The royal officials do no more than he wishes, and, besides, they have the example of former ones, who for not acting thus were removed, and held prisoners for three years until your Majesty learned of it, and ordered their offices to be returned to them, and perchance the many hardships and afflictions which the governor inflicted upon them, and caused them to suffer, cost two of them their lives, and lost for your Majesty, in the factor, one of the best servants whom you had in the Filipinas. Accordingly, what I promised to prove is well established; for the complaints were so long in arriving, and the redress in returning, that he who awaited them was already dead.
In the third place, it is essential that he should not be excessively grasping; and that your Majesty should give him such expectations, if he conducts himself well, that his profit will rest more on them than in what the government is worth to him. He should be of mature age and great experience in handling the affairs of the commonwealth, such as some knights possess who hold offices of corregidor on the coasts of España, and who govern in peace and war, as they never lack exercise for these abilities on the coasts. For if they were only required to be expert in war, the country would be in ruins before they became capable of governing it—as, for our sins, we have seen in past years. They should not come burdened with debts, which are demoralizing in a thousand ways. Notwithstanding that your Majesty has issued decrees which prohibit them from giving offices of profit to members of their households, rather than to the worthy persons of the kingdom, these decrees are the least complied with; nor is there any one who dares to interfere in this. If any one should make bold to put the bell on the cat, as the adage says, who would make him comply with it? By no means the royal Audiencia. At one time when I was petitioning for the execution of a royal decree of your Majesty there, an auditor, a friend of mine, said: “You should not do this; for, besides not accomplishing anything by it, you will get yourself into difficulty with him.”
With this in view, it is very important to forbid these offices to persons who are under obligations, which induce an insatiable greed and presumption; and, to fill that yawning void, the wealth of all the Indias is insignificant. The worst is, that they pervert a man, and lead him astray by their influence. If I were to recount here in detail all the difficulties which they occasion, I should have to take twice the space. In short, everyone there is lamenting; and these people come in smiles, and even negotiating for the honors which belong to others, with crass insolence; and, worse yet, it seems to the governor that his own people alone deserve all there is, and the rest are of no account. To give color to their impudence, one of them has dared to write to your Majesty that there was not a person in all your kingdom who could in the least be trusted. The mistakes of these people are never punished, nor is there any one who dares to demand an investigation against them, even when they have done a thousand injuries. In short, he must be such a one as the emperor Theodosius spoke of to St. Ambrose, when he sent him to govern Milan: “Go; and, look you, I send you not to act as governor, but as bishop.” Such must be the governors of the Filipinas, if your Majesty would have them succeed.
And on this account I have no fault to find with Don Alonso Faxardo, whom your Majesty has sent at present to govern. On the contrary, I believe that he will conduct himself there as befits the service of your Majesty and the welfare of your kingdom. For I recognized such desires in him in the little intercourse that I had with him in Mexico, where I was acquainted with him. I am therefore very thankful to God to see him so desirous of serving you, and may He give him grace to succeed. As for the persons who are sent to that Audiencia, they should be in a degree like the governors; for your Majesty places as much confidence in them—although I think it would be more to the purpose to discontinue it, for the reasons which are given by most people in that country, in which matter I will give your Majesty a memorial.
The affairs of that kingdom are in such disorder, and move in so irregular channels, that people ask for an inspector to reform and adjust them and put everything in its place, redressing injuries and punishing wrong-doing. The country is much in need of this; but that it may not be like the frogs who asked Jupiter for a king, and were given one that devoured them, it will be best for your Majesty to appoint some one from that country, who, through his great experience and knowledge, cannot be deceived, and knows what must be reformed, and who is possessed as well of the prudence and tact which are necessary in such a new country. And on the other hand, on account of the risks which exist in sending anyone from here who does not understand the affairs and conditions which must be remedied, and knows not how to proceed, it would be wiser to send no one, on account of the danger which exists of ruining the city.
Item: The governor should not consent to Japanese living in that country, as they are a great trouble and danger to the country, and the city is continually in danger from them.
Item: The Chinese should be very carefully restricted, so that no greater number of them than your Majesty has ordered be [allowed to remain there]; for they are permitted [to enter the country] without any exercise of caution, and we know by experience what this costs.
Item: Your Majesty should command the governor finally to reduce the island of Mindanao to obedience to your Majesty; for those islands are so infested that they hinder the carrying of reënforcements to Maluco. And as they are in league with the Dutch, we have a perfect right to make war upon them and subject them to slavery. All this is easy for the governor if your Majesty command it, and is so necessary for the security of your Majesty’s vassals, as I intend to explain to your Majesty more at length in a separate memorial.
Item: There is an island which lies about twenty leguas from Maluco, called Macaçar, which measures about two hundred and fifty leguas around; it is very rich and well supplied, and from it the forces in Maluco could be supplied with ease and at little cost. It will be necessary for your Majesty to order the governor to negotiate with the king there for friendship and commerce. For the latter has already sent and written, saying that he desires it and that he will furnish all the supplies that are desired, and, if there is no money, will give credit for them until it is procured; and he has sent to ask for religious to preach the faith. They are a capable people, of good disposition, and are disposed to receive the gospel. As this district lies nearest to that which the fathers of the Society hold, it would be of much importance to send a few religious assigned to that island; and for your Majesty to be pleased to have their general requested to give them, which is of much importance even for temporal objects, besides the great service which they can render to God. And the Dutch could not get supplies from there, which would take away from them much of the previsions with which they are supported. Two fathers of the Society have been there, and have written that they were very well received; and it is highly expedient to encourage them.
Item: Your Majesty should order the governor to attend with much diligence to the despatching of ships which go to Nueva España, for upon this so much of the growth of that kingdom depends; and since he is so good a sailor and prides himself upon it, he should regulate that in the proper way, for at present it proceeds with great disorder and even recklessness, as I shall explain to your Majesty in a separate memorial.