Besides the above, the governors of these islands have absolute authority privately to provide and attend to all that pertains to the royal estate, government, war, and consultations in difficult affairs of the auditors of this royal Audiencia; to try in the first instance the criminal causes of the soldiers; and to appoint alcaldes, corregidora, deputies, and chief justices of all the islands for the exercise of government, justice, and war, together with the chief scrivener appointed by his Majesty for government and war matters.  The governor also enjoys the privilege of a permanent body-guard of twelve halberdiers, with a captain of the guard, who always accompany him, besides many other preeminences conceded by royal decrees to the presidency of the royal Audiencia and Cnancilleria.  He is, finally, captain-general of all the archipelago.  For these his employments, his Majesty assigns him annually a salary of eight thousand pesos de minas—­or thirteen thousand one hundred and thirty-five pesos, three granos of common gold—­besides the many profits and gains assigned to him by domestic and foreign fees and privileges, which amount annually to great sums of money.

Administration of Government and the Captaincy-General

[The following is taken from Sinibaldo de Mas, [101] Informe sobre el estado de las Islas Filipinas en 1842 (Madrid, 1843), tomo ii.  Portions of it are apparently embodied in translation and abstract in Bowring’s Visit to the Philippine Isles (London, 1859), p. 87-93.]

The government of the Filipinas Islands, together with the group of the Marianas, is in charge of a military chief, who, to the title of governor, joins those of president of the Audiencia, and royal vice-patron; subdelegate judge of the revenue, and of post-offices, posts, and express [correos, postas y estafeta]; and director of the troops, captain-general, and commander-in-chief of the navy.  His authority, then, embraces all the powers derived from these titles, both for administration and for the security and defense of the territory.

To discharge these duties he has three secretaryships—­one of government, another of the captaincy-general, and the third of the navy—­one military auditor, one adviser in government matters, one fiscal, and one scrivener.  One may appeal from his gubernatorial measures to the royal Audiencia, which often alters or annuls those measures by means of sentence.  But there is a law that provides that in case that the governor-general undertakes to have his order put into effect, it must be observed until the superior decision, so that no uneasiness and confusion may result from it in the country.  The collection of taxes and the disbursement of money is in charge of a superintendent of the treasury [hacienda], under the immediate orders of the government at Madrid.  In sudden or doubtful cases, the resolutions of the superior council [junta] of the treasury—­composed of the superintendent, the accountant-in-chief of accounts [contador mayor de cuentas], the accountant of the army and treasury, the newest auditor of the Audiencia, and the fiscal of the treasury—­decide the matter.