their slaves.  They care nothing for instructing the natives, or setting them a good example, or preparing them to receive baptism; on the contrary they exasperate the Indians with their harsh treatment, and cause them to abhor the law of God.  Such encomenderos as these should not reside in their encomiendas:  the governor ought to forbid them even to visit those places, and should himself appoint such person or persons as would fulfil toward the Indians the obligations which rest upon encomenderos.

Third:  In the encomiendas of the king, and in those of the encomenderos who, for the aforesaid reasons, ought not reside in their encomiendas, such persons shall be appointed, with the approbation of the bishop (to whom his Majesty has entrusted this care, and which of right falls to him), as shall fulfil those obligations toward the aforesaid natives which are incumbent upon encomenderos, conformably to the law of God and to what his Majesty has provided and commanded in his laws and ordinances—­in order that in this manner the Indians may be pacified and appeased; and so prepared that, when they shall have ministers, they can receive instruction from them.  Under these conditions and limitations, the king in his encomiendas, and the encomenderos in theirs, may collect from the said encomiendas something from their current products, for help, maintenance, and expenses.  That would be a third part of the tributes, if the encomiendas are large and the religious teaching sufficient therein; but if the encomiendas are small it would be half, as has already been stated.

Among the encomiendas which maintain religious instruction (although none, or very few, have enough of it), there are some whose inhabitants, although including some Christians, are for the most part infidels, and so ill-disposed and so unfavorably situated that it is impossible for them to receive the instruction, since there are not enough ministers in the said encomiendas.  Even though instruction exists therein, no tribute, or at least very little, ought to be exacted of the infidels until they have ministers to teach them, and the encomendero influences them to give consent, so that they can be taught.  In this class of encomiendas are included the tingues of Silanga, Pasi, Tabuco, and Maragondon; those of Pangasinan, and others in Ylocos; and the rest in the island of Panay.  These encomiendas are among those which have religious instruction:  the others have already been enumerated.

The encomenderos of these islands have fallen into an error, based upon a misunderstanding of a decree of the king, in which he commands that a fourth part of the tributes from the encomiendas shall be set aside in order to construct churches and to provide for divine worship.  They imagine that by virtue of this decree those encomiendas which have never had religious teaching may collect the entire tribute, after setting aside a fourth part of it.  Moreover, but a small