relating the events of the Chinese insurrection are sent to Spain by the governor and the Audiencia (December 12 and 18, 1603).  The fortifications of Manila are being pushed forward, and an envoy has been sent to China to explain the recent revolt and its punishment.  Acuna has also endeavored to procure military supplies from that country to supply the present deficiency; he dreads lest the trade with China may be cut off, which would ruin the Philippine colony.  Acuna has enlisted several military companies among the Indians, who have done good service in quelling the Sangley insurrection.  He recounts his difficulties in equipping a small fleet for the defense of the islands.  The Mindanao pirates have again raided the islands; but the Chinese insurrection made it necessary to recall the troops who had been sent to check the pirates.  Acuna relates the chief events of the past year in the Mindanao campaign, and the present state of affairs there.  He complains of the lack of funds, and entreats that money be promptly sent from Nueva Espana.  A postscript to this letter, dated December 23, asks that the conduct of the royal officials at Manila be investigated, as they had illegally allowed so many Chinese to take up residence there.

The chronological order of our narrative is here interrupted to survey the course of the Jesuit missions as related by Pedro Chirino in his Relacion de las Islas Filipinas.  After a brief prefatory note, he begins by describing the location of the islands and their discovery and settlement by Spaniards.  The finding of the Santo Nino in Cebu in 1565 is related at length, with an account of the miracles and the veneration connected with it; and the patron saints invoked by the Spaniards are enumerated.  Among these is especially prominent St. Potenciana, chosen as their patron and protector against hurricanes.  Chirino briefly describes the dress, customs, and character of the natives, and the game, fish, and fruits which serve them as food; and, at some length, the wonderful bamboo plant.  He enumerates the imports into the Philippines from surrounding countries, and the occupations of the people therein who come to the islands; and praises the wealth and comfort of that region.

Chirino then mentions the coming to the islands of the various religious orders, especially recounting the labors and privations of his own order, the Jesuits, and the beginning of their settlement at Manila.  Five priests, with one lay brother, are the founders of that work; Suarez dies from overwork, Sanchez goes back to Europe, and Sedeno conducts the affairs of the mission—­laboring for the good of the colony in all matters, both spiritual and secular.  The Jesuits exert considerable influence over the Chinese and Japanese who come to Manila.  In chapter vi are enumerated the names of the larger islands in the Filipinas, and their extent is compared with that of Spain.