The Bishop of the Filipinas

The Governor’s Reply

Assuming it to be his Majesty’s will that, in the encomiendas where, for lack of ministers, instruction is not given, some tribute shall be collected, if only in recognition of services rendered, it seems but fitting that enough should be collected to sustain the encomendero—­or, if he should abandon the encomienda, some person who should continue, in his stead, intercourse and relations with the Indians, so influencing and directing them that, when they are given instruction, they may receive it willingly; and settling the minds of the Indians, so that we can deal with them and travel among them.  Such persons or encomenderos are accessory to the gospel, and should be supported, as ministers are, by the tributes of the Indians—­who, if deprived of their presence and left without this intercourse, will doubtless become intractable, and a country which is at present secure and orderly will require a fresh pacification.  Accordingly I say that if your Lordship should order the encomendero to appropriate, for his own maintenance and for necessary expenses (which are so great, and the encomiendas so small), [three—­M.] [47] fourths of the tributes, and if the remaining fourth should [be used—­M.] for the erection of a church, for ornaments, and other accessories of religious instruction; or, if this fourth part should be remitted to the Indians (although, in reality, if they think that by not becoming Christians less will be exacted from them, they will never become Christians or admit fathers into their territory; and it is certainly better for the Indians to have this fourth part held as a deposit for the three years, since at the end of that time [they can add—­M.] to it a tribute, and assist in paying the expenses of erecting the church and the costs of other accessories of instruction and other necessary expenses which may arise); and if the above should be asked from them in advance, and as a whole—­I maintain, that all this could not be exacted without great injury to the Indians.

This tribute should be collected with much gentleness toward the Indians, without the presence of soldiers and firearms, and without entering their houses.  One house should, however, be set apart for the purpose of making these collections, where the Indians, summoned in friendly terms, may come voluntarily to pay their tributes; and no other force or pressure should be imposed upon them.  Moreover, of the increase of two reals in the tributes, only one (and no more) should be exacted, and the aforesaid collection of the three-fourths should be general in all the encomiendas.  There are no grounds for making a discrimination between the Indian of the large encomienda and the Indian of the small one; and if it is right to collect in the one, the same procedure holds good in the other, for the same thing applies to [four—­M.] as to forty, which in this case would mean not to change the present and past condition of things, or the universal practice throughout all the Indias, by interfering with his Majesty’s decree.