Part 17

Doctor Vera, who is now president, on seeing the good will with which those two Sangley Christians, Don Francisco Canco and Don Tomás Siguán, offered their services for taking the fathers to China, exempted them, in the name of your Majesty, from paying taxes for the use of a ship for six years. I entreat your Majesty to be pleased to confirm this grant, and to extend it for life; for they certainly performed a great deed, and one considered of much importance by all the inhabitants of this city, both Spaniards and Sangleys. They deserve this favor from your Majesty, even if we should not gain the desired result, because they for their part have offered what they could.

Fray Juan Cobo, the Dominican religious--who, as I have said before, knows the language of the Sangleys and their writing, and who is most esteemed by them--is sending to your Majesty a book, one of a number brought to him from China. This intercourse which is taking root between them and ourselves is not a bad beginning for the object we have in view. The book is in Chinese writing on one half of the leaf, and Castilian on the other, the two corresponding to each other. It is a work worthy of your Majesty, and may it be received as such, not because of its worth, but because it is so rare a work, never seen before in the Parián, or outside of China. According to my judgment, it contains things worthy of consideration, by which is seen the force of the human reason; since without the light of the faith those things approach so near to those taught us by the Christian religion. From this your Majesty will see how much in error is the person who pretends that in kingdoms like that of China, where such things are taught, we should enter by force of arms to preach to them our faith. It is clear that with a people like this, the force of reason has more power than that of arms. May our Lord direct this affair according to His will; and may He be pleased that within the days of your Majesty we may see these kingdoms converted to the faith, and that your Majesty may enjoy this reputation first on earth and then in heaven. Amen. Manila, June 24, 1590.

_Fray Domingo_, Bishop of the Philipinas.

Two Letters from Domingo de Salazar to Felipe II

Sire:

Five decrees of your Majesty came to me this year of ninety in the ship "Santiago," which arrived at this port on the last of May. They are all dated at Madrid, four on the twenty-third of June of the year eighty-seven, and the fifth on the eighteenth of February of eighty-eight. After perusing the contents of the said decrees, I can truly not restrain my surprise that there can be men in the world who dare to say and declare things which are not certainly proved to be the truth, much less to give such information to their king. To report to one's sovereign the contrary of what happens, or to affirm what one is not certain is the truth, is a most grave offense, worthy of all punishment and chastisement. Such persons may properly be called destroyers of their countries, because, in not giving information in accordance with the principles of truth, they fail to remedy the evils and provide the good which is necessary for the preservation of the land. As this commonwealth is so far away from your Majesty, it has to be governed, not by what your Majesty sees and knows, but by the information received by him regarding it. This must be according to the good or bad intention of the informer. Consequently, this commonwealth is subjected to many hardships and misfortunes, by the fault not of your Majesty--with whose most holy zeal and desire for the welfare of this land we are well acquainted--but of us here who send information. There are but few of us who, oblivious of our own interests and pretensions, now fix our eyes on the common good alone, and seek only this; but the most of us seek only our own interests, our informations and reports are shaped by these, as appears by the increase of the tributes which your Majesty commands to be made. As this is discussed, however, in another letter, I will go to no greater length than to say that, if your Majesty were present here, no orders would be given to increase the tributes of these miserable people, but rather they would pay less. But he who informed your Majesty that more tribute can be paid has already accounted or will account to God also. I am affected in part by these hardships and dangers, as it is now two years since your Majesty wrote me a reprimand, as if I were the man to blame for the dissensions of the Audiencia. God knows, as do all in this community, that if I had not made peace, the dissensions between the president and auditors would have lasted until today. The same I say of the five decrees which I received this year. Among them are several which show that he who informed your Majesty did so in an account entirely malicious and totally contrary to the truth. Others show that, although the informer told something of the truth, he did so in an entirely different manner from the way in which things happened, concealing what he ought to say, and affirming what he should not. This will appear by my reply to each decree--not as an excuse for myself, as I consider myself to be very rightly judged elsewhere; but in order to satisfy your Majesty, as I shall proceed to relate.

Beginning with the first decree, which treats of the confessions of the conquerors, they being constrained to make restitution _in solidum_, I say that I have never done anything in this bishopric which leaves me so vexed and conscience-stricken, as that I dealt so mildly with those who came to this country nominally as conquerors, but actually as destroyers. According to the true and sound doctrine of St. Thomas, and of all right-feeling men, they are all bound to pay _in solidum_ for the damage which they have done. I, with more than necessary boldness, have planned so that no one has been asked to pay more than he himself has confessed that he owed; but that is nothing in comparison with the innumerable injuries which have been committed in this country. Four years have passed since I gave this order obliging them to pay one hundred pesos, and then another two hundred pesos, the largest amount not exceeding five hundred pesos. There were very few persons taxed for the larger sum, and they were captains or leaders of expeditions. They have put me off from one year to another and even yet they have not paid me, always alleging poverty. I have found it necessary to take from the little that I have to pay some of these obligations, on account of the needs of the Indians, and because the Spaniards had not the wherewithal to pay them. When I considered the hardships suffered by Spaniards in this land, and that it will utterly ruin them, if the matter with which we have to deal be treated severely by the theologians, I dared, on this account, to do what no one else would have done. There is no lack of religious who, since their arrival here, condemn my action, and say that I am obliged to constrain the conquerors still further, or to pay the compensation myself. I assure your Majesty that these scruples have constrained me, and do so today, to such an extent that this is the principal thing among other matters of considerable import of which I have to give an account to his Holiness and to your Majesty. There is no doubt whatever that he who does the damage is obliged to make restitution; and all the more when the injured persons are living as they, or their children and heirs, do in these islands. From investigations which I have had made regarding those persons who inflicted the injuries, I am assured that the sums collected as restitution do not amount to the hundredth part of the valuation of the damages. As my age makes it impossible for me to go to Spain, and since your Majesty, as a most Christian prince, so earnestly desires and strives for the welfare of these natives, I shall send herewith a memorandum of what I have done in this case, and of what each of the conquerors has paid, and of the injuries committed--although it would be impossible to relate them all. I do this so that your Majesty may be pleased to grant to me and to all this land mercy and grace, when my actions are considered there; and, if it should be necessary, to procure the approbation of his Holiness to compromise the matter by releasing them from the remainder of the restitutions, as full restitution is impossible. To attempt to do more would be only to harass them, with no other result than burdening their consciences. Thus I will be freed from these intolerable scruples and continuous vexations in which I am placed.

Your Majesty seems to hold me guilty for having encouraged the slaves to leave the Spaniards. I do not know how blame can be placed on me therefor, since the Indians held as slaves by the Spaniards (who were unwilling to let them go) have been declared free by your Majesty. It was evident that the former could not be absolved, any more than if they had stolen property; and your Majesty knows that, in the jurisdiction of the conscience, there is not the liberty that there is in external matters. Your Majesty may pardon a life, or remit the penalty of the law to him whom he may consider meet; but the tribunal of conscience is not free to pardon anyone, or to absolve persons from any sin, except when they act as they ought. Confession being thus rigorous, even greater laxity was permitted than should have been. Your Majesty must believe that I am trying to do everything possible here, so as not to exceed my duty, and I never take such action without first consulting with such persons of learning and conscience as are here.

In the second decree, your Majesty orders that when the Sangleys wish to be baptized, their hair shall not be cut off. He who reported this to your Majesty deceived you, for there are not only a hundred houses occupied by Sangleys who remain here for negotiations with their merchandise, but more than [_blank space in MS_.] who live in the alcaiceria of this city, called Parián, and more than [_blank space in MS_.] [39] in all the neighborhood. It is certain that in both places there are at the very least more than [_blank space in MS_.]. Since the religious of St. Dominic came to this country, more than two hundred have been baptized, and every day many more are receiving baptism. But inasmuch as what concerns the Sangleys, and the great compassion with which God has dealt with them and with us, will go in a separate letter, in order not to increase the length of this, your Majesty will read therein matters that will prove how well you are served, and you will give abundant thanks to God. He who reported this to your Majesty must have some zeal, but not with knowledge; for I consider all the conditions, desire the conversion of these Chinese, and obtain it, better than he who wrote to your Majesty. I would not decide to have their hair cut off, if it were not so necessary that not to do so would be to endanger greatly the faith and the persons with whom I deal. These affairs are of such a nature that no matter what opinion were given, I could not do anything else, even though I should wish to do so. Because I considered it fitting to baptize two of them without cutting off their hair, I thereby did myself much harm; your Majesty may thus see how contrary to actual facts are the things written you from here, and that the death-penalty is not suffered for cutting off their hair, as was written to your Majesty; for after the Dominican fathers learned the language we discovered vast secrets of that land, which were formerly well hidden.

The third decree states that there are many ecclesiastics in this bishopric who trade and carry on traffic, to the great scandal of and bad example to both Spaniards and Indians. He who wrote your Majesty told the truth in part, since two ecclesiastics from Nueva España furnished this bad example, although I did what I could to prevent them. Nevertheless, God punished them more severely than I did; for all the property of one was taken away by the Englishman, [40] and the other died here, and lost what he had sent to Nueva España. Those ecclesiastics who are under my government, however, have not exceeded their duty in this respect as much as your Majesty has been informed. Moreover, they are not so many as has been said in Spain, for there are not more than five who are stationed among the Indians, and these are so poor that they do not even have enough to eat. More than one and one-half years before this decree came, I had taken measures to correct the excess which might result, having ordered that no ecclesiastic should carry on traffic. This appears by the ordinances which I had made concerning this. That your Majesty may order them to be considered and amended, I enclose them with this letter. In the future this order will be more rigorously observed, according to your Majesty's command.

In the fourth decree, your Majesty says that the president of this Audiencia wrote that when he came to this land, he agreed with me as to the order [of precedence] to be followed when the Audiencia and I should encounter each other in public. He further says that, disregarding this arrangement, I sat in the place which did not belong to me, and turned my back on the Audiencia. I would be very glad to meet the president before your Majesty, and hear his reason for daring to inform your Majesty in such a manner. It is very certain that no such agreement was ever made between him and me, except that, when there was to be a procession in the church, the president should go with the auditors, and I with my clergy; for he claimed the right hand, and I did not have it to take. Thus we came to this agreement. The place, however, was not discussed, nor was there any excuse for doing so, as it is well known that the Audiencia is always seated on the gospel side in the body of the chapel; and, although the bishop is usually in the choir, he may, when he wishes to do so, sit on the gospel side, above the steps. Wherever I have been, this has been the practice; and I sent an account thereof, with the testimony of an eye-witness, to the Council of the Indias. Your Majesty provides and commands by this decree that I shall take the place belonging to me. This order means that I take the same place which I took then, as that is the proper place belonging to a bishop, without giving any cause whatever for the Audiencia to feel injured, as the places are very distinct from each other. Although the vexation ceased, because of the suppression of the Audiencia, the injury done me by the president, in writing to your Majesty, has not yet come to an end. I ought not to fail to reply to what is so unjustly imputed to me.

He who informed your Majesty of the matter contained in the fifth decree, namely, that when appeal is made to the royal Audiencia in cases of fuerça, [41] I do not allow the notaries to give an account thereof; and that I seize the writs and records of proceedings, so that they cannot be issued, the Audiencia having requested me in vain to do otherwise--whoever, I say, gave this account to your Majesty did me greater injury than any of the others. For not only is this not so, but I even urge the notary to give a report; and I am so far from [what has been said] to the contrary, that I assure your Majesty that I much regretted the suppression of the Audiencia. For I was very glad that, whenever I denied anything on appeal, the Audiencia examined my reasons therefor; and, whatever was determined there, my conscience was freed and at rest. Moreover, I always accepted, without making any objection, the decisions of the Audiencia; for I would consider it a grievous offense to deny your Majesty's right to make the final decision in cases of fuerça, and would not presume to contradict it in any manner whatsoever. If he who made that report based it on two cases which came up--one when they erased my name from the prayer at the mass of the Audiencia, and substituted their own names; the other when, in an investigation, they claimed the right to examine the proceedings which had been conducted in secret--in these two cases I confess that I refused to give up the records. I did so in one instance because there were therein very secret matters touching the office of the Inquisition, of which I was then in charge. When they commanded that report of this case be given, I said that it would be furnished in so far as concerned the chaplain of the said Audiencia. This was what they had asked, and claimed the right to try this case. Nevertheless, they would accept nothing but the entire proceedings; but with this I could not comply, for it would have been impossible to do so without very grave damage to my office. After considering my reasons therefor, the Audiencia insisted no more in the case. The other case concerned the general investigation which I had made of the prebendaries and clergy--two of whom appealed against the sentence which I imposed, stipulating that the tenor thereof be observed as is expressly commanded by the Council of Trent. They had recourse to the Audiencia; and when an order was given for the record of the case to be presented, I replied that there were secret matters touching the honor of the clergy, which I could not show, but that I would show that part referring to the two ecclesiastics; as they wished their offenses to be known. Nevertheless, it was not right to exhibit the guilt of the others, as they did not feel that their sentences were unjust. There were many arguments over this point, and all the theologians of this land said that I was right. To avoid scandal I openly consented that the two ecclesiastics should appeal to the archbishop. [42] Both then and now I have felt much aggrieved by the injustice done me by the Audiencia. I have sent a complaint thereof to your Majesty, and do not know why the testimony I sent has not yet arrived there. I had then and still have reason for complaining that the Audiencia usurped my jurisdiction and discussed proceedings which properly belong to me, but in which they have forestalled me. A citizen of this city left a piece of land whereon was built a hospital and church for the poor. Although this was ecclesiastical property, they deprived me of judgment in this case, and retained it in their own body. At another time, the Indians had dared to take a friar from his convent, and they dragged him to the place where I was. I commenced to try the case, and gave a verdict against the Indians, as it was doubly sacrilegious to take the friar from his convent, and to place hands on an ecclesiastic. This case came to the Audiencia by way of appeal, and it still remains there, with the records. A beneficed priest, who was performing the duties of his office, was refused its dues by the encomendero, and came to me for justice. After I had ordered the encomendero to make the payment, he appealed to the Audiencia, and they retained the suit there, claiming that the property given to beneficiaries in this land is secular. As I am poor, and have little power, these injuries and similar ones have not been heard of in Spain. I have suffered them and have kept silence, in order to avoid scandal; but for having resisted in but two cases, in which I was obliged to defend the right of my jurisdiction, in order to comply with the duties of my office, they made a damaging report of me to your Majesty. They say that I would not permit a report to be made, and took the records of the suit from the notary, so that they could not be dealt with. In order that your Majesty may see the difference between what I here declare (which is the actual truth), and what they wrote to your Majesty, accusing me of resisting _in toto_ the commands of the Audiencia in regard to the cases of fuerça (which was glaringly false testimony against me), I have decided--although everything touching the Audiencia is now settled, since your Majesty has commanded it to be suppressed--to answer the account which they gave your Majesty about the places and the cases of fuerça. Although I am sure that my cause has been justified before God and those men who know what has happened, I do it to satisfy your Majesty, to whom I owe all obedience and subjection as to my king and lord. I am even bound to explain my conduct; because, by the grace of God, your Majesty has no one in this kingdom who serves you with greater love and zeal. I claim no payment nor temporal interest whatever, because this I neither desire nor demand; but I do only my duty, and that I do with all my might. I could send your Majesty good and sufficient proofs of everything which I have said here; for I certify, in all truth, that everyone to whom I have shown these decrees has crossed himself in surprise that there should be a person or persons who would dare to make such malicious reports to your Majesty. It suffices me to say that, if credit be not given me, not much time will pass before this truth will be revealed, beyond all possibility of hiding.

May our Lord guard the royal person of your Majesty, and preserve you many years. At Manila, the twenty-fourth of June, one thousand five hundred and ninety.

_Fray Domingo_, Bishop of the Filipinas.

[_Endorsed_: "To the king our lord, in his royal Council of the Indias. Filipinas. 1590. The bishop; June 24." "Received and read, June 19, of the year 1591. It is unnecessary to respond thereto."]

Sire: