5. That no secular person may leave the islands, nor give the religious aid to leave them. Fifth: It is very needful, for a reform of the said disorders, that his Majesty order the governor of Manila, under severe penalties, that no secular Spaniard may leave the islands for any place or for any business, or furnish a fragata, supplies, or any other aid to any religious in order that the latter may leave the islands, without showing a special order from his Majesty, from the governor, bishop, or any one else whom (or, in Manila—Madrid MS.) his Majesty may consider a suitable person.
6. That the religious come from España and Mejico for the islands, and for no other place. Sixth: His Majesty should order that, now and henceforth—since all the mainland is so closed, and there is, on the other hand, in the islands a very wide open gate for the increase of Christianity and of his kingdoms—the religious coming from España and Mexico shall come assigned for the Philippinas Islands, where there is the greatest abundance of souls. Many who are already baptized, are yet without instruction or ministers; many others pacified, and yet to be baptized, are daily asking for baptism; and there are an infinite number of others to be pacified, who have no knowledge of God—all for lack of ministers; and it is a most serious error that, while this land is so ready, all thought is centered on China, which is wholly averse to the faith; and its doors are closed against it. This is the, art of Satan, so that neither the one nor the other may be effected. [43]
The Proposed Entry Into China, In Detail
First: The person who is sent as an eye-witness will give his Majesty a brief relation of the vastness of China, of the abundance of its fruits and provisions, of the richness of its merchandise, and the great quantity of gold and silver, quicksilver, copper, iron, and other metals; of the immensity and certainty of the treasures, and the infinite amount and variety of the products of the handicrafts and of human industry; and, above all, the endless things that may be said about the people and their life, health, peace, and plenty; and how, with and by all this, there is offered to his Majesty the greatest occasion and the grandest beginning that ever in the world was offered to a monarch. Here lies before him all that the human mind can desire or comprehend of riches and eternal fame, and likewise all that a Christian heart, desirous of the honor of God and his faith, can wish for, in the salvation and restoration of myriad souls, created for Him, and redeemed by His blood, and now deluded and possessed by the devil, and by his blindness and wickedness.
Second: If we, who are here, and see and hear these things, should neglect for any consideration whatsoever—either to escape the labor, anxiety, danger, and cost, or for any other reason—to advise his Majesty of this and to persuade him to undertake so grand a work, we would fulfil neither our duty to heaven, which we owe to God and to the souls of our kinsmen; nor the faith and loyalty, which in such a juncture we owe to our king, our religion, and our fatherland. Surely, we should all be known as vile-spirited cowards, and men of little valor, since, standing on the threshold that bounds so much good, we are content with the little we now possess; and by dint of idling and amusing ourselves with the little that we have here, we fail to look or reach for an object so important for the world, for God, for our king, for ourselves, and above all for the people of this country.
Third: Let his Majesty come to a decision in this matter, for we who dwell here know that either this matter must be left, and entirely given over, and lost forever, or it must be taken up now, because the chance is slipping by, never to return. Thus, a few years ago, it might have been accomplished with no labor, cost, or loss of life; today it cannot be done without some loss, and in a short time it will be impossible to do it at any cost. For the Chinese are each day becoming more wary, and more on their guard. They are even laying in munitions of war, fortifying themselves, and training men—all which they have learned, and are still learning, from the Portuguese and our people. Seeing the Portuguese in that country, and us here, they are fearful, and especially so from the accounts the Portuguese give them of us, telling how we go about subjecting foreign lands, overthrowing native kings and setting up our own, and that this has so far been our sole object in coming, and other things that the father has heard from the mouths of the mandarins themselves, and which he will recount. Besides, there is the passage of the fragatas, which they have seen on their way from here to Macan, having met nearly all of them in their ports or with their fleets; and, most of all, the course of affairs in these islands, which, if it were presently made known, would be understood in such wise as to destroy all hope of success.
Fourth: Further, if, for their sins and ours, the doctrine of Mahoma comes into their country—and it has already spread over nearly the whole of Yndia as far as Malaca, Samatra, Javas, Burney, Maluco, Lucon, and almost all other lands—if it should get a foothold there, and some have already entered there, it would be an insurmountable obstacle, not only to cleansing the soul from such an obstinate error, but to winning the land; because they will enter straightway and teach the use of arms, munitions, and the science of war.
Of the right and ground for this entry
First: As for the right and justification which we have for entering and subduing this land, the father who is going to España will discuss and explain this to his Majesty, as he has considered it long and often with the Castilians here, as well as elsewhere with the Portuguese of Yndia, China, and of Japon, with all persons of scrupulous conscience and broad experience; and he knows what all of them think of this project. His Majesty may think it necessary to learn what the father has heard and known and felt respecting the fight and ground which exists, or may exist, both for the preaching of the gospel, and because of the injury that we from day to day sustain, and for the sake of these islands, but much more on account of Macan and the Portuguese.
Of the necessary means for this entry; and, first, of the personnel and troops