Letter from Dasmariñas to Salazar

I have received your Lordship's letter dated today. When your Lordship says that, with the great number of opinions I am trying to weaken yours, I can only reply that my intention certainly has not been such, but to tell your Lordship with all plainness and truth the state of the case—which is that I have learned whether this is the general sentiment of the theologians of this bishopric, as your Lordship said it was in your conclusions. Even if it were so, I could not do more than leave it in the same state in which it was, and report it to his Majesty. But, my lord, if I find some other expression of opinion in clinging to the majority, I do not think that I am mistaken in it; and to this end alone I wrote to your Lordship—certainly not that you should be troubled by what did not come into my thought. Still less would I have you think that I made use of anyone in writing the letter which I sent to your Lordship last night, for I certify, upon the life of my son Luis, that (although that letter seems to your Grace to be a large harvest from my little stock) there is not in it one word by another person, save what suggested itself to me from my own papers and discourses; for all that I wrote there I have told you already at various times, except those quotations from authors and Page 33from the Council of Lima. Those I asked to be given to me, from memory, by the person who mentioned them to me as authority for what he stated and thought; and I quoted them there that your Lordship might see that I had not made up my mind without foundation. All this I had need of in order to justify myself in your eyes, for it seems to you that I could not reply without the help of assistants; but thus far neither my king nor his advisers have noticed in me such a deficiency as that. On another occasion your Lordship told me, in Saint Agustin,[2] that I had read Father Acosta, although I have never in my life seen his book; and when your Lordship says that his doctrine is very pernicious, I have nothing to reply but that no book is written by any father of the Society which is not very carefully looked over and examined and approved by all the members. But before God, and in the name of the holy season [Lent] in which we are, I protest to your Lordship that all these fathers have not erred toward your Lordship in anything except that, at my request, they said what they felt. They are very devoted to you; and if there is in my letter anything worthy of blame, the fault is mine. I say this that your Lordship may not lay it upon anyone to whom it does not belong. Nor am I so fond of the far-fetched reasonings of others that in order to write a letter I need to use anything but the argument which the subject itself and its accompanying circumstances carry with them. And one occurs to me now, which is that matter of having laymen, for lack of religious ministers, look after and bring together the Indians and instruct them in our holy faith. This, I say, is in conformity with the Page 34royal right of appointment, where the king expressly orders it; and although your Lordship says that it is not to be believed that the king with so much risk should have put into my hands alone so important a business, I am satisfied with myself and I think that his Majesty is. For any business which is not of my profession I shall not direct by my own judgment; in this matter, accordingly, I consulted with those whose business it was, and I pray your Lordship to tell me if I did wrong in this. Your Grace says that I am new in the islands, and unlettered; and on the other hand you say that those with whom I have consulted are misleading me and are mistaken. I do not know then what recourse your Lordship leaves for me to find it out, if, as you say, I am a new arrival, and not a theologian, and you take away from me the recourse to the experienced and the theologians. Now since enough has been written and answered about this, I beg of your Lordship not to weary yourself with answering this letter, which is written only not to leave yours without reply. At least do not answer until the treatise is finished which you say you are composing, in which may it please the divine goodness to give your Lordship so much light that his Majesty, seeing it, may confirm it and approve it as a thing from your hand—with the result that all may be of one opinion in this island, and that all the service of God may be set in order and freed from difficulties, and that these divisions and encounters may cease; for I assure your Lordship that in many ways the state is very much scandalized, and that that matter is ill carried out which you said would be improved concerning the pulpits, for this affair was discussed with no little liberty in that Page 35place today. May our Lord keep your Lordship. From the office, March 8, 1591.

Letter from the Governor to the Bishop

As your Lordship was absent from this city, and many things presented themselves to me which were important to the service of God and of his Majesty, and needed remedy, it seemed to me that in order to provide for them it would be best for me to represent them to your Lordship in this letter; and I beg of you to see to them in order that they may be provided for and adjusted as may be most fitting and may best serve our Lord.

The preaching of the gospel is the matter in which we serve God most in these regions to which it came so late; and this is the first intention of his Holiness and of his Majesty, and it is the principal care which your Lordship and all of us who have come here must have. Yet, although this is so, there is nothing which needs more to be provided for and set right than this, on account of the lack which there is of ministers, whether clergy or religious, to do this work. For although his Majesty in his holy zeal has sent so many and continues to send them, there is need of a great many more, considering the many regions which we must reach. So we must not only make all possible efforts to have a sufficient number of ministers come, but must try to find means to distribute in so wide a field the force that we have here, endeavoring with all equality to arrange and stretch the line as much as possible, that there may not be an over-abundance in some parts and a distinct lack in others; but rather we should act as one who has Page 36much to cover and but little cloth, who plies the shears with no little prudence, being watchful in marking his outline to see how it can reach here and there. This may cause some inconvenience to the religious themselves, for it comes to this [illegible in MS.] since we have not the fulness and abundance that there is in España. I have already asked this from your Lordship at other times, as being one who was under such obligations to set about it, as well for the good of the souls as for the temporal good of the king and of his encomenderos, by selecting and distributing ministers in order that thus religious instruction may be communicated and spread. For this the following [illegible in MS.] plans occur to me, if they seem suitable to your Lordship.

The new settlement of La Hermita and Malate may be all one administration. Paranaque and Cavite at least can be another; and, by establishing a house for religious at Cavite, Paranaque and the tingues [“hills”] may be administered by visit, and also the lowlands of Tuley and Limbo. In this way there will remain three clergymen who can minister elsewhere, because [illegible in MS.] which is a great burden. The Augustinian fathers are able to give enough instruction to [meet (?) - illegible in MS.] their obligation; and they will accept it and take charge of it without any more alms being given them. I would save up what is given there, in order to bestow it somewhere else; for there are so many places where there is need of it. Moreover, two religious could be taken from Vatan, because there are four there, and two are sufficient, and there are not enough alms given for more. Furthermore, Father Leon is a very good speaker; and the dean, as he Page 37wishes to advance him, can employ him in the ministry.

The king's villages in Ylocos are for the most part without religious instruction; and the Augustinian fathers say that it should be given to some of them because, as they are new Christians, they do not confess yet. Thus, if the convents were near, a few might remain alone until there should be plenty of ministers; since now all that they can do is to baptize them and prepare them for subsequent confession. It would not be unsuitable that, for the present, while there is no greater supply of ministers, one friar should be alone in a house, since one clergyman is also alone, and is entrusted with the care of a greater number of souls. Moreover, Father Carvajal is a good interpreter and could be of use. I beg of your Lordship to insist that the clergymen who are ministers of religious instruction should not come and go so many times to Manila—not only on account of the offenses which they commit, of which there always are some (as your Lordship might ascertain if you wished to), but also that they may not impose such burdens on the Indians. This is as much as concerns the provision of ministers.

I propose the Augustinian fathers to your Lordship because they have a greater number of religious than the other orders have, and not because I have any partiality in regard to the orders, as your Lordship suspects. I do not know on what you found your suspicion unless it be on the advantages and benefits which have resulted to these fathers from my protection and favor, as your Lordship is accustomed to say, because you will not give any. I will tell you of several things in which, by my interfering Page 38and inclining to your side, they have lost what was due them; for in Cagayan I took away from them a resident's house which was worth one hundred and fifty pesos of rent to them; in Tondo, the lands to which the Indians laid claim; and the property in Laguio and Nuestra Señora de Guia, which was theirs. When they were saying mass in their house to the Indians, with considerable notoriety and scandal to them, and no little affliction to the fathers, they were ejected from the [illegible in MS.] at my instance; for I asked it, and chose to give them this punishment, in order to palliate their offense. Thereupon your Lordship [illegible in MS.] occasioned some disturbance to result. This is what I have done for this order, and the way in which I have favored them, which in truth I might have done in many things most deservedly, and very rightly and justly. But I protest before God that I neither have now nor have had any other consideration or regard in this or in anything else, except a desire that in some way or other so evident an obligation should be fulfilled, and that religious affairs should be settled as they ought, according to the adjustment and amendment which they themselves sought [illegible in MS.] In accomplishing this, let not your Lordship understand that the royal exchequer is to suffer, because [illegible in MS.] his royal intention is that there shall be no lack in this. Accordingly, we shall have recourse in other districts to the clergy whom I mentioned above as being at leisure, who will be occupied with their own support. The plans for this, as I say—taking away here, and replacing there, and distributing and selecting them in order that each one may receive a little—this is all matter for your Page 39Lordship and for the obligations of your office. It is much more your Lordship's duty that you should attend to this business than it is to prevent the king and his encomenderos from enjoying what in justice they ought to, because they do not give you ministers or because they have not them. Your Lordship can remedy and provide for this only in one of three ways—either as a protector of the Indians, or as bishop, or as one who has a special commission for it from his Majesty. As protector, what your Lordship can do is to bring suits in the courts (and, even then, not in all cases), and be satisfied with the decision; or else perform your own duties in the matter. As bishop, your Lordship is concerned with the collections of tribute, in that in confession you should deny absolution to anyone who confesses that he has not fulfilled well the charge of an estate. I do not know whether you, as bishop, can command the confessors that they all should refuse absolution in this or that case, provided the said confessors and your Lordship be of the same opinion and doctrine. As for special commission, I do not know if your Lordship have one, unless it be in the unruly and unpacified encomiendas. With this supposition there remains to your Lordship no other foundation on which to act. Neither does his Majesty commit it to you, nor do I find how your Lordship can be occupied in dealing with [illegible in MS.] more than to give your opinion on it; and here ends the prerogative which your Lordship can claim in this matter. You make strenuous efforts in what does not properly concern you, and fail to remedy what is most necessary and close to your office, which is what I mentioned above about religious instruction. I beg Page 40of your Lordship that, putting aside human considerations, you order that this be attended to, which the good of these souls demands with [illegible in MS.] necessity. Since in this way there are needs now, there will be at least many more. Meanwhile, until ministers are provided more liberally from Spain, let them all get along as best they can, and accommodate themselves, establishing houses wherever they wish to, and where no better opportunity is to be expected. God knows that this does not [illegible in MS.] your Lordship, because you interfere with my office. As far as this is concerned, if I could [illegible in MS.] with it and my commission, or even give it all to your Lordship, and perform my duty, [I would ask (?) —illegible in MS.] your Lordship to do it, if it were not for the obstacle which that would put in the way of the careful guidance and [illegible in MS.] who manage affairs.

Neither does your Lordship resolve to order that, on account of the great lack of religious ministers which exists, provision may be made in the encomiendas that laymen of good life and example may instruct the Indians, bringing them thus to a knowledge of the true God, as well as into friendship and intercourse with us. From this would result at least the favorable disposition which you wish them to have for the time when there may be religious instruction for them, as his Majesty orders in his charge regarding presentations. I have proposed this to your Lordship on several occasions, but you do not set about it or reply to it. Since your Lordship [knows(?) —illegible in MS.] what persons will be fitted for this ministry, I beg you to tell me of some who are suitable; for, as I am new here, am not as Page 41well able to [select them(?)—illegible in MS.] properly; and those whom I brought and know are occupied in other duties and neither [know(?)] the language nor are acquainted with the country.