de Brito, near the villages of Capa, Namayan, and Santana, the Audiencia on appeal decided that he must keep his cattle within bounds; and that such cattle as might be found straying might be killed by the Indians who found them in their fields. Being a wretched race, they dare not do this, and suffer much from this and other causes. There are some persons who charge Indians with having wronged them, and who take the Indians into service that they may work off the damage done. So far is this custom carried that the service is converted into slavery. There is now a great abundance of cattle outside of this district, and so many cattle-farms are not needed. It would be well for your Majesty to command that all of them within three leguas of towns and cultivated areas should be abandoned, in order that this molestation may cease.
The province of Panpanga is twelve leguas hence. It is the most fertile in all the islands, and the inhabitants have done more in your service than have any others. It lies low and is bounded by some mountains which slope down to it. The natives of the mountains are called Zambales. They are a race that live like beasts, without settled habitations; and they are so murderous that their delight is cutting off heads. For this purpose they come down upon this province, and, as its inhabitants are a race entirely devoted to agriculture, they take them unawares, and have wrought and do work great outrages upon them. The effort was made to put a garrison in their country, and some Spanish troops were stationed there. Since the country is rough and mountainous, it is impossible to march in it; and as there is no certain day on which the attacks of the mountaineers can be anticipated, it is impossible to prevent them. The Panpangans have often asked for permission to destroy these others, by killing or enslaving them; but no decision has been given them in all the years during which the matter has been discussed. The remedy for the evil is easy, for if they be given for a time as slaves to any man who can capture them, this will encourage the making of inroads upon them. This has not been done, because of your Majesty’s commands not to enslave any of the inhabitants of this archipelago and island. This would he a temporary slavery, and by it much or all of this evil described would be corrected; and the expense which it causes would be prevented. The same thing happens in the mountains of Yllocos and in other regions, for every day the mountaineers attack and murder members of the tribes at peace—who, as they have no permission to kill them and no hope of making use of them, permit them to return and harass them.
In this matter of slavery there has recently arisen anew a great problem. This is that among these Indians there is a custom that while [in Spanish law] the child follows the womb, among them it likewise follows the father by half. Thus the son of a free mother and a slave father was half slave, like the son of a slave mother and a free father; so there were slaveries of the fourth and eighth part. The former Audiencia, regarding this as absurd, commanded that the rule should no longer be observed, and that the son of a free mother should hereafter be free. This decision, being accepted without difficulty, produced no opposition, and many were in the enjoyment of liberty who had been married as freemen, and were such. But now, in a late case, the Audiencia has decided that the old custom shall be observed. Hence much disquietude has resulted; for, in addition to the infinite number of suits as to freedom, there is now much trouble as to marriages. This race is very fickle in that matter; and some who were married as freemen are already talking of having their marriages annulled by saying that they are slaves. Since in all these years there has been no disturbance regarding this matter, I trust that your Majesty will ordain that the disposition of the former Audiencia may stand.
On the death of Francisco Sarmiento, who held the office of government secretary of these islands, and on the renunciation of it by Gaspar de Azebo, who bought the office in the time of the former Audiencia, the governor, Don Pedro de Acuña, granted the office to Antonio de Ordas, who acted as his secretary. This was at a time when your treasury was in very great need, and suffered most urgent demands upon it, especially for the building of a ship to go to sea that year. The governor planned to sell this office, and for that purpose the said Antonio de Ordas surrendered it; but when they set about executing the governor’s purpose this city interposed with objections, and presented a petition that it might not be sold but might be given as a grant. The basis of their contention was that your Majesty had commanded in one section of the instructions given to Gomez Perez as to the sale of clerical offices that they should be thus managed, and should be given as grants to the well-deserving. It was urged that this should be understood of all such offices, not only of government but of the court of the Audiencia. I opposed the city, and found a special decree to the effect that these two offices should be sold. This decree was issued in the time of the former Audiencia, and in conformity with it this office was sold. Alleging that the said Ordas, although he had already received that grant, renounced it so that the office might be sold, and a way be found for meeting urgent necessities, I succeeded in effecting the sale, which was made for seventeen thousand pesos to Gaspar Albares, who paid down that sum, with which many matters were attended to. It was distributed in accordance with the decision of the Audiencia in meeting the most important demands, and especially in paying for the building of the said vessel, which would otherwise have been impossible. I also brought forward the argument (which I refer to your Majesty) that an office of such value is a very large grant in these islands; while those who are entitled to receive favors—that is to say, soldiers—are not fitted for such offices. I add that your Majesty is very poor here, and needs to take advantage of all resources. Thus your Majesty will command that which will be most to your service; for all these measures have been taken on condition of receiving your Majesty’s approval.
Among the irregularities which I discovered was the following. Although your Majesty has commanded that clerical offices shall not be resigned more than once, and that the resignations shall be confirmed within a limited time, still, of four public notaryships which are in existence here, three have been resigned three or four times, without receiving any confirmation; but from the sales and resignations it has been customary to place a third part in the royal treasury. I entered an action to have them declared vacant; and after having carefully considered the question, I found that if they were to be granted as a royal bounty, and then were vacated, your treasury would be the loser by being obliged to return the thirds which it had received. On this basis, it is better that things should continue as they are. I have arranged that if they should be vacated they may be sold; for the demands upon the treasury are many. If this plan shall receive your approbation I shall bring the cases to a conclusion; if not, I shall suspend them until your Majesty gives such commands as are most for the good of your service. When these notaryships have been resigned they have brought eight hundred pesos, and latterly one thousand two hundred. They are now worth more than three thousand, so that with a single one it would be possible to pay everything due for the thirds on all. This will remedy something of the much which requires remedy. The same thing can be done with the clerkships of registry, which will be worth more than eight thousand; and with those of probate and of the estates of deceased persons, which will be worth another good sum; and they have all been given for nothing.
It has been very unfortunate that the funds which your Majesty has commanded and decreed to be set aside for special objects have been employed for other purposes. This has been especially the case with the fund for prebends and for the payment of troops, which should be performed with the utmost regularity. I have done all I could to put this in order; but since the current from the past was very strong it was impossible to accomplish my purpose. The reason given was that one fund ought to aid another. The evils resulting are serious; for both ecclesiastics and soldiers perform their service, and all they get is nothing but poverty. Hence they lament with reason that their salaries are not paid to them. This is a reason that the soldiers are wretched and poor, some of them going about begging for alms. An attempt will be made to correct this when new officials of your exchequer enter their offices; and more certainly your Majesty will provide relief in this direction, so that the soldiers’ pay may not fall into arrears. If the Audiencia had not assumed authority to set apart in the treasury the money which came [from Mexico] during the preceding year, one thousand six hundred and five, for persons who had died in previous years in the war with the Sangleys and in other conflicts, to be used to pay the soldiers, it would have been a very great misfortune. With this the matter was set right, and the pay has been kept up; but your Majesty has been obliged to remain in debt for the sum which was taken for this purpose.
The president and the auditors have likewise suffered in their salaries, which are at the present time due them for more than a year. Although for these salaries certain specified encomiendas had been set apart, the returns from these have been mixed with other funds. During the term of the former Audiencia, your Majesty commanded that for this purpose certain encomiendas should be assigned to the crown; but no more than six thousand pesos was thus realized. Since the number of encomiendas above referred to will have to be vacated, your Majesty can decree that some shall be set aside for this purpose; then the treasury will be in a somewhat easier condition.
One of the most important institutions possessed by your Majesty in these islands and in this city is the seminary of Santa Potençiana, in which care is taken of orphaned and poor girls, the daughters of conquistadors; there are in it more than a hundred. The seminary prevents many evil results. The girls leave it, when entering the married state, respected and instructed; and the seminary also serves as a shelter for other women during the absence of their husbands, and for many other good purposes. Your Majesty is its patron, and hence, ought to remember it. During Easter week the house, which was very well built, and roofed, was burned to the ground, and its inmates were dispersed. Since it was under the patronage of your Majesty, and on account of the good work that it was doing, the archdeacon of this diocese and I determined to ask for subscriptions in order to rebuild it. The city zealously entered into the work, and we collected about two thousand five hundred pesos, with which we immediately began to build the structure. God was pleased that by the feast of Pentecost we were able to have the greater part of the inmates sheltered, within narrow quarters but under a roof. The work has been continued ever since, and I hope that soon it will be established in its previous condition. Still the institution is very poor, and is in great need. I trust that your Majesty will command that some Indians be assigned it, or that some grant be made to it; for great service is done to God by this institution, through its good works and by preventing the evil which would result in the community if its inmates were left without shelter.
This city was also in need of a hospital in which care might be taken of Spanish women, of whom there are now many here. So great was their need that some were cared for in a hospital maintained by La Misericordia for the care of slaves. God aroused the zeal of a conquistador of this country, by name Joan Ximenes del Pino; and, encouraged by his own zeal, by suitable measures he bought a building next to the royal hospital for the Spaniards, which could be connected with the latter, and which he has given to the hospital for this purpose, that women may be cared for in it. It cost him five thousand pesos; and besides this he assumed the expense of putting it into a proper state for this purpose, with which intent he placed in my care a sum of money which is being spent. In view of the fact that the expense is increasing, the said hospital will require some grant of aid. I beg your Majesty to give it, for all these institutions are under your protection.
The hospital of the Spaniards also suffers from inadequate service, for lack of attendants; and it is necessary for your Majesty to provide a remedy, which can best be done by sending for this purpose brethren of St. John of God;[2] for although Franciscan friars live there they attend only to the administration of the sacraments, and of everything else there is a lack.[3]
Since men here are placed in danger they are continually giving out, and when any of them die others take under their guardianship the children of those who are left. Sometimes the guardians give sufficient bonds, and sometimes not; but with the progress of time these cases have grown steadily worse, and the poor minors lose their estates. There are many thousands of ducados in the hands of guardians; and although the alcaldes-in-ordinary have tried to make them render accounts, no accounts have ever been finished during the three years since they were begun, for they are all banded together. This is a wretched state of affairs; hence, in order to correct this, it will be well for your Majesty to give commands that the Audiencia shall take charge of this matter. It should be committed to one auditor, for it can be done in no other way. This community suffers from this evil.
The governor, Don Pedro de Acuña, being obliged to be absent from the city on the expedition to Maluco, appointed as his lieutenant in the governorship and in matters of war the licentiate Christoval Tellez de Almaçan, second auditor of this Audiencia. As soon as the governor left the city the licentiate Don Antonio de Ribera Maldonado asserted that he, as the senior auditor, had the right to command in war and the Audiencia to direct the government, in conformity with the decree which declares that if the governor shall become unable to perform the duties of his office, the Audiencia shall govern, and the senior auditor shall perform the functions of captain-general. With regard to this the Audiencia determined that the licentiate Don Antonio should fill the office of captain-general, under certain limitations which were set, while the governorship should remain as the governor Don Pedro had left it. If it were necessary to carry out the decree, and if the chief command in military affairs should have to be given to the senior auditor, it ought not to be with limitations. Likewise the Audiencia should assume the functions of the governor. Accordingly, I give a statement of that which has happened, as I am looking to the future. An explanation of the said decree is needed to determine whether, when the governor is absent from the city without leaving the jurisdiction, he shall have authority to appoint whomsoever he chooses, or if the decree must necessarily be carried out. The decree states that, in case the governor thus fails to act, it is necessary to send a report of the facts to your Majesty, that you may take suitable measures; and it seems to refer to the event of death. For deciding this question, it must be considered that it might happen that the abilities required for the conduct of military affairs would be lacking in the senior auditor, while they might be found in the one whom the governor should appoint. From this it will be clearly seen that for the conduct of military affairs—especially in the condition in which these islands and the new conquest of Maluco at present are—it is undesirable not to be provided in this jurisdiction with a person of much distinction and experience in the conduct of war.
Since your Majesty is at such a distance, and the remedy for these difficulties must come so slowly, there is no one to correct certain ecclesiastics. Their superiors sometimes pay very little attention to the complaints made against them, and hence there have existed and do exist serious acts of impropriety, especially among the religious. Since there is no one who has authority to investigate their cases or to write reports regarding these, matters are in a most lamentable condition, and mainly to the injury of the Indians. The religious make assessments on the natives under the name of benefactions, and employ them at their will, without limit. I have striven to find means to correct this, and have entered suit against the agents whom they employ to carry out their plans; these are called fiscals, and are cruel executors of the will of the religious. I offered my plea, and accordingly the Audiencia decided that none of them should have the right to hold Indians in service or should collect any contributions; and a certain amount of abatement of this unjust practice seems to have resulted. Those who are most notorious in this matter, and who are worse than all the others, are the members of the Order of St. Augustine. They are practically incorrigible, on account of having as provincial Fray Lorenço de Leon, a friar of much ambition and ostentation. He left these islands to ask your Majesty for bounty, and now he is striving to go again, and for that purpose has collected a large amount of money. He has even taken the silver from some of the mission churches of his order; and when he visited the province of Ylocos, he even carried away the monstrances for the most holy sacrament from Ylaguan, Vantay, Candon, Tagudin, and other places. It will be well for your Majesty to decree and grant authority to the Audiencia, that it may cause official investigation to be made into these matters and others which may arise, and that it may proceed as do the viceroys of Piru and Mexico. For, so soon as friars are interfered with in any respect, they begin to declare that ecclesiastical censures have been incurred and disturbances are raised, which give occasion for scandal to the common people. When I saw this, I petitioned the said Audiencia for some correction of the unlawful acts of the said provincial; and they directed that the bishop of Nueva Segovia (who was present in this city) and the vicar-general of this archbishopric should make an official report in the matter. This they have done in a secret document, stating the great transgressions of this friar. When I petitioned that some decree should be passed in session of the Audiencia, it was decided that a remedy should be provided; but I have not learned that anything has been done. I inform your Majesty of this, that you may take such measures as shall be necessary.
A great aid in making a beginning in correcting the unlawful proceedings of these religious of the Augustinian order has been the coming of the discalced friars of the order. They have been very well received and several of the others have begun to join with them, intending principally to escape the tyranny of their provincial. In this way the others and he himself, will be corrected, when the good result of their coming shall be evident in this effect, and in the conversion of souls which your Majesty has so much at heart. I have aided them in so far as to provide them with a house, where they now are.
In the vicinity of this city, and within it, there are Indians without number who have come from their native places to escape the labor of tilling the soil and raising animals as they have been commanded. They make their living by buying and selling provisions and other things, to the great damage of this community. I have brought suit that they may be compelled to return to their native places; and finally they have been commanded to do so, a certain number of them being retained for the service of each religious order; these are gathered by the religious into villages. The execution of this decree is very necessary, and your Majesty accordingly ordained it at the suit of this city. Your Majesty will please command that this decree be enforced without exception, especially by directing that these villages for the service of the religious orders be broken up. Each order having been allowed as many as thirty Indians, that number has greatly increased by the protection given to them. The reason why they protect them is, that the Indians serve them either for nothing or at less than the ordinary rate of pay, and the sum allowed them for these Indians who serve them is distributed among those who remain; but, in order to get these servants cheaply, the religious contrive that there shall be many of them. If those who are necessary are permitted to remain, it is but just that the religious should pay them the regular rate.
Your Majesty has commanded that no one shall enjoy any positions of profit in these islands without being resident here; and that if encomenderos are absent they shall not receive the tributes. In particular, your Majesty has decreed by your royal letters, at the suit of this city, that the encomiendas of the mariscal Gabriel de Ribera, who has long been absent, shall be vacated. The governor accordingly vacated them, giving part of them to Don Jhoan Ronquillo, and placing part of them under the administration of the royal treasury. After this had been executed and settled, another royal letter arrived in which your Majesty granted to the said mariscal the privilege of receiving his tributes during his absence. When his attorney presented this letter I opposed it, and declared that it had been obtained by some improper statement, as I now allege, and as will appear by the documents which I send. Nevertheless, they commanded that the encomiendas in charge of the treasury should be returned to him, bonds being taken; accordingly, they were given to his attorney, because he himself did not come to demand the fulfilment [of the Audiencia’s decree]. With regard to this matter your Majesty will take such measures as shall please you—considering that there are many here who, although they have seen service, still suffer need; and who are discontented that others should be rich and, even while absent, enjoy what these men are protecting at so great risk.
The expedition against Mindanao having been arranged during the year ninety-five with Captain Estevan Rrodriguez de Figueroa, who was under obligations to carry it out, he began to do so, going thither in his own person; but in the year ninety-six he died, at the first assault. The army being unprovided with a commander, the governor of these islands, Don Francisco Tello, selected one. For the continuation of this expedition a very great expense was incurred by the command of the said governor, with the assent and advice of Dr. Antonio de Morga, his assessor and lieutenant. A suit from the heirs afterward followed, on the ground that they were not obliged to continue the expedition, and were not responsible for the expenses thereof. The Audiencia, as a court of appeal, revoked the governor’s command, and declared the estate free from obligations. I appealed the case to your Majesty, and sent the original documents. This I did, not only that the principal case might be decided, but also because the heirs claim that your Majesty should cause them to be paid for the expenditure of their property. I offer the advice that even if they were not obliged to carry out the conquest, your Majesty is not their debtor, since you have commanded that such conquests are not to be made on your account and at your cost. Hence these expenses are owing by him who commanded them to be incurred. Since I have been in your Majesty’s service I have placed this matter in a clear light, as was not previously the case. When claims were made for wages and other expenses, the Audiencia commanded them to be paid from the royal treasury; and thus many such payments have been made on the account of those who really owed them. At the present time the judges, being informed in regard to these claims, have decided that they are not due from your Majesty. Accordingly your Majesty is not only not obliged to pay them, but has a right to claim satisfaction, for the expenditures from the royal treasury, from the property of the governor Don Francisco; and, in case it is insufficient, from the property of the assessor by whose advice they were incurred.
As to the provision of an incumbent for this office, it should be noticed that most affairs in this country depend upon it—especially the proper care of the Indians, which is most important; for with this office is united that of being their protector. I have always striven to attend to this matter carefully, as I have done in other matters pertaining to your royal service. This I shall continue to do in these islands until an appointment is made: and I petition your Majesty to grant me, when that shall come, permission to leave this kingdom, the governor that shall be in office making me a sufficient allowance for my passage hence. God keep the Catholic personage of your Majesty, with the increase of your realms. Manila, July, 1606.
The licentiate Rodrigo Diaz Guiral
[1] Recopilación de leyes, lib. vi, tit. vi, ley viii, contains the following law in regard to the appointment of the protector of the Indians; “The bishops of Filipinas were charged by us with the protection and defense of those Indians. Having seen that they cannot attend to the importunity, and judicial acts and investigations, which require personal presence, we order the president-governors to appoint a protector and defender, and to assign him a competent salary from the taxes of the Indians, proportioned among those which shall be assigned to our royal crown and to private persons, without touching our royal treasury, which proceeds from other kinds [of taxes]. We declare that it is not our intention by this to deprive the bishops of their superintendence and protection of the Indians in general.” (Felipe II, Madrid, January 17, 1593, in a clause of a letter).
[2] The hospital order of St John of God was originally founded by a Portuguese soldier (named Joan), who at the age of forty years devoted himself, as a religious duty, to the care of sick persons. He began a hospital in his own house at Granada (1540), and his bishop permitted him and his associates to wear a habit. After his death (1550) similar hospitals were formed in Spain, and even spread to Italy. In 1585 all these were organized into an order, with constitutions, under the papal sanction; this order is still in existence, and has establishments in many countries. It did not reach the Philippines until 1649.
[3] Fray Diego Aduarte, Bishop of Nueva Segovia, wrote to the king (July 7, 1606), as follows: “Your Majesty possesses here a royal hospital which is one of the most necessary and useful things in this country for the welfare and care of the poor soldiers and others who serve your Majesty. Although the income which it has is small, it would be sufficient aid, with the many alms given by the citizens who are well to do, if there were some one who could distribute it well and take it in charge as his own affair. It is a most necessary thing for its good government and maintenance that your Majesty should send four or five brethren of the order called Juan de Dios, with the authority of your Majesty and his Holiness, and with power to receive others. For the institution is already founded and everything necessary supplied; and these brethren might come with the religious whom your Majesty sends here, either Franciscan or Dominican; or you might command that some of the excellent hospitallers who are settled in Nueva España should come to these islands, which would economize in expense and hasten their coming, and make it more certain.” [Endorsed: “September 24, 1607. Have the four brethren whom he mentions sent, and entrust the matter to Señor Don Francisco de Tejada, that he may arrange it with the elder brother of Anton Martin. Have a copy sent to Señor Don Francisco.”]