Letter from Salazar to Dasmarinas

[The bishop replies (March 8) to the foregoing letter, which he accuses of being inspired by others than the governor—­presumably by the Jesuits, since the name of Joseph de Acosta rouses Salazar to anger; he declares that “the doctrine contained in that book [1] is exceedingly pernicious, and erroneous in regard to the Indias,” and warns the governor that under their guidance he will infallibly plunge into many errors.  The land will go to ruin, and the governor and his advisers will be responsible therefor.  He defends himself against what he considers unjust aspersions on his character, and remonstrates against the governor’s neglect of his counsels.  He promises to put a stop to the preaching by his clergy on public matters.  The salary due him is greatly in arrears, which has caused him much privation; but he does not wish to receive it if it shall proceed from unjust collection of the tributes.]

Letter from Dasmarinas to Salazar

I have received your Lordship’s letter dated today.  When your Lordship says that, with the great number of opinions I am trying to weaken yours, I can only reply that my intention certainly has not been such, but to tell your Lordship with all plainness and truth the state of the case—­which is that I have learned whether this is the general sentiment of the theologians of this bishopric, as your Lordship said it was in your conclusions.  Even if it were so, I could not do more than leave it in the same state in which it was, and report it to his Majesty.  But, my lord, if I find some other expression of opinion in clinging to the majority, I do not think that I am mistaken in it; and to this end alone I wrote to your Lordship—­certainly not that you should be troubled by what did not come into my thought.  Still less would I have you think that I made use of anyone in writing the letter which I sent to your Lordship last night, for I certify, upon the life of my son Luis, that (although that letter seems to your Grace to be a large harvest from my little stock) there is not in it one word by another person, save what suggested itself to me from my own papers and discourses; for all that I wrote there I have told you already at various times, except those quotations from authors and from the Council of Lima.  Those I asked to be given to me, from memory, by the person who mentioned them to me as authority for what he stated and thought; and I quoted them there that your Lordship might see that I had not made up my mind without foundation.  All this I had need of in order to justify myself in your eyes, for it seems to you that I could not reply without the help of assistants; but thus far neither my king nor his advisers have noticed in me such a deficiency as that.  On another occasion your Lordship told me, in Saint Agustin, [2] that I had read Father Acosta, although I have never in