Chapter II: Part 2

By royal orders of July 17 and 26, 1784, the post of quartermaster-general of the islands was created, in accordance with a request by Basco; and that of deputy-intendant of the exchequer was united with it, independent of the superior government of the islands. It was placed in charge of one of the auditors, Ciriaco González Carvajal, also at Basco's recommendation; and from this time the royal officials were styled "ministers of the royal exchequer." Carvajal aided Basco greatly in establishing the monopoly of tobacco, and it was he who drew up the instructions to officials on this subject. In 1785, a dispute arose between them over the establishment of the tobacco monopoly in Camarines and Albay, each regarding this undertaking as the prerogative of his own office. Carvajal proposed that provincial intendancies should be created in Ilocos, Camarines, Cebú, and Iloilo; this was done, and approved by royal orders of November 24, 1786; but a year later the Spanish government suppressed Carvajal's office, and these provincial intendancies as well.

In 1785, there was a revolt of the heathen Indians in Ituy and Paniqui, headed by a Calinga chief named Lagutao, who assembled over 1,200 men; but it was put down by a force of 300 musketeers sent from Cagayán, and Lagutao was killed in battle. A royal decree of February 25, 1785, ordered the immediate expulsion of all Chinese from Manila, [30] allowing the governor to fix a place outside the walls where a small number of them might reside, under supervision; and another decree (April 1, 1785) approved the foundation of a colony of 200 Chinese on Lake Candaba, in Pampanga. At Carvajal's instance, a monopoly was decreed (November 4, 1786) on gunpowder in Filipinas. In the following year, instructions for the execution of this measure were issued (December 11); and about the same time the monopoly of wines was placed in control of the exchequer.

The constant opposition to Basco's reforms and efforts which he encountered finally wore out his patience, and he offered his resignation; at first it was not accepted, but he insisted, and the king allowed him to hand over the government of the islands to Pedro Sarrio. Basco embarked for Spain at the end of November, 1787, and for his eminent services was promoted in the navy, ennobled, and made governor of Cartagena. Montero y Vidal praises in high terms the character and achievements of this distinguished governor, who had secured for Filipinas greater benefits than had any other, establishing its revenues on a firm basis, introducing most important reforms, and advancing its material and moral progress; but he was assailed by "the envy, rivalry, spite, insane hatred, and lack of patriotism of the auditors, merchants, and other classes, who were governed by base motives and despicable passions, or by ignorance and covetousness."

The natives in northern Ilocos were displeased at the monopolies [31] on tobacco and wines, and revolted; but the alcalde-mayor of the province went to meet them, with Fray Agustín Pedro Blaquier, [32] cura of Batao, and persuaded the insurgents to disperse without bloodshed. Sarrio held the office of governor but six months. After the death of Archbishop Santa Justa (December 15, 1787), he found it necessary to allow the regular priests to resume the charge of the parishes, as is shown in the following extract from his letter to the king, dated a week after that event, explaining his reasons for this course: "First, because in temporal matters as well as in spiritual is seen a manifest and notorious difference between the villages administered by the regulars and those which are in charge of the seculars of Indian and mestizo (Sangley and Chinese) birth; these are almost the only ones dedicated to the cure of souls, for in all the islands hardly six curas can be named who are Spaniards or Spanish mestizos. It can be said, in general, that the villages which are under the direction of the regulars have adequate spiritual nourishment, which cannot be asserted of those which are in charge of the Indians and mestizos. These, when they receive the name of priest, are not thereby deprived of that innate negligence and indolence with which nature has endowed all these islanders; and hence it results that, given up to idleness, gambling, and other [like] pursuits, they abandon study, and begin to lose whatever fitness [for the office] they may have possessed at the time of being ordained or receiving the curacy. The consequence of this is, that they grow remiss in their preaching and the instruction of their parishioners; these functions they are unable to discharge competently, not only because they are little used to books, but because not many of them are thoroughly instructed in the Latin and Spanish languages, in which those authors have written of whom the curas must avail themselves in order to distribute to their flocks the proper food of doctrine. Once possessed [thus] by ignorance, it is not astonishing that no greater impression is made on their minds by the rigid law of residence, [33] or that of the other obligations that are inseparable from the parochial ministry. On the other hand, accustomed from childhood to live in houses of bamboo or wood, they regard stone dwellings with indifference; and to this may be attributed the fact that some of them abandon the parish houses which formerly were the homes of the regulars, and make separate dwellings for themselves. Others, even though they live in the parish houses, take little pains to repair and keep them in good condition. This would be to some extent endurable if their neglect did not also extend to the church building and the ornaments which are used in the divine worship; for it is noticed that there is seldom a church in their charge which is sufficiently clean and well kept, since they do not make repairs in time, or apply to this purpose any of their perquisites. These they spend for their own use and on their own families, who inevitably remove from their own natal village to that of the curacy, and thus become even more slothful than they are by nature. They are quite unlike the regulars, who, being reared in different principles and trained in the purest teachings of our Catholic religion, generally have no other aim than that of the proper care of their churches."

On July 1, 1788, the proprietary governor Félix Berenguer de Marquina assumed the reins of office, and all matters connected with the exchequer returned to their former condition. In a decree of March 29, 1789, he ordered that the appointment of the heads of barangay should be made by the provincial governors, after being proposed by the notables [principalia] of the respective villages. An expedition was sent out from Spain by the government in July, 1789, to make scientific observations and draw plans and maps of the coasts of Spanish America and the Marianas and Filipinas islands, with new sailing routes. One of its members was Antonio Pineda, a native of Guatemala and a Spanish officer, bearing official commission to study the flora of Filipinas and the condition of agriculture. Unfortunately he died while there (July, 1792), while making scientific observations in Ilocos; he was but thirty-nine years old. A monument was erected to him at Malate, but has been practically destroyed by the ravages of time. The archbishopric of Manila was administered, from October 16, 1789, by Juan Orbigo y Gallego, [34] a Franciscan, previously bishop of Nueva Cáceres. Marquina drew up, in January, 1790, a "Plan of reforms for the government of Filipinas," which he considered necessary for the prosperity and advancement of the islands, and in order that the yearly remittance from the Mexican treasury might be stopped. He proposed the fortification of Manila and Cavite, an increase in the military force, and an increased capitation tax on the Chinese in order to meet this greater expense for the army; also the opening of the port of Manila to all foreign commerce, and various changes in the Acapulco trade. He advised that Filipinas should be made a viceroyalty, and the viceroy be rendered independent of the Audiencia and of the religious orders. Other reforms proposed were: "The formation of a company of marines for manning the vessels sent out to cruise [against the Moros], and another of marine artillery for the same purpose; the reform of the chief accountancy by limiting its exorbitant powers; the establishment of an acordado, [35] or a sort of police, in the provinces, directed rather to intimidating and restraining [criminals] by means of vigilance than to punishing them with harshness and violence; allowance of fixed and decent salaries to the alcaldes-mayor, and putting a stop to their trading (which absorbed all their time, with great risks to impartial conduct and justice); the desirability of abolishing the odious monopolies on playing-cards and gunpowder; the transfer of the natives from the Batanes Islands to Cagayán, on account of the wretched condition of the former; and the advantage of occupying, in preference to the Batanes, the island of Mindoro--which was richer, and nearer to Manila, and [at the time] reduced to the utmost indigence by having been abandoned [by its inhabitants] and by the incursions of the Moros. [36] The colonization of various islands with Catalans, Valencians, and Galicians, in order that they might be preëminently devoted to agriculture; taking advantage of the gold placers, so abundant in the country, from which was obtained no less than 200,000 pesos' worth of gold a year; the establishment of a mint, with which the exportation of gold from the country would be avoided. The increase of the cruising vessels, and distribution of these into three divisions, placing in each one a panco, in order to fight the pirates better; the necessity of conferring ample powers upon the governor (who had to establish all these improvements) without his having to be subject to the board of the royal exchequer, 'since I know by experience that the opposition which I am accustomed to meet there is not actuated by zeal for the benefit of the royal service, but for personal ends;' and the creation of another secretaryship, in order to attend to the crowd of matters which were a burden on the governor and captain-general." He also proposed to place in one fund the revenues from tobacco, wine, and customs duties. On March 2, 1790, were published the regulations for the sale of wine under the monopoly arrangement; the dealers were declared exempt from polos and personal services, [37] must sell only pure wines, without any mixture of water, and must always keep a supply on hand.

A royal decree of May 14, 1790, ordained that the Chinese should pay a capitation tax of six pesos a year. In the same year the regiments of Pampanga and Zambales and Bataán were formed, in order to increase the disciplined militia of the provinces. In July the governor received a letter from the king of Cochinchina, asking that two of his ships, then at Canton, might be aided on their arrival at Manila, with money to make needed repairs and buy a quantity of sulphur, [38] on the king's account; this was done, and afterward approved by the Spanish government. In October, the curacies of Ilocos--which, formerly held by the Dominicans, had remained vacant since Santa Justa's effort to enforce the diocesan visitation--were placed in the hands of the Augustinians, with the provision that the royal right of patronage should be observed in the appointments to these new ministries. The death of Carlos III occurred on December 14, 1788, but the official notification (despatched a fortnight later) did not reach Manila until July, 1790. In the following November the solemn proclamation of the accession of Carlos IV, and the oaths of allegiance to him, were celebrated at Manila with fiestas which lasted from the third to the twenty-first of that month. A description of these festivities was published (1791) by the Dominican Fray Manuel Barrios, a lecturer in Santo Thomás university, from which Montero y Vidal quotes liberally (pp. 329-338). They included, besides the splendid and solemn character of the ceremonies themselves, "a general illumination of the city during three consecutive nights, pontifical mass and Te Deum in the cathedral, levees at the palace, dances in the cabildo buildings, masquerades, banquets, fireworks, comedies, and even a bullfight." The Filipino natives and the Chinese [39] also contributed to the festivities, with devices or entertainments peculiar to their customs. Thus says Barrios: "It ought to be understood that the taste of the Chinese, in the matter of spectacles and public diversions, is based on ideas that are very different from, or rather quite contrary to, our own. As proof of this, is sufficient the spectacle which they presented on this night, the first sight of which might astonish any European who might not have seen beforehand some diversion of this people. A lion spitting fire, more terrible than those which grow up in the deserts of Zaara [i.e., Sahara], was followed by an enormous serpent, more than fifty cubits long, which made extraordinary movements and contortions on account of swallowing a globe of fire which floated before it through the air; and behind the serpent came another lion, no less fierce than the first. This spectacle was made even more terrible by the confused din of the gongs, which the Chinese beat without ceasing. The lions fought each other, with the greatest ardor and pertinacity; and the serpent performed many pleasing movements and evolutions, causing admiration of the skill with which so huge a mass moved about so swiftly. Finally, the two lions began to swell, and brought forth an abundance of fireworks; and it would be unjust to the Chinese if I did not state here that this display, although of short duration, was very handsomely designed. One of the lions being now set on fire, it began to run around through the plaza, with an incredible velocity, which spectacle gave much pleasure to those present. On the following day the Chinese presented a comedy in Royal Street, Binondo, which, begun at three in the afternoon, lasted until four the next morning; and even then they say that it was a short one compared with what they are accustomed to. During the following nights they went out through the suburbs, and there was no street through which the huge serpent did not move, to the intense delight of the people who followed it." On this occasion the royal consulate (of commerce) of Manila distributed 3,000 pesos in alms to poor widows and orphans, and doweries to penniless girls. One Pedro Galarraga displayed both ingenuity and profuseness; "he diverted the crowds of people, and carried to the stars the name of his august sovereign, by means of a large aerostatic globe, which crossed the bay and was lost to sight among the clouds. The festivity was crowned by the liberality of the said Don Pedro, who flung to the people a quantity of coin bearing the stamp of the new monarch; and on the following day he also distributed these to all persons of distinction." Finally, the rector of Santo Thomas and the Dominican provincial had a celebration of their own, with fireworks, a dance at the palace performed by the students of that university, and the recitation of a poem before the governor and all the distinguished personages of Manila, eulogizing the loyalty of that city and its people.

Marquina took much pains to have the obras pías honestly administered. He ordered that the nipa houses which still existed within the walls of Manila should be torn down, as being both a disfigurement and a danger to the city. During his term of office, a severe epidemic of smallpox was experienced in Filipinas; and he gave large sums to the parish priests to relieve the poverty caused by the pestilence. The islands were ravaged by the Moros year after year, the naval force of the Spaniards doing little more than to remain on the defensive; and in 1789 Marquina wrote to the king saying that the continual warfare of the Moros was "an evil without remedy." Mahomet Sarpudin, the successor of Ali-Mudin II, was very crafty and deceitful, and, while professing to be a friend of the Spaniards, he sent out Illano pirates against the merchant vessels, some of which were captured by Mahomet's own followers. Marquina met with much trouble in his government, from "class interests" and from the ingratitude of those whom he had helped; he resigned his office, "and returned to España poor and disheartened." [40] The king made him Viceroy of Mexico.

Marquina's successor was a military officer, Rafael María de Aguilar y Ponce de León; he began his duties as governor on September 1, 1793. From the first, he was desirous of checking the Moro raids; but reports came that the English were going to attack Filipinas again, and his first efforts were directed to the defense of Manila and Cavite. He raised a force of 10,000 armed men, forming companies of Spaniards and of mestizos, and stationed detachments in outpost batteries in the environs of the city. He strengthened the walls, and tore down houses which menaced them; and increased the naval forces, also establishing a naval station and lookout on Corregidor Island. The English learned of Aguilar's preparations to receive them, and concluded not to go near Manila; "but they allied themselves with the Joloans, inciting them to invade the Visayas." Marquina's "plan for reforms" was sent back to the islands, the king asking that it be considered by the royal officials there, who should send him a report and their decision as to its advisability; "but as it attacked objects so powerful in the islands as the regular orders, the Audiencia, and the comptroller and officials of the exchequer, it is useless to show what report would be that sent out [by them] in regard to the plan of Marquina, which was in many respects extremely clear-sighted." In 1794 a shipyard, independent of that at Cavite, was erected in Binondo, its principal purpose being to construct vessels with which to follow up the Moro pirates; it was called La Barraca ("the barracks"), [41] and was "famous for the enormous expenses which were suspected in the construction work carried on there." It was placed in charge of Juan Nepomuceno Acuña, and its directors were, ex officio, the royal officials. On Christmas Day in 1796, a Spanish squadron of five vessels arrived at Cavite, commanded by an officer of high rank, Ignacio María de Álava; [42] it was sent for the defense of the islands in case of another war with Great Britain--which indeed was declared soon after the fleet's departure, the news of it reaching Manila in March, 1797. Álava set out with his squadron on April 19, to attack the English fleet which was on its way from China to London, little dreaming that a powerful squadron of their enemy was so near. But an unexpected hurricane arose just before the fleets met, and nearly wrecked the ships of Álava, which after a hard struggle made their way back to Manila with broken masts and torn rigging. A royal decree of September 24, 1796, ordered the transfer of the shipyard at San Blas [43] in California to the port of Cavite, in order (to quote from the decree) "that a shipyard may be formed there of sufficient capacity to protect the settlements in that colony from European forces and from the piratical raids of the Mahometans who occupy the neighboring islands, and to assist with doubled power and resources our squadrons in South America and Asia." At its head was placed Juan Villar, a competent and experienced constructor from the shipyard at Havana, furnished with competent foremen to work under him, and with "plans and specifications suitable for every class of vessels;" and provision was made for the immediate construction of lanchas carrying guns and mortars. "This measure was the origin of the arsenal of Cavite." [44] The royal officials were angry that the management of La Barraca, with its opportunities for profit to themselves, should be taken from them; and they refused to allot to Villar the salary to which he was entitled--that which he had received at Havana, and one-half more for going to Manila in the royal service. This brought on heated controversies between Aguilar and Álava, which lasted a year and a half before they were settled, Villar and his subordinates meanwhile residing in Manila; finally, Álava carried his point, and Villar was placed in his post at Cavite, with the salary which he ought to receive. In 1796 the grenadier regiments of Luzón and Batangas were created, as a part of the provincial disciplined militia; also five battalions of militia, the Malabar company at Cavite being abolished. [45] In the same year there was felt in Manila and in many other provinces of Luzón one of the greatest earthquakes which has ever occurred in the archipelago; and in October, 1797, another calamity was the loss (on the coast of Albay) of the galleon San Andrés, laden with a rich cargo for Acapulco--"due to its commander's complete ignorance of nautical affairs;" he was a merchant of Manila, instead of an experienced navigator. In 1799 Aguilar published (January 30) a decree prescribing the method for making the registration of the natives for the punctual collection of the tributes; and another (October 30), prohibiting the exportation of small silver coins. The home government recommended (August 5, 1799) to the governor of Filipinas that he encourage the cultivation of the mulberry, cinnamon, pepper, cacao, and cotton. In that year, the fragata "Pilar" arrived from America with $1,200,000 for the aid of the islands. "In 1800 Aguilar ordained that no public work should be commenced without the previous knowledge of the government of the islands, in order to avoid their being constructed with injurious consequences to the natives, as was found to be the case in many places. Also, by edict of July 19 in the same year he prohibited the construction of vessels having more than fifteen cubits of keel, without the permission of the authorities, obliging the owners, under penalty of 200 pesos fine, to comply with the plans which would be furnished to them for a moderate sum by the [government] shipbuilder Don José Blanchic." Álava and his squadron were unable to do much toward checking the Moro raids, being continually detained at Manila on account of the threatened attack on that city by the English; but that officer vigorously organized and regulated the naval station at Cavite, made excursions into the provinces in order to become better acquainted with the resources and topography of the island, and protected the commerce of Filipinas with China and Nueva España. A royal decree of September 27, 1800, ordered him to establish a naval bureau at Manila, "with the full powers of command and jurisdiction prescribed in the Ordinances of the navy and subsequent royal orders," which he should place in working order before his return to Spain; its objects were, "the defense of the Filipinas Islands, improvement in the construction of the vessels, knowledge of the hydrography and navigation of those seas, and the management of the arsenal at Cavite;" and for its first chief was appointed Captain Ventura Barcáiztegui. When Álava undertook to execute this commission, Aguilar refused to surrender La Barraca to him, as also the men and vessels of the privateer force which had been organized earlier to punish the Moros--alleging that this fleet had its own rules and was not affected by the naval Ordinances; and that the internal defense of the islands belonged to him, as being captain-general therein. Álava had to yield, and established the naval bureau as best he could with the scanty means at his disposal; he also drew up regulations for its administration. He left Manila, to return to Spain, on January 6, 1803. In 1806 Aguilar, being seriously ill, surrendered his office of governor to the king's lieutenant on August 7, and died the next day, after thirteen years' rule; (this is the longest term of a governor's office during the entire history of the islands). [46]

MISCELLANEOUS DOCUMENTS

1766-1771

Financial affairs of the islands, 1766. Francisco Leandro de Viana;
July 10, 1766.
Letter to Carlos III. F. L. de Viana; May 1, 1767.
Anda's Memorial. Simon de Anda y Salazar; April 12, 1768.
Ordinances of good government. [Compiled by Governors Corcuera
(1642), Cruzat y Góngora (1696), and Raón (1768).]
Instructions to the secular clergy. Basilio Sancho de Santa Justa
y Rufina; October 25, 1771.
The expulsion of the Jesuits, 1768-69. [Compiled from various
sources.]
The council of 1771. [Letter by a Franciscan friar;] December
13, 1771.

Sources: The first of these documents is translated from a MS. copy (probably official duplicate of above date), in possession of Edward E. Ayer, Chicago; the second, from Viana's MS. book, Cartas y consultas, fol. 39v-46, in possession of E. E. Ayer; the third, from Pardo de Tavera's publication (with many annotations), Memorial de Anda y Salazar (Manila, 1899), from a copy belonging to James A. Robertson; the fourth (partly translated and partly synopsized), from José Felipe Del-Pan's Ordenanzas de buen gobierno de Corcuera, Cruzat y Raon (Manila, 1891), from a copy in the Library of Congress; the fifth, from Ferrando's Historia de PP. dominicos (Madrid, 1871), v, pp. 59, 60, from a copy belonging to E. E. Ayer; the sixth, compiled from Danvila y Collado, Crétineau-Joly, and Montero y Vidal, as indicated in the text--the archbishop's decree being obtained from a printed copy (dated 1770) in the Archivo Historico Nacional, Madrid; the seventh, from a copy of the original Latin MS. sent to the Editors by a friend in Germany.

Translations: The text of the third, and of the fourth, is translated by James Alexander Robertson; the seventh, by Rev. T. C. Middleton, O.S.A.; the remainder, by Emma Helen Blair.

FINANCIAL AFFAIRS OF THE ISLANDS, 1766

Statements of the amount contributed to his Majesty by the natives of the Philipinas Islands; that which is spent in their spiritual administration; what the ecclesiastical estate receives from the king and from the Indians; and the economies which the royal treasury can practice, and the augmentations which it can receive, in order to maintain these dominions with respectable forces, without the necessity of the royal situado which comes annually from Mexico--and with the advantage that the royal exchequer can in the future make good the expenditures incurred during the 202 years which have elapsed since the conquest of the said islands. By Don Francisco Leandro de Viana, a student in the old college of San Bartholome el Major of the university of Salamanca, and formerly rector of the said college; graduated as a licentiate by the chapter of Santa Barvara; a member of the Council of his Majesty; his fiscal in the royal Audiencia of Manila, and promoted to the post of alcalde of criminal cases in that of Mexico.

STATEMENT I

The number of tributes in these Philipinas Islands, and the amount
that they produce yearly

By the official statement which I sent to his Majesty with my report and advices of July 14, 1760, it appears that there were one hundred and seventy-eight thousand, nine hundred and seventy-one whole tributes of Indians, at the rate of ten reals each. It also appears that there were eight thousand, one hundred and sixty-nine and one-half whole tributes of mestizos, at the rate of twenty reals each, which are equivalent to sixteen thousand, three hundred and thirty-nine whole tributes of Indians. Adding this item to the aforesaid one, they make a total of one hundred and ninety-five thousand, three hundred and ten tributes; and adding those paid by the blacks, the grand total, stated in round numbers [numero cerrado] for greater convenience in this reckoning, is placed at two hundred thousand whole tributes belonging to the royal crown.

Tributes: 200,000

A whole tribute comprises two persons, and the two hundred thousand tributes aforesaid produce to the royal exchequer, at the rate of ten reals which each one pays, the sum of two hundred and fifty thousand pesos every year.

Note

The whole tributes belonging to private encomiendas number eighteen thousand, one hundred and ninety-six and three-fourths, according to the general statement of accounts of this royal treasury for the past year of 765. From these the encomenderos collect one peso for each tribute, and the king two reals; on this account, although the number of tributes belonging to the crown and to the encomiendas exceeds two hundred and ten thousand, at ten reals each, only the two hundred thousand above stated have been considered [in this account]; and their value is placed at two hundred and fifty thousand pesos, which is the utmost that the natives of these islands pay for the benefit of the royal treasury.

STATEMENT II

What the king expends in the spiritual administration of the
Indians, and what is received on this account by the ministers
of the doctrinas and the missionaries.

1. For the cash stipends which his Majesty pays, at the rate of a hundred pesos for every five hundred tributes, the curas and the ministers of the doctrinas receive, according to the number of the two hundred thousand tributes, the sum of forty thousand pesos.

2. For the stipends in rice, at the rate of a hundred fanegas (each of forty-eight gantas) for every five hundred tributes, at one peso a fanega--which price was established by the royal officials in the papers granting the contribution for wine used in masses--his Majesty pays, and the aforesaid curas and ministers receive annually, the sum of forty thousand pesos.

3. For the wine for masses and oil for the lamps [47]--as appears in the respective documents therefor, of which account is given to his Majesty--this annual expense is fixed at the sum of seventeen thousand, one hundred and ninety-three pesos, six tomins.

4. For the transportation of these supplies, the cost to the royal treasury is moderately estimated at two thousand pesos.

5. For the cash stipends of forty-one religious who are missionaries, at the rate of one hundred pesos each, his Majesty pays the sum of four thousand one hundred pesos.

6. For the stipend in rice of a hundred fanegas (each of forty-eight gantas) to each missionary, at one peso a fanega (reckoned at the lowest price), his Majesty pays the further sum of four thousand one hundred pesos.

7. For the supplies of cash and rice which are paid monthly to one hundred and ninety-two Indians as escorts, who assist thirty-two of the said missionaries, at the rate for each one of one peso in cash and twenty-four gantas of rice in the hull (estimated at four reals), these amount to the sum of three thousand, four hundred and fifty-six pesos.

8. For the supplies of medicine and clothing, and for the support and comforts of sick religious, the expense is placed at five thousand pesos.

9. In some villages which contain a small number of tributes, his Majesty pays the same stipends as in the villages of five hundred tributes, for which reason what is paid by the king exceeds the amount which was estimated for the number of two hundred thousand tributes, by the sum of one thousand pesos.

10. For the stipends which his Majesty pays to the chaplains of the fortified posts--who usually are the religious who are in charge of the native villages at the said posts--are paid one thousand, six hundred and eighty pesos.

11. For the expenses of the religious who come from España to these islands--who each five years average forty-six and one-half each year--estimating these at a thousand pesos for each person, the religious orders receive and the king spends forty-six thousand, six hundred pesos.

12. For the stipend of the archbishop, the prebends of his church, and the contribution that is given to it [for its expenses], the royal treasury expends nine thousand, eight hundred pesos.

13. For the stipends of the three suffragan bishops of Zebu, Nueva Segovia, and Nueva Cazeres, for the contributions which are made to these three churches, and for other stipends to their ministers, his Majesty expends twelve thousand, four hundred pesos.

The total amount of these items is 187,229 pesos, 6 tomins.

Summary

Pesos tomins

The king receives from the Indians, as in 250,000
statement i
The ecclesiastical estate receives from the king,
as in statement ii 187,229 6
------- -
Net balance in favor of his Majesty 62,770 2

STATEMENT III

What should be deducted from the aforesaid 62,770 pesos, 2 tomins,
as necessary expenses of the provinces of these islands.

1. The three per cent which his Majesty pays to the alcaldes-mayor for the collection of the tributes, calculated on the two hundred and fifty thousand pesos, amounts to the sum of seven thousand, five hundred pesos.

2. The pay of alcaldes, corregidors, and magistrates in the provinces of these islands amounts to the sum of seven thousand, five hundred pesos.

3. As in all the provinces the tribute is regularly paid half in money and half in kind, it is necessary to transport the said commodities from the villages to the capital; this expense costs the royal treasury, according to a fair estimate, the sum of six thousand pesos.

4. For one thousand, two hundred and ninety-eight men employed in the fortified posts the royal treasury spends, according to the pay [-rolls] of their respective garrisons, the sum of twenty-two thousand, four hundred and ninety-three pesos, two reals.

5. For fifteen thousand, five hundred and ten rations of unhulled rice, of twenty-four gantas each, estimated at the prices of two, four, and six reals, in proportion to the scarcity or the abundance of [the supplies in] the said fortified posts, the royal treasury spends seven thousand, one hundred and seventy-four pesos, six tomins.

6. For one thousand and forty-five uniforms for the said garrisons, estimated at the low price of three pesos each, the royal treasury spends three thousand, one hundred and thirty-five pesos.

7. For the consumption of balls, gunpowder, muskets, cannon, etc., estimated moderately and at the lowest price, there is an expense of five thousand, five hundred pesos.

These indispensable expenses amount to the sum of fifty-nine thousand, three hundred and three pesos, which, deducted from the sixty-two thousand, seven hundred and seventy pesos, two tomins, of the net balance contained in the summary of statement ii, leaves only three thousand, four hundred and sixty-seven pesos, two tomins, in favor of the royal treasury.

Summary

Pesos tomins

What the king receives, as in statement i 250,000
What is spent, as in statements ii and iii 246,532 6
------- -
Balance in favor of the royal treasury 3,467 2

Note

1. In the expenses of the fortified posts the forts of Manila and Cavite are not included; neither are the forts of Romblon, Cuió, Acutaya, Culion, and Linacapan, for these five forts are maintained at the expense of the natives in the respective localities, and without further cost to the royal treasury than some supplies of arms and gunpowder. Nor are the forts included which have been built since the end of the year 753, since their fixed charges and annual expenses do not appear in the book which was formed in the said year with the descriptions of the fortified posts. [48]

2. Attention should be directed to the following items: The exemptions from tribute which are usually granted to the villages in the cases for which the laws provide; the amount of what is not collected; that which is lost through the failure of the officials to render account, and through the omissions of the royal officials to collect as they should; the salaries which are paid to the said royal officials and to the subordinates of the established accountancy, mainly for the accounts and collections of the royal revenue in the provinces; the costs of transporting the proceeds of the said tributes to this capital; the losses of the vessels which convey the said goods, commodities, or products in which the said tributes are levied, according to the different production of the provinces; the pay of workmen [Tag., bantayes], and other petty expenses which are paid from the royal revenue in each province; the cost of the vessels which go out to cruise against the Moros, in the defense of the said provinces; and many other expenses, to ascertain and compute which would require tedious labor. But, as this report aims to show how much the king receives from the Indians and what he spends on their account, the aforesaid general computations are convincing that the royal treasury spends in these islands much more than what they produce; and that the ecclesiastical estate--or, to speak more accurately, the religious orders--profit by and receive almost all the proceeds from the tributes.

3. On this account the royal situado has been necessary in these islands, in order to pay the following expenses: the salaries of the governors, the ministers of the royal Audiencia, and their subordinates; the officials of the royal treasury; the soldiers in the garrisons of Manila and Cavite, with all their followers; the arsenal of Cavite; and numberless expenses which have grown since the retrenchments which were decreed by Señor Cruzat. And as the situado and the income-producing monopolies are not sufficient for all the said expenditure, the islands have been and will be in the most wretched condition, and in the utmost danger of being ruined, unless some remedy be applied.

STATEMENT IV

What the curas and ministers receive from the Indians

1. On account of the three reals which each whole tribute pays to the curas and ministers for the feasts of Corpus [Christi], the patron saint, and the monument at Holy Thursday, they receive from the two hundred thousand tributes the amount of seventy-five thousand pesos; and [therein] are not included the heads of barangay, the officials of the villages, and other persons exempt from tribute, who also pay the said three reals.

2. As for the value of the casual fees and parochial dues, although it is the general opinion that those same ministers of doctrinas regulate these at one peso for each tribute, it is estimated that from this source are received only one hundred and seventy thousand, four hundred pesos.

The total of these sums is 245,400 pesos.

Summary

Pesos tomins

The ecclesiastical estate receives from the king,
as in statement ii 187,229 6
Also from the Indians the aforesaid sum of 245,400
------- -
Total amount 432,629 6

Note

Thus, what the ecclesiastical estate receives from the king and from the Indians, for only the spiritual administration of the latter, amounts to the sum of four hundred and thirty-two thousand, six hundred and twenty-nine pesos, six tomins, without including what is produced by the chaplaincies founded in the churches of some ministries, or by the confraternities--which are worth much, on account of duplicated offerings, since in them are enrolled not only the living but the dead. Nor [does it include] the wax for novenaries, masses, and other services which through devotion are offered by the Indians and mestizos; or the offerings at the sanctuaries, to which in all the provinces many people repair with wax and offerings for masses; or the sure revenue [from the charge] of fifteen pesos for every feast of the numberless visitas and chapels which are in all the villages (more than those which are celebrated in the principal churches); or the amounts received, at the burials, from the distinction of the silver from the wooden cross--so that, although in a certain village there may not be a silver cross, there are two of wood, and one of them is distinguished from the other by the amount of the fees [imposed for its use].

Nor have there been included in the said item the five hundred pesos which are annually paid from the royal treasury to the convents of Manila in order that they may support one or two religious who are versed in the dialects of the provinces; or the alms which they receive from the charitable foundations [obras pías] of the Misericordia, and from those which have been founded in each order; or the proceeds from the leasing of their lands acquired by donations, chaplaincies, and legacies; or the premium or interest from the funds of the confraternities, etc.

Likewise should be added the fees for burials, which, although they belong to the fabricas of the churches, are received by the curas and ministers of the doctrinas, and they are not willing to render account of these to the vice-patronship.

Besides that which is for the spiritual administration, the religious orders in these islands receive enormous amounts of money every year from the proceeds of the houses, mills, ranches, and other properties which they possess, here and in México; for they collect some rents that are exorbitant for the cultivated lands, exacting more than twenty per cent of the actual value of the said lands.

Comparison

Pesos tomins
All that the king receives from the Indians,
without deducting the items mentioned in the
notes on statement ii, amounts to 250,000
All that the ecclesiastical estate receives, not
including the items mentioned in the notes to
this statement iv, amounts to 432,629 6
------- -
That which the ecclesiastical estate receives
exceeds what the king receives, by the sum of 182,629 6

It is, then, apparently fully proved that what these Indians contribute to the king is not sufficient for the necessary expenses of their spiritual administration; since, even without counting the cost of the fortified posts (which serve only for the benefit of those same Indians), it is evident that the net balance which remains in favor of the royal exchequer, after deducting the expenses mentioned in statement ii, is lost, through the causes which are stated in the second note on statement iii. From this it follows: First, that all the profit of these islands accrues to the ecclesiastical estate. Second, that in order to aid the Indians the royal revenue has been burdened, to the injury of other vassals, with the charge of the royal situado which comes annually from Nueva España, in order to maintain the forts, troops, and courts, and meet other expenses of the royal treasury here. Third, that the latter is heavily indebted, because the royal situado and the monopolies of the royal exchequer are not sufficient for so enormous expenses. Fourth, that for lack of funds the king's service is neglected, the forts are defenseless, the provinces at the mercy of the Moros, and everything is in notable danger of total ruin, unless suitable remedies are applied in time.

On account of this, I have established in my "Demonstration of the wretched and deplorable condition of the Philipinas Islands," [49] etc., the necessity of maintaining them with respectable forces, and [suggested] the expedient of augmenting the tribute on account of the obligation which every vassal is under to contribute to his king what is necessary for maintaining the kingdom in peace, justice, and union, and defending it from enemies.

Even without the necessity of increasing the tribute, I have been of opinion, and still continue in the firm persuasion that these islands could support themselves alone, and save to the royal revenue the remittance of the situado. Desiring to demonstrate this truth--which has been taught to me by the experience and continual application of eight years--I will set forth the economies and augmentations which this royal treasury can observe in order to supply its urgent needs, and to support these islands more gloriously, and to the greater advantage of the royal exchequer.

STATEMENT V

The economies which the royal exchequer can practice, and the
augmentations which it can receive, in what the curas and ministers
of doctrinas collect from the king and the Indians.

1. In the paper of suggestions which I presented to the government [here], and sent to the commander [50] Frey Don Julian de Arriaga with my report of July 22, 1764, there was a discussion of the saving which the royal exchequer will be able to make by paying to each cura and minister of a doctrina one stipend only, and not so many as correspond to every five hundred tributes. For, since the cura is only one, it does not seem just, even when the curacy is one of two thousand tributes, that four stipends be paid to him; but he should content himself with one, the royal exchequer saving the rest. The amount of this will reach annually some twenty thousand pesos, very nearly. I have made representations on this point to the royal Audiencia, in order that they may settle this by an ordinance.

2. Each stipend for a village or mission is fixed at a hundred pesos in money, and two hundred cavans of rice; if all this be paid in cash, and not in the said produce, regulating this [amount for the rice] by the price in each province, the negotiations of the curas and ministers with the alcaldes will be avoided, and the royal treasury will save each year at least fifteen thousand pesos in the stipends of curas, ministers and missionaries. It should be remembered that the abuse of paying the stipend in rice was introduced in violation of the law (ley 26, título 13, libro 1 of the Recopilación de Yndias), as I have represented in the expediente [51] of ordinances which is pending in the royal Audiencia.

3. The fabricas of the churches have for funds the fees from the burials, and the eighth part of the occasional fees, with the others which I have stated in the document which treats of this subject, besides the [governmental] contribution of wine; and with the said funds there is a superabundance for paying the cost of the wine for masses and the oil for the lamps--which are set down as expenses of the royal exchequer in the third and fourth items of statement ii. These amount to nineteen thousand, one hundred and ninety-three pesos, six reals.

4. In the aforesaid paper of suggestions, and in the report of June 5, 760, the reasons were set forth why the king should not pay the cost of the missions which come from España to these islands; for the religious orders are rich, although they deny it. Thus the royal exchequer could save what is mentioned in the eleventh item of statement ii, which amounts each year to forty-six thousand, five hundred pesos.

5. The impost of the three reals for each tribute for the feasts of Corpus [Christi], the patron saint, and the monument, was granted by the provisor of this archbishopric at the instance of the religious orders, in the year 1697; and in that of 704 it was included in the provincial ordinances by Señor Zabarburo. This contribution is excessive, and the cost of the feasts is very small because the natives make the decorations of branches and furnish much wax; and the two feasts of Corpus Christi and the patron saint usually are held on the same day. For these reasons Señor Molina commanded, in his bishopric of Nueva Cazeres, that no payment should be exacted from the Indians on account of these feasts, further than half a real for each tribute, considering that this sum was sufficient to pay for their celebration. The same was the practice of Señor Arevalo, who succeeded him in the same bishopric; but Señor Matos, the last bishop there, did not act thus. It is also an intolerable burden to the Indians that at the time when they go to make their confessions, in order to fulfil the annual injunction, the said contribution is collected from them; and most of them are persuaded, through their stupidity and ignorance, that they are paying for the confession. All this I have explained in the expediente of ordinances which is pending in the royal Audiencia. It would therefore be expedient that the said three reals be collected by the alcaldes-mayor, who should give to the curas and ministers a third part of the proceeds, setting aside the other two thirds for the maintenance of the fortified posts. Thus the royal exchequer would have the benefit of this saving of expense, and would be increased by fifty thousand pesos, which is two-thirds of the proceeds of the three feasts, as is stated in the first item of statement iv.

6. The royal exchequer can save the cost of furnishing the medicines, clothing, support, and comforts for the sick religious; for the returns from the ministries are large, and the religious orders are rich. This saving, as is said in the eighth item of statement ii, amounts to five thousand pesos.

The total of all these items is 155,693 pesos, 6 reals.

Thus the royal exchequer can save expense, and increase its funds every year by the sum of one hundred and fifty-five thousand, six hundred and ninety-three pesos, six reals, the amount of the six previous items, which correspond to the costs of the spiritual administration of the Indians. This should be deducted from the amount which the ecclesiastical estate receives, for this very purpose, from the king and from the Indians--which, according to the summary of statement iv, reaches the sum of four hundred and thirty-two thousand, six hundred and twenty-nine pesos, six tomins--and there still remains, in favor of the ecclesiastical estate, two hundred and seventy-six thousand, nine hundred and thirty-six pesos.

Summary

Pesos tomins

The ecclesiastical estate receives from the king
and from the Indians, as in the summary of
statement iv 432,629 6
Deducting the amount of the savings which are
stated in the preceding lines, 155,693 6
------- -
There remains, in favor of the ecclesiastical
estate, a net balance of 276,936

Note

The escorts which are furnished to the ministers are, at most, proper in the first years of a mission; but ordinarily this is a useless expense, by which the religious orders profit--or rather their missionaries, who take no other escorts than their own servants; nor do they need escorts, especially in the well-peopled missions. Most of these are such, because many Indians from the villages take refuge in the missions, either fleeing from justice, or for not paying the tribute. Thus could be saved the cost of the said escorts; and even the stipend for every mission after twenty-five years from its establishment, by causing the people to be brought into villages.

STATEMENT VI

Other increases and savings which the royal exchequer can make,
in the various directions which are here stated.

1. It is assumed that there are, at the lowest figure, six thousand heads of barangay in the provinces of these islands; for although, by the ordinance, each headship ought to have forty-five entire tributes, it is certain that there are few which reach that number, and that there are many of five, eight, ten, and twenty tributes. Therefore, assigning to each headship, on the average, at most thirty tributes, they make the six thousand above stated, the number of tributes [in them being] one hundred and eighty-three thousand, three hundred and thirty, the lowest computation that can be made of headships and of tributes. As three persons in every headship are exempted [from paying tribute], the royal exchequer is deprived of the value of nine thousand entire tributes, which, at the rate of ten reals, make eleven thousand, two hundred and fifty pesos. Therefore, by abolishing the said headships, and making the governadorcillo or headman of each village responsible for the collection of the tributes therein (as is done in Nueva España), or by allowing the said headships and decreeing that those who hold them shall pay tribute (as they formerly did, by order of the visitor, Auditor Don Joseph Arzadun), this increase in the tribute will result to the advantage of the royal exchequer, by the sum of eleven thousand, two hundred and fifty pesos.

2. It is generally the case that the heads of barangay keep back from the king, at a very low estimate, at least ten tributes each, on account of the dispersion of the houses of the Indians, which renders almost impossible any exactness in the tax-lists which for this purpose are committed to the said headships. Therefore, if the reduction of the villages into parishes [52]--which I have continually urged, and shall ask from this government--could be effected, not only would the aforesaid collection of the tribute be greatly facilitated, especially if it were committed, as I have said, to the governadorcillos and leading chiefs; but the tax-lists would be exactly drawn up by the alcaldes, and the said ten tributes in each barangay which have been mentioned would not be kept back from the king. This, estimated for the six thousand [headships], would come to the number of sixty thousand tributes; at the rate of ten reals each, the royal treasury would enjoy an increase from this source, which would reach the sum of seventy-five thousand, five hundred pesos.

3. By order of the above-mentioned visitor, no exemption from tribute was enjoyed by the officials of the villages, except by the governadorcillos and headmen; and counting six exempt persons [each] in three hundred and sixty villages alone--without including the visitas, which also have their officials--they make the number of two thousand, one hundred and sixty, which make one thousand and eighty tributes. These, at the rate of ten reals, amount to one thousand, three hundred and fifty pesos; consequently, by taking away these exemptions the royal exchequer will be increased by this sum.