The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 19 of 55 / 1620-1621 / 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.

by Unknown

Letter from Felipe III to Fajardo

The King: To Don Alonso Faxardo de Tenza, my governor and captain-general of the Filipinas Islands, and president of my royal Audiencia residing there. The letter which you wrote me on the tenth of August of the past year has been received and examined in my royal Council of the Yndias; and the resolutions adopted in regard to the matters discussed therein will be explained to you in this.

You say that Francisco Lopez Tamayo, on account of his many years and ill health, has left the office of accountant which he occupied, and that you have appointed in his place Pedro de Lenzara, as he appeared to you a suitable and intelligent person. In filling this office you have used the care and attention which the matter demands; accordingly the appointment will remain with [him as] a person competent for this employment.

You inform us that in a council held in the time of your predecessor, which consisted of himself, the auditors of the Audiencia there, and the officials of my royal exchequer, it was decided to give, distributed among them and the archbishop of the metropolitan church of that city, and other officials of the said Audiencia, three thousand four hundred fanégas of rice at the price at which my tributes are given to me; and when you saw that they had not my order for this, you ordered that the said grant of rice should not be continued, and that what had been received should be restored if I did not decree otherwise. In this order, and in discontinuing the four hundred pesos which were given to the governor’s secretary, you have done well, and this action was advisable, and conformable to justice; and you are to understand that, if there are other affairs of this kind beside those which you have pointed out, they are to be corrected, and an account of everything given to my fiscal, so that in respect to them he may fulfil the obligation of his office.

You have done well in having ordered that the money from the treasury of property of deceased persons in that city—which used to be taken to the treasury at Mexico without benefit in the property for their souls or their heirs, being divided or invested by order of the court having the jurisdiction in such matters—should be placed in my royal treasury and be paid in the said treasury of Mexico from the money which on my account is to be sent to those islands. What you have decreed in regard to this is just and expedient; and as for what you mention in regard to the proceeds of the bulls, you will do the same if the circumstances and conditions of their collection allow of it. You will act according to previous directions.

You say that the licentiate Andres de Alcaraz, my auditor in that Audiencia, wished to go to Mexico last year in the ships which left those islands for Nueva España; and that, he did not do so because he was sick, and because of your urgent request that he should not desert the Audiencia until the other auditors thereof should become proficient in the despatch of business and the duties of their offices, on account of the lack of harmony among them. As it is fitting that those things which you mention in general terms should be explained in detail, you will advise me what they are, and in regard to what persons, since as president of that Audiencia you are in duty bound to give the information, so that, having been considered, provision may be made according to justice; and in the meantime you ought to correct and warn them in such manner that all shall be peaceful and that scandal shall cease—for this is the sole cause of bad government, of justice losing its prestige, and of those who are appointed to remedy evils being the authors thereof. In order to do away with this, I have had letters written to the other auditors (a copy of which is sent you), warning them that they must be subject to your person, and maintain the respect and ceremony due to you by virtue of your office. Of the rest which you mention in that clause I have been informed.

As for what you say in regard to not considering it expedient for my royal service that the order which I have given should be executed which directs that, on the death of the governors of those islands, the duties of the office of captain-general should be exercised by the oldest auditor of that Audiencia; and what seems best to you to provide in this matter in order to do away with the difficulties which might be feared if, the licentiate Andres de Alcaraz being gone, the licentiate Jeronimo de Legaspi should enter upon the said office, as he is the next oldest auditor, considering the scandal and evil example with which he and his son, Don Antonio de Legaspi, are living: may God be pleased to grant you health, so that this thing will not happen which you wish to anticipate; and for this office there are always persons appointed, and therefore you need not be anxious about this. Since you show so much dissatisfaction with the said licentiate Jeronimo de Legaspi, and he and his son have conducted themselves ill, you will make such investigation as seems most fitting to you; and with the results thereof you will prefer charges against him, together with his answers thereto, and send them to my Council, so that, having examined the documents, they may provide a remedy. I send you a commission for this with this letter, and you are warned that your principal duty as president is to watch and be attentive to the method of procedure of every one of the officials who are dependents of this government. With which I charge your conscience, and warn you of the account which you have to give to our Lord therefor, that you may proceed in a manner not to intimidate justice, nor to propose anything which shall not be purely for the service of His Divine Majesty, and the relief of your conscience and mine. Accordingly, let it be noted that you favor your friends with commendatory reports, or injure those who are not so well disposed to you by accusing or censuring them; for, considering that there is no other person there in whom this trust can be placed except yourself, this warning is necessary.

You recount the service of the licentiate Don Juan de Albarado Bracamonte in the office of fiscal of that Audiencia, and the confidence that you have in him. As I have decreed what has appeared to be expedient in regard to this man, and you will have heard thereof, I have ordered him to be investigated on account of the continual complaints I have received in regard to him. I warn you, as in the preceding clause, that you shall proceed in these reports as justly and cautiously as is necessary, considering the account which you must give to God of them; and before you make them you should consider them with the great attention which I confidently expect from you, on account of the injuries which would follow if this were not done, both to the welfare of the people and to yourself.

What you say in regard to the affair at the seminary of Santa Potenciana, and the investigations which were made in regard to it by the licentiate Jeronimo de Legaspi, concerning the persons who were guilty, and the state in which its lawsuits were, may be reduced to three points. The first, which concerns the seclusion which ought to be maintained in this seminary, is of the gravest importance; and it is necessary that there should be special care exercised in regard to its prudent management, its reception-rooms, and doorkeepers, and especially the porters. To this end it would be desirable to inspect the said seminary often, and that its superior should place only approved persons on guard in the house and residence of those who are inmates, so that it may be as well secured and safe as is right; and that with its inmates, if they are guilty, the measures provided for by the sacred canons and councils should be taken. For it is not right that a house of prayer, seclusion, and retirement should be an offense, and scandal, and a cause for sacrilege. As for the secular persons concerned, I charge and order you to inform them that the crime which they have committed is one of the greatest which cry out before God our Lord, defy justice, and offend the nations and the public cause. And a severe example must be made of them, not only in the maintenance of justice but in the prompt despatch of the suits and cases of those who were implicated in so vile a deed; accordingly you will advise me fully, at all opportunities, of the condition in which they are, and of the execution of penalties, and of the corrective measures that have been applied to the said seminary. The second point concerns the complaint which you present in regard to the appeals from your decisions which are interposed. This is so well provided for by the laws that merely by commanding that these be observed you will have at your disposal all that can be used for good of justice and of your government; for, in spite of the appeal of the parties, you can execute the sentence when the guilt of the accused and the gravity of the case require it. It cannot be presumed that the Audiencia will hinder you in its execution in such cases; for what is permitted to an ordinary judge could not justly be hindered in you, being the person that you are, and the head of that government. Accordingly, for the fuller justification of the case, I have ordered that the letter which goes with this be written to the said Audiencia, and by the copy [sent to you] you will be aware of its tenor. The third point concerns the lack of obedience in military matters, and the hindrance to punishment therein. This evil will be charged to you if you do not exercise in it the most thorough vigilance, in punishing not only insolent and lawless acts, but even the appearance of them, and all that would approach either possible or actual disobedience. For you know that without such strictness there can be no military discipline, nor any successful result; and the arms which are borne for the defense of the commonwealth will be turned to its damage. Accordingly you must treat such cases summarily, in such manner that there shall be no delay permitted in the punishment of the act, so that it shall not cause an evil example or scandal. As for what you mention concerning appeals in this regard, a decision is sent in the said letter to the Audiencia, as you will there see.

You inform us that the king of Japon and several private persons—great vassals, and lords of ports of that kingdom—have usually had presents and valuable articles sent to them from your city at my expense, every year when a ship went to that country; and for several years this has not been done, and various religious persons have considered the matter, and say that those Japanese have observed this, and attributed it as a lack of esteem for their friendship; and this has aroused them to resentment, and to prefer the friendship of the Dutch, on account of the many presents which they give to the Japanese from the spoils they have taken. You say that since there are some advantages in retaining friendly intercourse with that country, and for other reasons, you give me an account of this that I may order what is most fitting for my service. This consists in the measures suggested by your own prudence, with the information that you have of the present state of affairs, and the ordinary relations with Japon; and to whom, how, when, and in what quantity it is best to make these gifts, in such manner that they shall only serve to win back their friendship, and not appear a regular and settled thing, in the manner of an acknowledgment [i.e., of subjection to them]—for that, in the course of time, might be troublesome in other matters. Accordingly, examining into this in conformity with your obligation for the benefit of my royal estate, you will do in this matter what, considering the time and occasion, you shall judge suitable for the interests of our religion, which is introduced into Japon, and for peaceful intercourse and friendship, and the greatest benefit to the traffic and commerce of those islands.

All you say in regard to the affection with which the citizens of that city came forward to serve me on the occasion of the last year—offering not only their persons and servants, but lending the slaves that they have and a hundred and ninety-five thousand pesos—is very gratifying. To these persons in especial, and to all generally, you will show this reply, that they may understand how grateful I am for their loyal service and fidelity; and that on occasions which may arise for their advancement and benefit in property, they will be remunerated, as will be seen in future. As to what you say in regard to Don Juan Ronquillo no resolution will be adopted in regard to him until the termination of the suit in which he is engaged. The affair will be settled as soon as possible after the arrival of the papers, and on that will depend what shall be done with this person—of whose service and their good results I am well informed, and for which I wish to show him favor. In regard to Rodrigo de Guilestegui you will advise me more fully in what way provision can be made for him. I have been advised of the good qualities and merits which you say are displayed in Don Fernando Centeno Maldonado. You mention likewise how little justification there is for some of the informations which have been made by that Audiencia concerning the merits and services of those who claim that I should favor them. This has been so understood in my Council of the Yndias; and, for its remedy, you will so conduct this matter in the session of the Audiencia that no information shall be despatched, notwithstanding that it shall have been reviewed by an auditor, without its being again looked over by the whole Audiencia in its entirety—you being present as president, governor, and captain-general—and in no other manner; and each one giving his opinion, even if he alone should think that the merits of the person are insufficient because, on account of favor or by other means, they are presented when not based upon adequate services. In the case of Gonzalo Bazquez de Lara, notary, what you have done is proper; and you will advise me in detail of the execution of sentence in this case, as you know the great evils which this would cause in the future, and which have come from it in the past, and how important it is to purge the commonwealth of such persons.

The orders of the Society and St. Dominic have been provided with the persons whom their superiors asked for, as you will be aware; thus your suggestion in regard to this has been carried out.

Since you say that the Order of St. Augustine has taken in its charge with great zeal to facilitate and execute all which has been and is necessary to accomplish in my royal service—and especially Fray Alonzo de Baraona, the provincial, and the definitors have done so—it will be very desirable that you should therefore confer with them, and likewise with the provincial and definitors of the discalced [Augustinians], and give them to understand my gratitude to them. You will especially express to them the pleasure which I have experienced in learning their good reputation for procedure, religion, and prudence, and suggest that they should continue this, as I trust they will; and say that I shall always remember, both in general their order in those islands, and themselves individually, as they shall see by the results. And you shall take care to encourage them to the preaching of the gospel, and the benefit and enrichment of souls, so that the public welfare shall not suffer for lack thereof; for it is my intention to aid them so far as possible; and the affairs of those islands, although they lie so far distant from my court, are very near to my thoughts. I trust through our Lord that, He lending you His divine favor, and you meriting it by your good government, you may put all in such good order that it will be preserved and advanced, and the enemy shall lose more.

There are none of your letters which have not been answered, and the same may be said of those from the Audiencia, the officials of my royal estate, and other officers. Madrid, December 13, 1620.

I The King

By command of the king, our lord:

Pedro de Ledesma