Chapter IX: Part 9

Inasmuch as representation has been made to us of the inconveniences resulting from the viceroys of Nueva Espana anticipating appointments among persons who reside in the Filipinas Islands, so that, in case of the absence of the president and governor and captain-general of the islands, those persons may enter upon and exercise those charges until the arrival of the person who is to govern--_ad interim_ or by royal appointment, according as we may decide: therefore we order and command that, in case of the absence of the governor and captain-general of those islands, by death or any other accident, our royal Audiencia resident in the city of Manila shall govern them in political affairs, and the senior auditor in military. The latter, in any cases of war arising for the defense and conservation of the said islands, and in any preparations or other precautions that it shall be advisable to make for this purpose, shall take the advice of the military leaders there, and shall communicate with them for the better direction of matters. We order the viceroy of Nueva-Espana to use no longer the authority that he has had hitherto by virtue of our decree of September thirteen, one thousand six hundred and eight, and the other decrees given to him, to have persons appointed by means of the ways hitherto practiced. Those we now revoke by this our law, and annul, but he shall still be empowered to send the person who shall exercise the said duties _ad interim_. And as it is advisable that the Audiencia of Manila regulate in conformity to this the execution of the contents of this our law, we order the said Audiencia that, in case of the death of the president, it shall maintain that state in all peace, quiet and good government, administering justice to all parties. The senior auditor who shall exercise the president's duties during his absence, shall exercise very especial care and vigilance in all that pertains to military matters, and shall try to keep the presidios well manned, and supplied with the defenses necessary for their conservation, and the soldiers well disciplined for any occasion that may arise.

Some Things Worth Knowing About the Governors of the Filipinas Islands

[Juan Jose Delgado, in his _Historia_ (chapter xvii, pp. 212-215), makes the following remarks about the governors.]

In no kingdom or province of the Spanish crown do the viceroys or governors enjoy greater privileges, superiority, and grandeur than in Filipinas. That is advisable because of the long distance from the court, and their proximity to so many kingdoms and nations, some of them civilized but others barbaric. Consequently those assigned to this government should be well tested and picked men; for, because of the difficulty of appeal, as so many seas and lands have to be passed, where shipwrecks are continually suffered, there are great setbacks. Therefore it is very difficult and at times impossible to remedy quickly the disadvantages which may arise (and which have been experienced) from an absolute and selfish governor--who has no one to oppose him in his cupidity, cruelty, headlong disposition, or other vices to which the disordered condition of these so distant lands inclines one. Father Alonso Sanchez of the Society of Jesus, ambassador of this community at the two courts [_i.e._, Spain and Rome], presented to his Majesty Don Felipe II a standard or description of the qualities which should adorn the person who should be appointed governor of Filipinas. That most judicious monarch thought it so difficult to find a man of so many and such gifts, that he bargained with the father, and arranged that the latter himself should seek and select the man. Those same gifts and qualities must be found in those appointed as governors, especially in these times, [95] when it seems as-if cupidity, ambition, pride, and haughtiness have fortified themselves in these lands. For it often happens that the governor is so facile, that he allows himself to be governed by one whom he should not [allow to do so]. Consequently it is very advisable that he should have great courage, in addition to goodness and disinterestedness, so that he may act and judge in his government without subjecting himself to any private person--whether he need such for his temporal advancement, or, through friendship or relationship, incurs that disadvantage by undue intimacy.

Thus it happened to Governor Don Diego Fajardo during his term, as is read in various provincial histories; but the experience that he continued to gain daily opened his eyes to the recognition of his error. Seeing certain disadvantages arising from his protection of certain individuals, he dismissed them from his favor to the prison in the redoubt of Santiago, and confiscated their property, without respect to, or fear of, the influence that they had acquired in the community because of their wealth and support. A governor, whom I knew and with whom I was familiar, was told in Mexico that he would come to kiss the hand of a certain citizen distinguished for his wealth and rank. But he, being a man of great courage and spirit, who knew how to hold every one in his own position, without permitting him to rise to greater, immediately upon his arrival in these islands ordered that man in the king's name to perform a certain necessary and useful service. As he, trusting in his favor among the citizens, did not obey the order, the governor condemned him to be beheaded. For that purpose he tore him from the church in which he had sought refuge, and would have executed the sentence, had not the ecclesiastical estate interposed all its influence by pointing out several disadvantages, upon which his punishment was lessened and the penalty commuted. Thus did he hold each one to his post, and all praised his rectitude, disinterestedness, and magnanimity; and he left his government with great honor and reputation.

These islands need disinterested military governors, not merchants; and men of resolution and character, not students, who are more fit to govern monasteries than communities of heroes. They should be men who can make themselves feared and respected by the enemies who surround us on all sides, and who can go in person to punish their opponents (as did the former ones, with so great glory to God and credit to the Spanish arms), so that in that way the islands may be conserved in peace and be respected and feared by the Moro and Indian chiefs--and those who are called kings or sultans of Jolo and Mindanao, who go with feet and legs bare, and have to go to sea to cast their fishing nets in order to live, are that and nothing more. But if a governor comes to these islands with the intention of escaping his natural poverty by humoring the rich and powerful, and even obeying them, the wrongs accruing to the community are incredible, as well as those to Christianity, and to the country--which is at times on the point of being lost because of this reason--and especially since appeal is so distant, as was seen and experienced in the year of 1719. [96]

The governors of these islands are almost absolute, and like private masters of them. They exercise supreme authority by reason of their charge, for receiving and sending embassies to the neighboring kings and tyrants, for sending them gifts and presents in the name of their king, and for accepting those which those kings and tyrants send them. They can make and preserve peace, declare and make war, and take vengeance on all who insult us, without awaiting any resolution from court for it. Therefore many kings have rendered vassalage and paid tribute to the governors, have recognized them as their superiors, have respected and feared their arms, have solicited their friendship, and tried to procure friendly relations and commerce with them; and those who have broken their word have been punished. The legitimate king of Borney, who had been dispossessed of his kingdom, because his brother, who had no right to it, had usurped it, begged help from Doctor Don Francisco de Sande, governor of these islands. Governor Sande went with his fleet, fought with and drove away the tyrant, and put the legitimate king in possession [of his throne]; the latter rendered obedience to the governor, appointed in the place of the king of Espana, and subjected himself to this crown as vassal and tributary. The same happened during the term of Gomez Perez Dasmarinas, to whom the king of Siao came to render homage. Governor Don Pedro de Acuna went to Ternate with a fleet, fought, conquered, and took the king of that island [97] prisoner to Manila, as a pledge that the Ternatans would not again admit the Dutch and English--who, with their consent, were beginning to engage heavily in that commerce, and were seizing the country. Although Don Juan Nino de Tabora had a royal decree ordering that that king be restored to his kingdom, he did not execute it, as that seemed unadvisable to him. Consequently the king died in Manila. One of his sons was also a prisoner of war, and the governor appointed a cachil to govern in his stead. That king, the king of Tidore, and others in the same islands of Ternate rendered homage to Don Pedro de Acuna, and became friends of the Spaniards. The said governor received them under the canopy in the name of the king of Espana, and took them under his protection and care. In the year of 1618, the same governor [_i.e._, Alonso Fajardo y Tenza] made peace and treaties with the king of Macasar, who also placed himself under Espana's protection, so that the governor might protect him in his needs and necessities.

The country formerly had very peaceable relations with the emperor of Japon, and also a very rich and useful commerce; and his Majesty ordered by a royal decree of June 4, 1609, that it be preserved, although at the expense of gifts and presents of considerable price and value. That friendship lasted until the year 1634, when the Japanese were found lacking in it because of the Dutch--who, always following in our footsteps, introduced their commerce into that empire.

Friendship and commerce have been maintained from the beginning of the conquest with Great China, and are still preserved. The emperor of China ordered a port to be assigned so that the people of Luzon could establish a city and factory under the same conditions as the Portuguese in Macao. His Majesty also ordered, by a decree of April 9, 1586, Doctor Francisco de Sande to sustain the friendship, and prohibited him from making war; for, as some authors say, Sande had the intention of conquering that empire. [98] That does not seem to me so certain, for that empire had so many millions of men, with innumerable cities, forts, and walls, and fleets that guard the ports with great vigilance. Moreover at that time the soldiers in these islands did not number five hundred, and were scarcely sufficient to guard them; and it was very difficult to transport them from Nueva Espana and other kingdoms. Although it might be that that idea was simply speculative, the council prohibited it, and ordered them thenceforth to observe what was prescribed.

The king of Siam captured two ships of these islands in his ports in 1629. Don Juan Nino de Tabora, who was governor at that time, immediately despatched two warships to punish so great violence, and they made many prizes and inflicted many injuries along those coasts. After that he sent ambassadors to the king to ask satisfaction for what the latter had done, and the restoration of the Spanish ships. Although the king who had had the ships seized was dead, his son was forced to return them, and did so. The Mindanaos and Joloans, chastised because of the fleets that they were sending to plunder these islands, have been subdued and have made peace several times. But, whenever it appears good to them, they break the peace, make war on us, and sack and burn the towns of the Christians, capturing many thousands of them; this is done not only by the Mindanaos, but by their vassals, the Camucones and Tirones. Consequently, one can and ought to make war on them very justifiably, until they are destroyed and annihilated, if necessary--as was done before, and is being done in this year of 1751. [99] During this and previous years the king of Jolo lived in Manila, was baptized, and made a subject of the Spanish crown. He solicited aid against one of his brothers named Bantilan, by saying that the latter had revolted with the kingdom. However it is hoped that the truth of the whole thing will be discovered in time. [100] It was resolved by a royal provision of May 29, 1720, that all the prisoners made among those nations during the war should be declared slaves forever.

Besides the above, the governors of these islands have absolute authority privately to provide and attend to all that pertains to the royal estate, government, war, and consultations in difficult affairs of the auditors of this royal Audiencia; to try in the first instance the criminal causes of the soldiers; and to appoint alcaldes, corregidora, deputies, and chief justices of all the islands for the exercise of government, justice, and war, together with the chief scrivener appointed by his Majesty for government and war matters. The governor also enjoys the privilege of a permanent body-guard of twelve halberdiers, with a captain of the guard, who always accompany him, besides many other preeminences conceded by royal decrees to the presidency of the royal Audiencia and Cnancilleria. He is, finally, captain-general of all the archipelago. For these his employments, his Majesty assigns him annually a salary of eight thousand pesos de minas--or thirteen thousand one hundred and thirty-five pesos, three granos of common gold--besides the many profits and gains assigned to him by domestic and foreign fees and privileges, which amount annually to great sums of money.

Administration of Government and the Captaincy-General

[The following is taken from Sinibaldo de Mas, [101] _Informe sobre el estado de las Islas Filipinas en 1842_ (Madrid, 1843), tomo ii. Portions of it are apparently embodied in translation and abstract in Bowring's _Visit to the Philippine Isles_ (London, 1859), p. 87-93.]

The government of the Filipinas Islands, together with the group of the Marianas, is in charge of a military chief, who, to the title of governor, joins those of president of the Audiencia, and royal vice-patron; subdelegate judge of the revenue, and of post-offices, posts, and express [_correos, postas y estafeta_]; and director of the troops, captain-general, and commander-in-chief of the navy. His authority, then, embraces all the powers derived from these titles, both for administration and for the security and defense of the territory.

To discharge these duties he has three secretaryships--one of government, another of the captaincy-general, and the third of the navy--one military auditor, one adviser in government matters, one fiscal, and one scrivener. One may appeal from his gubernatorial measures to the royal Audiencia, which often alters or annuls those measures by means of sentence. But there is a law that provides that in case that the governor-general undertakes to have his order put into effect, it must be observed until the superior decision, so that no uneasiness and confusion may result from it in the country. The collection of taxes and the disbursement of money is in charge of a superintendent of the treasury [_hacienda_], under the immediate orders of the government at Madrid. In sudden or doubtful cases, the resolutions of the superior council [_junta_] of the treasury--composed of the superintendent, the accountant-in-chief of accounts [_contador mayor de cuentas_], the accountant of the army and treasury, the newest auditor of the Audiencia, and the fiscal of the treasury--decide the matter.

The islands are divided by provinces, in each of which there is a subordinate chief who is styled governor or alcalde-mayor. These exercise jurisdiction in the first instance, in matters of government and litigation. They are military captains, and have in charge the collection of the royal revenues, under a responsibility guaranteed by bonds to the satisfaction of the accountant-general of the army and royal treasury. The province of Cavite is an exception to this rule, for the collection of the tribute there is now made by an assistant of the chief justice. Therefore he who rules in a province exercises all the attributes of political chief, and as such is subject to the governor-general; those of judge of first instance, and as such is dependent on the Audiencia; those of subdelegate of treasury (although he does not have the disposal of the monopolized incomes), and as such has to render accounts, bonds, and obedience to the chiefs of the treasury; and finally, if he is of military rank, he is commandant-of-arms, and subaltern of the captain-general; and even though he be not of military rank he obtains the rank of military commander [_capitan a guerra_] by virtue of his rank of alcalde-mayor. He has charge of the company assigned to his province, and, in the absence of his Majesty's troops, he commands the troops that he equips upon extraordinary occasions.

Each province is subdivided into a greater or less number of towns. Each town has a gobernadorcillo [i.e., little or petty governor], with assistants and alguacils of justice, whose number is fixed. They discharge various functions, among them the administration of justice in regard to fields and palm-trees, and that of police. In some towns where there are a sufficient number of Sangley mestizos (who are the descendants of the Chinese), they form, when they obtain permission from the government, a separate community, with a gobernadorcillo and other members of the magistracy taken from their own midst. In the towns which are the capitals of the province there is often a gobernadorcillo for mestizos and one for natives. This latter always takes command of the province in case of the sickness or absence of the alcalde-mayor. The gobernadorcillos have in their towns all the municipal responsibility proper to the authority which is conferred upon them by their appointment. They are especially bound to aid their parish priests in everything pertaining to worship and the observance of religious laws. They try civil causes up to the value of two taels of gold, or forty-four pesos. They take action in criminal cases by collecting the preliminary evidence, which they submit to the provincial chiefs. They are under obligation to see to the collections of the royal revenue, and further to give notice of the ordinances for good government. They are permitted to collect certain dues that are specified in their own credentials. Each town has also other citizens known under the name of cabezas [_i.e._, heads] de barangay. Each cabeza is obliged to look after forty-five or fifty tributes which comprise as many families, and that is the signification of barangay. The cabezas must reside with them in the district or street assigned; must attend in person to the good order and harmony of their individuals; must apportion among them all the services that are due from them collectively; must settle their disputes; and must collect the tribute under a fixed bond, in order to effect its delivery afterward in entirety to the gobernadorcillo, or directly to the provincial chief, as happens in that of Tondo. The cabezas are ex-officio attorneys for their barangays in all matters that concern them collectively, and electors of the gobernadorcillos and other officials of justice. For that interesting function, only the twelve oldest men of each town or the substitutes whom the ordinance assigns, have a vote. In some provinces the cabezas appoint only the three who have to compose the _terna_ [i.e., three nominees for any office] for the gobernadorcillo. These, with the outgoing gobernadorcillo, proceed to the election of the deputies, alguacils, and their committees. The cabecerias [_i.e._, headships], much more ancient in origin than the reductions [_i.e._, native villages of converts], were doubtless hereditary. At present they are hereditary and elective. When they fall vacant, whether for want of an heir or through the resignation of the regularly appointed incumbent, the substitute is appointed--by the superintendent, in the provinces near the capital; and in those distant from it by the respective subdelegate chief, but at the proposal of the gobernadorcillo and other cabezas. This same plan is followed in the creation of any cabeceria in proportion to the increase in population, and as the number of tributarios in each town demands it. The cabezas, their wives, and first-born sons (who are their assistants in the collection of the royal revenues), enjoy exemption from the payment of tribute. The cabezas in some provinces serve in the cabecerias for three years; and, if they do not prove defaulters, they are recognized as chiefs in the towns, with the titles of ex-cabeza and don. Such system offers the serious disadvantage of multiplying the privileged class of chiefs, which, being exempted from personal services, increases the tax for the common people or the _polistas_ [102] in proportion to the increase of the privileged class.

The offices of gobernadorcillo, deputies, and alguacils of justice are elective, and last one year, with superior approbation. It is stipulated that the elections take place exactly at the beginning of each year, in the royal houses or halls of justice in the towns, and not elsewhere. The electors are the outgoing gobernadorcillo and the twelve senior cabezas de barangay. For gobernadorcillo three individuals have to be nominated by a plurality of votes, and the respective place of each one in the terna must be expressed. It is to be noted that the nominee must be able to speak, read, and write the Spanish language. If he cannot do that, the election of the one who lacks this express condition will be considered null and void, where such election has been made. For the other officials of justice, those needed by the town are elected by the same convention. The balloting must be secret, and is authorized by the notary and presided over by the provincial chief. The parish priest may be present, if he wishes, to express what opinions he may consider fitting, but for no other purpose. In sealed envelopes the election returns are sent to the superior governments of the provinces of Tondo, Bulacan, Pampanga, Bataan, Zambales, Nueva Ecija, Laguna, Batangas, and Cavite, so that after choosing one of those proposed as gobernadorcillo, the respective government orders the credentials corresponding to each class to be despatched. In the other provinces, because of their distance from the capital, the chief of each one appoints the nominee in the first place, and making use of the blank credentials entrusted to him by the superior government, writes therein the names of those interested, and places them in possession [of their offices].

The cabezas of barangay can be elected, if they preserve their cabecerias and the collection of tributes, by the rule in the royal decree of October 17, 1785.

The Chinese community may elect from among its Christian individuals, and in a meeting presided over by the alcalde-mayor of Tondo, one man as gobernadorcillo, one as chief deputy, and a third as alguacil-mayor. The government grants those elected the proper credentials, by virtue of which they exercise jurisdiction. The officials of justice in this community are called _bilangos_, and are appointed by the new gobernadorcillo. The electors are also thirteen in number, and are composed of the outgoing gobernadorcillo, the ex-captains, and the petty chiefs [_cabecillas_] of the tribute and of champans, both past and present. When any number is lacking, it is made up from the petty heads of the trades. At present the collection of tribute or the poll-tax from the Chinese is in direct charge of the alcalde-mayor in the province of Tondo, with a supervisor chosen from among the officials of administration of the royal treasury. In the other provinces it is attended to in person by the chief of each province. This levy of taxes is managed by a register, where the Chinese are enrolled and classified, and that register determines the quota of each, who contributes according to his class.

The gobernadorcillos and officials of justice deserve the greatest consideration from the government. The provincial chiefs are under obligation to show them the honor corresponding to their respective duties. They are allowed to sit in the houses of the latter, and in any other place, and are not suffered to remain standing. Neither is it permitted to the parish priests to treat these officials with less consideration.

Political and Administrative Organization

[Montero y Vidal's _Archipielago Filipino_(Madrid, 1866), pp. 162-168, contains the following chapter.]

The municipal organization of Filipinas differs widely from that of Espana.

Some native functionaries, improperly called gobernadorcillos, [103] exercise command in the towns; they correspond to the alcaldes and municipal judges, of the Peninsula, and perform at once functions of judges and even of notaries, with defined powers. As assistants they elect several lieutenants and alguacils, proportionate in number to the inhabitants. Those assistants, together with three ex-gobernadorcillos to whom are referred the duties of judges of cattle, fields, and police, constitute a sort of town council. Manila is the only place that has that corporation [_i.e., ayuntamiento_] with an organization identical with those of the same class in Espana.

Even when the gobernadorcillos are recompensed with a certain percentage for the collection of contributions, and they collect some other dues, the total sum that they finally receive is so small that their office is considered honorary. In spite of this, the duty is an onerous one, and they are subject to annoyances, fines, and imprisonment, if the gubernative, judicial, and administrative authorities, etc., are rigorous. The Indians covet it with a desire that is astonishing, and avail themselves of all possible means in order to obtain it. The secret of the motive that impels them lies in their fondness for prominence, and in the fact that nearly all of them succeed in becoming rich, or in attaining independent means, after the two years of their office. For the _polistas_, or individuals who are obliged to labor on the public works of the state, build their houses for them free of cost, bringing the materials from the forest or the points where they are found; there are the _fallas_, or the amount of the aliquot sum that is to make good the deficiency in public works [i.e., in the services on public works rendered by the natives], in the collection of which there is opportunity for the gobernadorcillo to figure, by supporting all or the majority of those who should perform that work, and himself using that money; the innumerable bribes and illegal exactions that they impose, and the taxes that they collect through numberless separate judgments: [all these] make the office sufficiently lucrative, although in that country, scarcely any importance is attached to many of these irregularities (even by those who are injured by them), which custom has almost sanctioned as law.

The election of corporate members is carried on under the presidency of the provincial chief by twelve of the most prominent men in the town--half of them drawn by lots cast by those who were gobernadorcillos and cabezas de barangay, and the other six from the cabezas in actual office; while he who is gobernadorcillo at the time of election votes also. The individual who obtains most votes is proposed to the general government as being first on the list; he who follows him in the number of votes, in the second; and the actual _pedaneo_ [i.e. a subordinate officer, here the gobernadorcillo], in the third. From that list of three [_terna_], the governor-general appoints one, after seeing the report of the president of the election.

The cabezas de barangay are chiefs of fifty families, those from whom are collected the contributions that form part of the revenues of the treasury and government. This institution, antedating the conquest, is most useful, the more, for the same reasons, since the gobernadorcillos come to be to their members of barangays or those they rule, the same that those pedaneos [i.e.], the cabezas] are to the generality of the inhabitants. The actual cabezas or the ex-cabezas, with the gobernadorcillo and the ex-captains (as those who have exercised that office are designated), form the _principalia_ [i.e., chieftain class, or nobility].

Their usual dress is a black jacket, European trousers, mushroom hat, and colored slippers; many even wear varnished [i.e., patent leather] shoes. The shirt is short, and worn outside the trousers. The gobernadorcillo carries a tasseled cane [_baston_], the lieutenants wands [_varas_]. On occasions of great ceremony, they dress formally in frock coat, high-crowned hat--objects of value that are inherited from father to son.

On the day on which the gobernadorcillo takes his office, his town has a great festival [_fiestajan_]. All eat, drink, smoke, and amuse themselves at the expense of the _municipe_ [i.e., the citizen who is elected gobernadorcillo], and the rejoicing is universal. In the tribunal (city hall) he occupies a large lofty seat, which is adorned with the arms of Espana and with fanciful designs, if his social footing shows a respectable antiquity.

On holy days the officials go to the church in a body. The principalia and the _cuadrilleros_ form in two lines in front of the gobernadorcillo and the music precedes them. In the church the latter occupies a seat in precedence of those of the chiefs, who have benches of honor. After the mass, they usually go to the convent to pay their respects to the parish priest; and they return to the tribunal in the same order, the musicians playing a loud double quick march. [104] There they hold a meeting, at which the gobernadorcillo presides, in which he, in concert with the cabezas, determines the public services for the week.

The tributarios of many towns go, after mass, to hear orally the orders that the cabezas communicate to them. In order to summon any of them when necessity requires, they have adopted certain taps of the drum; and on hearing it they go to the tribunal.

If the gobernadorcillo is energetic or has a bad temper, the cabezas fear and respect him highly; but if he is irresolute they abuse him. When he goes out on the street, an alguacil with a long wand precedes him.

Since the majority of these pedaneos do not talk Spanish, they are authorized to appoint _directorcillos_ [i.e., petty directors], who receive very slender pay. The directorcillo--who has generally studied for several years in the university or the colleges of Manila without concluding his course--writes the judicial measures, and the answers to the orders of the provincial authorities; serves as interpreter to the pedaneo, when the latter has to talk to Europeans; and exercises entire influence in all matters. By virtue of that he sometimes commits abuses that the gobernadorcillo finds it necessary to tolerate, in order not to lose his services; for there are towns where one cannot possibly find another inhabitant to take his place, because of their ignorance of Castilian. All that redounds to the hurt of the honest administration of the towns, and even the prestige of the government, since the said directorcillos are wont to ascribe to the superior orders their own exactions and annoyances.

Each town of Filipinas contains a number of cuadrilleros, proportional to its citizenship. They are under obligation to serve for three years, and only enjoy exemption from the payment of tribute and _polos_. [105] The cuadrilleros are armed with old guns and spears, perform police duty, and guard the tribunal, prison, and the royal or government house. They also go in pursuit of criminals.

Some provinces (for instance, the majority of those in Luzon) are ruled by legal alcaldes-mayor who are lawyers, who exercise the civil government, and are at the same time judges of first instance, sub-delegates of the treasury and of local departments, administrators of the posts, military commandants, and presiding officers of the meetings for auctions and for primary instruction. They were also formerly collectors of tobacco, in the provinces where that plant is cultivated. [106]

Other provinces, such as those of Visayas and Mindanao, are ruled by politico-military governors, belonging to the army and fleet, who also unite duties identical to those of the alcaldes-mayor--with the difference that in these provinces there are judges for the administration of justice; while in the provinces of Luzon the governors conduct the court of justice, with a lawyer as advisory assistant [_asessor_], who is the judge of the next province. In those provinces where no department of the public treasury exists, they are also directors of economic matters.

A governor and captain-general exercises the supreme authority in Filipinas. In his charge is the direction of all civil and military matters, and even the direction of ecclesiastical matters in so far as they touch the royal patronage. Until 1861, when the council of administration was created, he also had charge of the presidency of the royal Audiencia and Chancilleria there.

The authority, then, of the governor-general is complete, and such a number of attributes conferred on one functionary (incompetent, as a general rule, for everything outside of military matters), is certainly prejudicial to the right exercise of his duty.

Until the year 1822, private gentlemen, magistrates, military men, sailors, and ecclesiastics, without any distinction, were appointed to fill so lofty a post; and they have borne the title and exercised the functions of captain-general to suit their own convenience.

During the vacancies, political authority resided in the royal assembly--the Audiencia in full [107] and the military authority in an auditor (magistrate), with the title of captain-general _ad interim_.

From the said year of 1822, the government has always devolved upon an official, a general; in case of his death, the segundo cabo, a general, is substituted for him; and in case of the death of the latter, the commandant-general of the naval station.

The captain-general is, as we have indicated, supreme chief of all departments, and the sum total of his pay amounts to forty thousand pesos annually.

A command of so great importance, superior to the viceroyalties of our former American colonies, ought not to be given exclusively to one specified class; and the election of governor should be free, although with the limitation that only ex-ministers and high dignitaries of the army or of any other institution, who merit through their lofty talents, known competence, and proved morality, that Espana should entrust to them its representation and the exercise of its sovereignty in so precious a portion of its domains, should be eligible to it. Thus jointly do the prestige of the Spanish name the complications of political life in modern society, and the progress and welfare of eight millions of Spanish Indians--worthy under all concepts on which governments now fix their attention more than they have hitherto done, in a matter of so transcendent importance--demand this with urgency.

It is also advisable to change the vicious, anomalous, and unsuitable organization of the provinces of Filipinas, assimilating them, so far as possible, to those of Espana. The separation of the gubernatorial and judicial duties, the suppression of politico-military commands, and the appointment of civil governors, under excellent conditions and unremovable for six years, are urgent; all these are measures that will positively redound to the benefit of the country.

NOTES

[1] The earliest compilation of laws regarding the Spanish colonies of Nueva Espana was made, by royal command, by Vasco de Puga (an auditor of the Audiencia of Mexico), and printed in 1563. Francisco de Toledo, viceroy of Peru from 1569 to 1581, prepared a code of ordinances for that country (see Markham's _Hist. Peru_, pp. 149, 156-159, 538). In 1570, Felipe II ordered that a revised compilation of the laws and ordinances for the government of all the Indias be made. After many efforts and delays, this was accomplished in 1628, but the work was not printed until 1681. It is the fifth edition (_i.e._, reprint) of this compilation from which we obtain the laws presented in this document; it was printed in Madrid in 1841.

[2] See _Vol_. VIII, p. 253.

[3] "The present state of affairs in that which relates to this titulo is that set forth by the decree of March 10, 1785, establishing the Company of Filipinas. In regard to this law and those following in this titulo, the reader should remember that a royal order of July 20, 1793, permitted the Company of Filipinas to trade directly between those islands and the ports of South America in one or two voyages, to the amount of five hundred thousand pesos apiece, on condition of paying the foreign duty and the 9 1/2 per cent on the silver taken back. This permit, which was limited during the war with France, was, by a new royal order of September 24, 1796, made general for all succeeding wars, if carried on with maritime powers." The above note is translated from the _Recopilacion_, where it follows law 1. Space permitting, the decree of March 10, 1785, mentioned above, will be given in this series.

[4] This law and all those treating of the prohibition of commerce between Peru and Mejico, Tierra-Firme, etc., were completely superseded by a royal decree dated El Pardo, January 20, 1774. That decree was ordered to be kept and observed by the superior government of Lima, August 1, of the same year; and separate copies were ordered to be drawn, so that all might know that his Majesty had repealed and revoked the general prohibition of reciprocal commerce by the South Sea between the four kingdoms of Peru, Nueva Espana, Nueva Reino de Granada, and Guatemala." We transfer this note from law ix, of this titulo of the _Recopilacion_, an editorial note to law lxviii referring to law ix.

[5] Such a citation as this shows the hand of the editors or compilers of the _Recopilacion_. Law lxvii bears as its earlier date March 3, 1617, and refers to the sending of contraband Chinese goods to the House of Trade of the Indias in Sevilla.

[6] The governors of the Filipinas grant permission to those who go to those islands under condemnation of crime to return. Inasmuch as on that account many convicts hide away from the judges who exiled them, we order the governors, under no circumstances, to permit them to return to Nueva Espana or to go to Peru during the period of their exile. And should they be condemned to the galleys or to other services, they shall fulfil the condemnation,--[Felipe III--Aranjuez, April 29, 1605. Felipe IV--Madrid, January 27, 1631. In _Recopilacion de leyes_, lib. vii, tit. viii, ley xxi.]

[7] The _Recopilacion_ is not clear as to the date of this law and the one immediately following. Law lix bears both dates (as also does law lx), and is designated as clause 11. Laws lxix and lxx bear no date (probably through error of the compiler or printer), but are designated as clauses 16 and 17, and clause 18, of a decree by Felipe III. Hence the above dates with queries have been assigned to these laws.

[8] Luis Geronimo de Cabrera, fourth Conde de Chinchon, became viceroy of Peru in 1628, holding that office until 1639. During his term there was made known the efficacy of a medicine--previously in use among the Indians--the so-called "Jesuit's bark," or "Peruvian bark," obtained from a tree found only in Peru and adjoining countries, named _Chinchona_ by Linnaeus, in honor of the viceroy's wife (who, having been cured by this medicine, introduced its use into Spain). From this bark is obtained the drug known at quinine.

[9] Whenever any ships sail from the port of Acapulco and other ports of Nueva Espana to make the voyage to Peru on the opportunities permitted, it is our will and we order our officials of those ports to visit and inspect those ships with complete faithfulness and the advisable rigor. They shall endeavor to ascertain whether such ships are carrying any Chinese silks or merchandise, or any from the Filipinas Islands. They shall seize such, and declare those found as smuggled goods. They shall divide them, and apply them as is contained in the laws of this titulo. [Felipe IV--Madrid, April 9, 1641. In _Recopilacion de leyes_, lib. viii, tit. xvii, ley xv.]

[10] See note to law lxviii, p. 33.

[11] See _Vol_. XIV, note 12, p. 99.

[12] Latin, _Bacchanalia_. In Latin countries, the three days before Ash Wednesday are given up to boisterous outdoor merriment, which frequently degenerates into coarse and licentious revelry. Hence, the expression "Bacchanalia" Carnival. In order to counteract these abuses, the Jesuits at Macerata in Italy, introduced, in 1556, some special devotions during the three days. The Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament was held in the church, this custom was adopted by St. Charles Borromeo, in Milan; and it gradually extended to other places, and was developed subsequently into "The Devotion of the Forty Hours," which is not confined to the Carnival season. This is the explanation of the term "Bacchanalia," in connection with that church ceremony--_Rev. E.I. Devitt, S.J._

[13] Evidently referring to the capture of van Caerden's fleet by Heredia (see note 26, _post_).

[14] Flagellation in the Philippines was a custom probably taken from the early Spanish friars, but it has been so discouraged of late years by the church that it is performed only in the smaller villages of the interior and in the outlying _barrios_ of the larger towns, more or less secretly, away from the sight of white men. Especially is it prevalent during Holy Week. Although the Philippine flagellants are called "_penitentes_" the flagellation is not done in penance, but as the result of a vow or promise made to the diety in return for the occurrence of some wished-for event, and the "_penitentes_" are frequently from the most knavish class. The fulfillment of the vow is a terrible ordeal, and begins back of the small chapel called "_visita_" that exists in every village. The "_penitente_" wears only a pair of loose thin white cotton trousers, and is beaten on the back by another native first with hands and then with a piece of wood with little metal points in it until the blood flows freely. Thus he walks from _visita_ to _visita_, with covered face, beating himself with a cord, into the end of which is braided a bunch of sticks about the size of lead pencils. He prostrates himself in the dust and is beaten on the back and soles of his feet with a flail. At every stream he plunges into it, and grovels before every _visita_. From all the houses as he passes comes the chant of the Passion. (Lieut. Charles Norton Barney, who was an eye-witness of the flagellation--"Circumcision and flagellation among the Filipinos," in the _Journal_ of the Association of Military Surgeons, September, 1903.)

[15] See _Vol_. IX, note 13. Roberto Bellarmino, born in 1542, entered the Jesuit order in 1560, becoming one of its most famous theological writers. He was long connected with the college at Rome, and later was successively provincial of Naples, a cardinal of the Roman church (from 1599), and archbishop of Capua (1602-05); he died at Rome, September 17, 1621, Perhaps the most widely known of his works is the _Doctrina christiana_ (Rome, 1598); it passed through many editions, abridgments, and translations, having been rendered into more than fifty languages. See account of these in Sommervogel's _Bibliotheque de la Compagnie de Jesus_, art. "Bellarmino." "He was the first Jesuit who had ever taken part in the election of a pope"--Cretineau-Joly's _Hist. Comp. de Jesus_ (Paris, 1859), iii, p. 106. This refers to the election of Paul V (1605).

[16] In the Ventura del Arco MSS. (Ayer library) i, pp. 341-381, is a copy of a letter (dated June 11, 1611) from Father Armano to his provincial, Gregorio Lopez, detailing the achievements of Silva's expedition to the Moluccas in 1611--on which occasion Silva restored to his throne Zayri, king of Ternate, who had been kept as a prisoner at Manila for five years. Rizal says in his edition of Morga, p. 247, note 1, that this king did not return to his island. He was probably taken back to Manila shortly after this restoration.

[17] Pedro Solier was born about 1578; he entered the Augustinian order in 1593 at Salamanca, where he remained five years, and then joined the Philippine mission. In 1603 he went to Spain on business of his order, returning to the islands in 1606. Elected provincial of his order in 1608, he held that office for two years; and in 1610, "on account of the deposal of Father Lorenzo de Leon, journeyed to Spain to make a report of that unpleasant incident" (Perez's _Catalogo_, p. 57).

[18] Baltasar Fort was a native of Moto in Valencia, though some say of Horcajo in the diocese of Tortosa. He studied Latin grammar at Villa de San Mateo. At Valencia he studied philosophy. He took his vows at the Dominican convent of San Esteban at Salamanca, May 2, 1586. After serving as prior and as master of novitiates in Aragonese convents, he went to Manila in 1602. Mart of his ministry there was passed in the province of Pangasinam. He served as prior of the Manila convent, and then as provincial, after which he was sent to Japan as vicar-provincial, whence he was exiled in 1614. He was definitor several times and once rector of the college of Santo Tomas, after which he was again prior of the Manila convent. He died in that convent without the last sacraments, October 18, 1640, being over seventy years of age.--See _Resena biografica_, part i, pp. 311, 312.

[19] Francisco Minayo was a native of Arevalo. After arriving at the Philippines in 1598, he labored extensively in Cagayan, where his ministry had good results. He was accused of the sin against nature, but after arrest and trial was released. Later he was prior of the Manila convent, and after his three years' term returned to Cagayan, where he died at Lallo-c, August 25, 1613. See _Resena biografica_, part i, pp. 302-303.

[20] The following law was passed at Lerma July 23, 1605; and at Madrid December 19, 1618, and is found in _Recopilacion de leyes_, lib. iii, tit. x, ley xiv: "The governor and captain-general of the Filipinas Islands shall take care to reward the soldiers who shall have served us there, and their sons, with the posts and profits that shall fall to his appointment, in accordance with the ordinance, and with full justification, so that they may have some remuneration, observing in everything the laws issued upon this matter."

[21] Father Gregorio Lopez was a native of the town of Alcocer, in the bishopric of Cuenca. He studied theology at Alcala de Henares, but took the Jesuit habit in Mexico. He filled in Mexico the chairs of the arts and of theology, and was master of the novitiates. After sixteen years' residence in Mexico he went to the Philippines, where he became a teacher of Christian doctrine, and rector of the seminary at Manila. He was later vice-provincial and then provincial of his order for eight years, being the first provincial. He died at the age of fifty-three, on July 21, 1614. He spent fourteen years in the Philippines.

[22] La Concepcion says (_Hist. de Philipinas_, iv, p. 284) that the Dutch unexpectedly encountered at Panay a Spanish force, on its way to the Moluccas, who compelled the invaders to retreat.

[23] Francois de Wittert. See _Vol_. XV, pp. 323-328.

[24] "The bells of the churches were cast into heavy cannon" (La Concepcion, _Hist. de Philipinas_, iv, p. 286).

[25] _Vino de Mandarin_; literally, "mandarin wine."

[26] Paul van Caerden (Pablo Blanchardo), who had made several voyages to the East Indies, was captured by Sargento-mayor Pedro de Heredia after a fierce fight near Terrenate, the seat of the new Dutch posts in the Malucos. Juan de Esquivel, Spanish governor of the Malucos, allowed him to pay a ransom of fifty thousand pesos; but was severely rebuked by the Manila Audiencia then in power, for doing so without first advising them. Esquivel took the censure so much to heart that he fell into a melancholy, and died soon after. His successor, Sargento-mayor Azcueta Menchaca, anxious to please the Audiencia, pursued van Caerden and captured him a second time, although the Dutch tried to burn their ship to escape such an ignominy. He was sent to Manila, and his ransom promised on certain conditions. Twenty-two Spanish prisoners at Ternate were given; but, the other conditions not being met, the Dutch officer was kept prisoner at the expense of the royal treasury until his death, in Manila. See La Concepcion's _Hist. de Philipinas_, iv, pp. 112-114.

[27] La Concepcion and Montero y Vidal make this name Faxardo (or Fajardo) instead of Pardos; and the latter gives the following name as Luis Moreno Donoso.

[28] The original is _malos dias_, literally, "a bad 'good-morning.'" It is used as the term _buenos dias_, or "good morning."

[29] The Trinitarian order was founded at Rome in 1198 by St. John of Matha, a native of Provence, and Felix of Valois, an aged French hermit, in order to redeem Christian captives from the infidels. The order received sanction from Innocent III. Their rule was that of St. Augustine, with particular statutes; and their diet was one of great austerity. The habit in France was a soutane and scapular of white serge, with a red and blue cross on the right breast. The first monastery was established at Cerfroy, France, and continued to be the mother-house, until the French Revolution. At one time the order had two hundred and fifty houses, and by the seventeenth century had rescued 30,720 Christian captives. At the dissolution they had eleven houses in England, five in Scotland, and one in Ireland. The religious were often called Red or Maturin friars in England, from the color of the cross on their habit and because of their famous house at Paris near the chapel of St. Maturin.

A reformation made by Father Juan Baptista was approved by the Holy See in 1599, and resulted in the erection of the congregation of discalced Trinitarians in Spain. Their houses, as well as those of the unreformed portion of the order, were suppressed in Spain in the reign of Isabella II.

See Addis and Arnold's _Catholic Dictionary_, p. 810.

[30] The Ventura del Arco copy reads _concera_, which may be a mistranscription for _cascara_, hull.

[31] Pedro Montejo took his vows at the Toledo Augustinian convent. After his arrival at Manila he was master of novitiates and superior of the Manila convent of San Pablo until 1607. In that year he was assigned to the Japan missions at his own request. He probably did not go to that empire, however, for shortly afterward he was in Manila again on business for the province, where he embarked. He was captured by the Dutch and killed, as stated in the text, by a ball from the Spanish fleet. See Perez's _Catalogo_.

[32] For quite another estimate of these youthful commanders, see _ante_, p. 97.

[33] This was Fray Juan Pinto de Fonseca.

[34] This difference in time when sailing east and west, was commented on by many early writers. Acosta (_History of the Indies_, Hakluyt Society's publications, London, 1880) says "seeing the two Crownes of Portugall and Castille, have met by the East and West, ioyning their discoveries together, which in truth is a matter to be observed, that the one is come to China and Iappan by the East, and the other to the Philippines, which are neighbours, and almost ioyning vnto China, by the West; for from the Ilands of Lusson, which is the chiefe of the Philippines, in the which is the city of Manilla, vnto Macao, which is in the Ile of Canton, are but foure score or a hundred leagues, and yet we finde it strange, that notwithstanding this small distance from the one to the other, yet according to their accoumpt, there is a daies difference betwixt them.... Those of Macao and of China have one day advanced before the Philippines. It happened to father Alonso Sanches, ... that parting from the Philippines, he arrived at Macao the second daie of Maie, according to their computation, and going to say the masse of S. Athanasius, he found they did celebrate the feast of the invention of the holy Crosse, for that they did then reckon the third of Maie." Acosta then gives the reason for this difference. See _Vol_. I of this series, p. 22, note 2.

[35] A species of pelican (_Pelicanus sula_).

[36] The modern province of Bungo is located on the eastern side of the island of Kyushu, on the Bungo Channel.

[37] It is prohibited by us that the Audiencia of Filipinas should grant licenses [for anyone] to go to the provinces of Peru. We order that all the audiencias of Nueva Espana keep and observe this law, and that those of Peru do the same in regard to Nueva Espana." Ordinance 27, Toledo, May 25, 1596. (_Recopilacion de leyes_, lib. ix, tit. xxvi, ley lxi.)