William Playfair - "An Inquiry into the Permanent Causes of the Decline and Fall of Powerful and Wealthy Nations."

George T. Ferris - "Great Violinists And Pianists"

Henry F. Cope - "Religious Education in the Family"

John Fiske - "The Destiny of Man"

Various - The Philippine Islands, 1493 to 1898: Volume XXII, 1625 to 29

V >> Various >> The Philippine Islands, 1493 to 1898: Volume XXII, 1625 to 29




Quite a number of meetings were also held in regard to the government
of the Sangleys or Chinese, both those naturalized in the country
and those who are transient--the traders and mechanics, who are very
numerous. All that needed reform was discussed very deliberately, and
is being carried out in accordance with the decisions of the other
tribunals. However, we cannot help having a million difficulties
in regard to all the matters concerning that nation, as we do not
govern them after their own manner--as I state in greater detail to
your Majesty in the letter on judicial matters, when discussing the
manner in which I think those people should be governed. It is sure
and certain that so long as there cannot be the remedy that I ask for
in this matter, what is desired and expedient cannot be attained. [_In
the margin_: "Seen; and have particular care in this."]

The decrees, instructions, and ordinances sent to these islands,
both to the governors and to other tribunals and officials, are the
rule for the right government of the islands. Very many of them
are missing--some being lost by carelessness, and others hidden
through malice--and orders are not found for many things that would
be necessary, while others, because they were carelessly drawn up,
are, when placed in practice, overruled by saying that there was a
decree for it. Consequently, desirous of the clarity required in so
important a matter, I petition your Majesty to be pleased to have some
folios of them printed and sent to this government. [_In the margin:_
"For all the Council." "Have a pamphlet printed of all these orders
and send it to him, and for that purpose send Antonio de Leon to
me." "I have made an agreement with Don Fernando and Antonio de Leon."]

A seminary for orphan boys is a work of great importance for this city,
as there arc usually, in lands so remote, many who are unprotected and
without parents or relatives. Your Majesty orders me by a royal decree
to favor it, and to seek means by which to found it. Consequently,
in accordance with the order, I granted an encomienda of five
hundred tributes to one of the foremost inhabitants of this city,
namely, Captain Pedro de Navarrete, on condition that he would give a
pension of five thousand pesos in ready cash as revenue for the work
of the said seminary. By that means was made good the deficiency in
his services--which, although they have not been of moment in war
affairs, still were sufficient for him to be granted an encomienda;
and on condition of the five thousand pesos he was to be preferred
to the others. I am awaiting another similar opportunity in order to
get enough to be enabled to finish the work [on a building for them]
The services of the fathers of the boys who are reared in this house
make up for the deficiency of those who do not furnish services,
but who can give like sums. By this means, I believe that the house
will be established. But in order that it may have some fixed income,
it will be necessary for your Majesty to be pleased to command me to
give them one thousand five hundred or two thousand tributes that are
vacant. With this the seminary will be placed in good condition, and
can have a secular priest as rector to govern it, who will be chosen
by the governors. Your Majesty will have the patronage of this boys'
seminary, as you have in that of the girls of Santa Potenciana--and at
less cost, since all the expenses will be met from encomiendas--than
if these had to be enjoyed by worthy men; but their sons will enjoy the
encomiendas, since this seminary is founded in order to rear them. [_In
the margin_: "[To be considered by] the whole Council. Take it to
the fiscal." "The fiscal says that he does not consider the means
employed by the governor to get these five thousand pesos as good,
for it really means selling the encomiendas, and giving them for
prices to those who do not deserve them. It will result in the general
affliction and discontent of the deserving. Consequently, in case that
the sum given in this may be approved, the governor must be ordered
that no others be given henceforth in like manner. He considers it as
better and more suitable that the governor assign some encomiendas
for the revenues and income of this seminary, to the quantity that
shall be deemed advisable. Thus has it been, and is being, done with
other like foundations in Peru and Nueva Espana. Madrid, December 5,
1630." "That the encomienda given was well done, under the conditions
that existed. For the support [of the said seminary], the governor
shall continue to impose pensions on the encomiendas up to the sum
of one thousand ducados, and shall advise us of what is done."]

Since my arrival, I have had the care of the hospitals of this city,
ordered to me by your Majesty in one of your royal decrees received
this year. The hospitals are in charge of the discalced religious
of St. Francis. I do not doubt that if there were some brothers of
[St.] John of God here, they would administer them better; but I have
not found them in these islands as yet. I am charging the fathers to
look after them carefully, and I personally visit and aid the sick
whenever my occupations admit; and I wish that that were often. [_In
the margin_: "Thank him, and tell him to continue what he is doing,
since it is not advisable to send any of those brothers at present."]

I wrote at length my opinion in regard to the spiritual matters of
the convents and orders, and at present nothing especial occurs 10
me of which to advise your Majesty. [_In the margin_: "Seen."]

The characters of Juan Ruiz de Escalona, treasurer of the royal
revenues of these islands, and of the accountant, Martin Ruiz
de Salazar, are excellent. They attend to their duties with all
punctuality and earnest zeal, which deserve from your Majesty the
favor that all who comply with their obligations may hope from your
royal hand. They are informing you of their especial petitions,
and hence I shall not go into greater detail. [_In the margin_:
"Let persons of these abilities be kept in mind."]

The inspector who was assigned to this royal Audiencia has not
come this year because of his lack of health, according to what he
writes me. That is a pity, for it is important to the service of your
Majesty that these islands be inspected. [But that should be done]
with the mildness and prudence that is proper; for I do not consider
it advisable to unearth old matters that now have no redress, and
to investigate them will have no other result than to disturb this
community. [_In the margin_: "That this is already provided."]

This despatch is being made August 4, one day after the arrival at
this port of the ships from Nueva Espana. Those ships spent just
four months in a voyage that can be and usually is made in less than
three, and after suffering innumerable storms and maladies--with the
evident risk of leaving these islands without help, because they had
not left Nueva Espana a fortnight earlier. Sire, this government,
notwithstanding the strenuous efforts of him who may govern here,
will be only, what the viceroys of Nueva Espana wish. If aid comes
in time and is abundant (or at least sufficient), all goes well
and affairs progress, for everything is obtained. If the aid comes
late, and does not contain what is necessary, everything is lost and
destroyed, as was pointed out more minutely to your Majesty in the
letters of war and revenue. I petition you humbly that--although I
have come to these islands so desirous of furthering their prosperity,
but have found them tied down by undertakings and expenses greater
than in the time of my predecessors--since I do not merit being
aided as they were, or cannot be aided because of the inclemency of
the weather, your Majesty will be pleased to use me in another place
where the employment and attainment of my desires is not impossible
through the lack of cooeperation and outside aid. May God preserve
the Catholic royal person of your Majesty with the increase that we,
your vassals, desire, and which Christendom needs. Manila, August 4,
1628. Sire, your Majesty's humble vassals,


_Don Juan Nino de Tavora_


[_In the margin_: "Seen. Have the viceroy charged to be very punctual
in this."]






ECONOMIC REASONS FOR SUPPRESSING THE SILK TRADE OF CHINA IN SPAIN
AND ITS COLONIES


_Reasons of expediency existing why the importation of the silk
of China and the other merchandise of that country ought not to be
permitted in the Indias and these kingdoms, but rather prohibited;
and the damages and troubles that follow from its not being prohibited
in every point, and its trade, are the following._



It is very pernicious to permit the importation of the silk of China
and its trade, both in the Indias and in Espana. For although not
more than two hundred and fifty thousand pesos de Tipuzque can be
taken from Nueva Espana to the Filipinas annually, besides that sum
another incalculable quantity of money is taken in reals of eight;
for the said silk can be bought or traded for nothing else, nor will
the Chinese give or exchange it for other merchandise. Consequently,
they manage to get hold of and carry away annually the greater part
of the eight-real pieces which are made in the said Nueva Espana,
in exchange for grass, which is the substance of that coarse and
harsh silk which is so plentiful among the Chinese. [53] Thus do they
weaken our strength and increase their own; and consequently they can
make war on us whenever they wish, without any cost to them as far
as we are concerned. And since this money does not come to Espana,
it cannot be invested there in merchandise, and the customs duties and
the excise duty cannot be collected from them; and they cannot return
with a greater sum of money with which to make larger investments,
resulting in the great increase of the said royal incomes, and the
common benefit of his Majesty's vassals. Besides, if that silk were
not taken from China to Nueva Espana, it would not be used there;
nor would it be poured into Piru and Tierra Firme, as is done. For,
notwithstanding the prohibition established forbidding any merchandise
to be taken there from China, a very large quantity of it is taken
to the said provinces from Nueva Espana, and it is used there--the
viceroys, generals, and justices concealing and favoring it for
their own private interest and benefit. For that reason much less
Spanish merchandise is used in the said Piru and Tierra Firme than
was formerly consumed, and than would be used if the merchandise of
China were not sent there. That condition causes the merchandise of
Espana to have one-half less value than before. Hence it results
that daily fewer trading ships arc sent from these kingdoms than
formerly, and than would be sent if the said trade with China were to
cease. That is the reason why the Spanish silks and other merchandise
are so seldom demanded or consumed in the Indias. That, with the low
prices at which they are sold, and the numerous duties which are paid,
and the trade so ruined, makes the exporters and merchants derive so
little gain from their investments that they do not care to increase
or to continue their trade, and cease to attend to it. On that account,
the said Indias do not depend, as it is right that they should depend,
on these kingdoms; while, as there and in these kingdoms is consumed
the merchandise of China, which is only bought with standard reals of
eight, an enormous amount of coin is taken there in exchange for the
merchandise, and thus is not sent to these kingdoms to be invested
here, in order to return them to the said Indias. [If that were
done], the duties thereon (together with the great cargoes and the
increase of business in all directions) would increase very greatly,
as would be clearly and quickly seen in the increase of the royal
revenues. The prohibition of the said merchandise of China is of much
greater advantage to the royal revenues than the permission; besides,
it is the universal remedy [for the troubles] of these kingdoms
and of the said Indias, that the said merchandise be not exported
to either the former or the latter. [There is a parallel to this in
our domestic trade], for in place of the wheat (because of the lack
of it that is generally experienced in the maritime towns of this
kingdom), foreigners are continually carrying away from us so great
an amount of money through the permissions given to them for export,
and with what they demand besides, for the wheat, and in exchange for
the copper coins that they force on us, and other articles that they
bring to us, which they have in plenty--but which we do not need, as
we have all of them in our Espana. Thus they weaken our resources and
strengthen their own; but this would be avoided if we did not need the
wheat, and they were not permitted to bring the other things. Just so,
not having need (as there is none) of the wares from China, because
we have so many of them in these kingdoms (which moreover are known
to be so much better in quality), we should cease this trade, which
only carries to China that great treasure which is annually withdrawn
and conveyed thither, without any hope that any part of it will ever
return to us. For the Chinese have a great surplus of all goods,
and never come to buy anything, but only to sell--and that only for
reals of eight; and consequently, they make their prices so cheap, in
order to get the reals, that they constrain one to buy a much greater
quantity of their merchandise than he would buy if the prices were
higher and the profits less. And although the profits are seemingly
large at first, they are not so in reality, because of the little
durability of the Chinese goods, and because of the damage caused to
the merchandise of Espana by their importation; for, by permitting
it, the consumption of Spanish goods is lessened, and they have less
value. Consequently--setting aside the so universal damage to all the
natives [of Espana], and in particular that to the producers of the
said silk (and its production is daily diminishing, to such an extent,
indeed, that in a very few years so little will be produced that
the damage will be made plainly evident in the royal duties, and
in its lack and scarcity), and how much greater benefit would be
the prohibition than the permission of the said silk of China--his
Majesty and his ministers, in attending to his royal revenues, are
under obligation to furnish suitable relief for this, for the welfare
of his kingdoms and vassals. Since the towns of the kingdom of Granada
were given, after their insurrection, [54] under an annuity obligation
[censo] to private persons so that they might settle therein, and
the annuity amounts to more than one hundred thousand ducados of
revenue, which are paid through the increase in the production of
the silk; and [it is necessary] that there should be a ready sale
and handling of it, for the estates that were given to them have no
other important products from which they could obtain the money to pay
the said annuity; necessarily, if the production of the silk ceases,
then the payment of the annuity will cease. For in that and in the
ready sale of the said silk consists the power [to pay the annuity];
and it also consists in the many people who, having the silk, would
occupy themselves in its production, culture, and preparation, who
will consume and use a great quantity of food. That would cause an
excise duty on the food of more than one hundred thousand additional
ducados per year; but this income would cease if the production and
cultivation of the silk ceased, and his Majesty would lose the said
one hundred thousand ducados. Besides, the said silk paying, as it
does, three hundred and two maravedis per libra--without reckoning
the tenth, or the forty per cent on the gross price at which it is
at once sold in the alcaicerias--as soon as it is sold, while there
would be less produced and sold, and the price of it would be lower,
the duties will be less. And since the silk of China does not pay more
than fifteen per cent of import tax and excise, because it is foreign,
his Majesty loses twenty-five per cent on each libra of the silk of
the kingdom of Granada. That silk is produced in less quantity by
the importation of that of China; and since our silk pays higher
duties than the foreign--either because of its excellent quality,
or because it is native, or for some other reason--that freedom from
duties ought to be extended to it rather than to the Chinese silk,
instead of burdening it with greater duties. These latter should be
imposed upon the Chinese silk, so that, less of it being imported
for that reason, less money would be taken from Nueva Espana to
Filipinas for its purchase; while more money would be brought to
these kingdoms. That would result in greater investments and cargoes,
and more silk would be produced in these kingdoms. For so little
silk has been produced in the kingdom of Granada for the last two
years, because of its little sale and value and its great cost, that
the duties from the revenues of their silk have been worth thirty
thousand ducados less each of those two years than they were worth
during the years before. Two signal losses have resulted from that,
and they will become greater every day, and more irreparable. The
first is that as so little silk is produced, and the producers have
left the leaves on the mulberry-trees, the trees have come to such a
pass that for lack of pruning and care they will be ruined in little
time and destroyed--so that when one may try to remedy them he will be
unable. The other is that the little silk that has been produced has
been of so little profit to the producers because of its diminished
value during this time--on account of the quantity of foreign silk
that has been imported and its better sale, because of the lower price
at which it has been sold--that the said producers and the holders
of the annuity grants have not had sufficient means to pay the said
annuities; and for the last two years they have owed his Majesty two
hundred thousand ducados. It will be impossible to pay that sum and
what shall be owing in the future years, as long as the importation
and sale of that foreign silk is not prohibited. But if that be done,
the production will be increased, and the trade and value [of the
Spanish silk] will return to its former figure. By that benefit all
the producers will be encouraged to persevere in it, and will cause
greater duties, not only for the larger amount of silk that there will
be, but in the excise duty for the consumption of food. The producers
will have the means to pay what they owe on the annuities that are due
and will fall due. And although the silks will be dearer than now, the
greater durability of what will be made from them, because of their
good quality and worth, will make them cheaper. For if the Chinese
silk is not imported, nor ours mixed with it (which is the thing that
spoils, harms, and damages ours), what is woven will never break,
and will not be dear at any price. The money [now] invested in the silk
of China and taken to that country will come to these kingdoms, and
will be invested in our silks and merchandise and the returns from them
will continue to increase both in the increase of the royal revenues,
and in the universal welfare of his Majesty's vassals. Thus will it
be seen in a very short time how well advised has been the decision
that will be made in the prohibition of the said silks of China, as
well as the great damage that its importation has caused. Besides,
the danger of navigation will not be so great, because of both its
less distance and its greater safety; nor will there be so many losses
of ships and property as there arc continually now. This trade will
proceed with less coercion by the enemies; consequently, the power of
the latter will not be so great, nor will the depredations that they
commit on our own coasts by robbing us have to be feared. That is all
worth very considerable thought, in order that one may see how just is
this claim, and so that the remedy for this difficulty be procured,
as it is the one that demands reform most urgently of all that now
present themselves to our attention.


_Juan Velazquez Madrco_

[_Endorsed in writing_: [55] "Arguments why the silk of China should
not be admitted into the Yndias or into Espana. October 7, 628." "File
it with the papers that treat of this matter."]






DECREES REGARDING THE CHINESE



The King. To Don Juan Nino de Tavora, member of my Council of war, my
governor and captain-general of the Filipinas Islands, and president of
my royal Audiencia therein, or the person or persons in whose charge
their government may be: Fray Melchor de Manzano, of the Order of
St. Dominic, has reported to me, in the name of the Chinese living
in those islands, that the said Chinese pay me annually sixty-four
reals in silver for the sole purpose of remaining in that country,
in addition to five more, which is the usual tribute, and twelve
more for the treasury, which are spent in assessments for affairs
of my service; and that, for a few years back, the alcaldes-mayor
have introduced the practice that no Chinese enter or live in their
districts without their permission (even though they have yours),
and the permission given by the alcaldes-mayor is for a very short
period, in order to get from them the fees for the said permission very
frequently. Although orders have been issued in this matter by that
Audiencia of mine, prohibiting the granting of the said permissions,
those orders have not been obeyed. On the contrary, those officials
proceed in their own interest, and oblige the Chinese at the same time
to attend to the service of the city, by going to fish and to provide
all the necessaries of life; and, whenever they go they experience
many annoyances. He petitions me that I will be pleased to order that,
since the Chinese pay so large fees to live in that country, the
permissions that you shall grant them be valid in all the districts
of the said alcaldes-mayor; and that the latter take no other fee,
or the former have no need of any other permission, besides yours;
and that for yours not more than one real in silver be collected. If
the expedition made by the said Chinese should not last longer than
one month, the permission of the alcalde-mayor of their district
will be sufficient, and they shall not be obliged to get another in
that place to which they go, within the said month. That given by
the said alcalde-mayor shall not carry fees in excess of one-half
real. If the alcalde-mayor of the Parian grant such permission, he
shall collect no fee, since the said Chinese pay ten pesos to him,
and the same amount to the clerk of the salary fund. Having examined
the matter in my royal Council of the Indias, I have considered
it advisable to refer the matter herein contained to you, so that
you may provide that the said Chinese be not annoyed or molested,
in order that there may be no occasion for their coming to complain;
and you shall advise the said my royal Council of the Indias of the
correction that you shall apply in this matter. Madrid, June 8, 1628


_I The King_
By order of the king our sovereign:
_Don Fernando Ruiz de Contreras_


The King. To the president and auditors of my royal Audiencia resident
in the city of Manila of the Filipinas Islands: Fray Melchor Manzano,
of the Order of Preachers, in the name of the Chinese living in those
islands has reported to me that it has been ordered for the security
of the islands that the Chinese live in the village of the Parian,
outside the walls of that city; but that for a few years past they
have been scattered among different settlements outside of the said
village. There with difficulty can the wrongs experienced at various
times by such settlements be righted, as many of them do not go to mass
or hear the word of God, but indulge in excessive gambling, to their
own hurt and that of the inhabitants of that city. Any insurrection can
easily be feared because they can arrange one very safely in the said
settlements, where they can hold secret assemblies and meetings--from
which resulted the impositions, false testimonies one against another,
and false witnesses; and the fortifications of the walls of that city
are in great danger. For if the said Chinese live in the village of
the Parian, one can derive from that means to fortify the walls and
prevent destruction and losses; but if they live outside the Parian,
that will be lacking, and consequently the safety of that city [will
be endangered]. I have been petitioned that I be pleased to order,
under severe penalties, that no Chinese be permitted to have a dwelling
outside the Parian; and that those now outside return there, except
the married Christians who may live in the village of Vindanoc [i.e.,
Binondo], which has been assigned to them. Having examined the matter
in my royal Council of the Indias, I have considered it fitting to
refer the matter to you, so that you may proceed in it with all the
haste that may be advisable for the service of God our Lord and my
own, in order that those troubles cease. You shall advise me of what
you shall do, on the first opportunity. Madrid, August 17, 1628.

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