There are other abuses against the royal treasury worthy of the most prompt relief, such as that of the storehouses of Manila and Cavité, which cost the king huge sums on account of the lack of system therein.
Another abuse is that the post of commander of the Acapulco ship costs his Majesty four thousand pesos. Besides the enormity that such an office should be conferred for only one ship, the further abuse follows that neither the captain nor other officers are of any use, as the commander orders everything at his own caprice; in consequence, either he is superfluous, or they are.
Another abuse is that, after so many years in which so much gold has been produced in the islands, this precious metal makes no acknowledgment to its king in Filipinas by paying him the tenth, nor is it weighed in a mint, nor is it by any other expedient made useful to his Majesty; for the religious orders, the Indians, the Spaniards, and the mestizos make free use of this trade.
Map of the river of Cagayan, showing town sites along its banks, 1720(?); drawn by Juan Luis de Acosta
[Photographic facsimile from original MS. map in Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla]
Another abuse is, that there has been no thought of conquests in the mountains of Pangasinan, Ilocos, and Cagayan, where, according to accurate information by the fathers themselves, there have been more than three hundred thousand tributes. It would be an easy undertaking, according to the reports of the fathers themselves and the mildness of those Indians.
On account of the advantage which may result for his Majesty and his vassals there, the following points should be considered:
It is known (and I have information in my possession) that there are mines of a special copper, with a mixture of gold, in Ilocos and Catanduanes; and it would be an advantage to open and work them for the casting of artillery and other manufactures.