The fathers held a chapter meeting in 1578, and peaceably and quietly cast their votes for father Fray Agustin de Alburquerque, a man of whom we have already said sufficient of his occupations, virtue, zeal, and prudence.  As soon as he beheld himself invested with the ermine, he gave his attention to everything possible, looking after both the spiritual good of the province—­the principal thing—­and the temporal, extending and spreading the province.  He established religious in Bulacan, and that place is now one of the principal and more desirable convents.  It has an excellent stone house and church, and about six hundred tributes. [92] It is about six leguas north of Manila.  It has usually two religious.  The Tagal language is spoken there.  The alcalde-mayor of that jurisdiction, which has about four thousand Indians, lives in Bulacan.  All the Manila religious extol the Indians of this town as the most tractable and most attached to the church.

He established religious in Candava also.  This is the last convent in Pampanga, and formerly was most flourishing, although now it in very dilapidated.  Near it is a beautiful and copious river, [93] which divides into many branches as it approaches the sea, and all these branches empty into Manila Bay.  Hence one may go to all these convents both by sea and by the estuaries, without sail.  Therefore, one can go and come without depending on the weather.  It has now about six hundred Indians. [94] It is one and one-half day’s journey from Manila.  Two religious live there.  It has a very fine wooden house, and the church is built of the same material.

Religious were firmly established in Macabebe.  This is, in my opinion, the finest priorate of all Pampanga, and the chief one.  It lies on a branch of the Candava River, as above stated; and in the middle of the road has a very good wooden house and church.  Three religious lived there generally, for it had more than one thousand three hundred Indians.  A visita called Minalampara was taken away from it, which is a vicariate.  With that the said town of Macabebe was left with about one thousand Indians. [95] Two religious live there generally.

All this Pampanga country is swampy.  For such is the condition of the rivers, that the people have their conduits, and, when they need water let it in.  This is the reason for the vast quantity of rice there.  This province has abundance of cocoa-palms, and many bananas.  The soil is very favorable for any trees that one might choose to plant there.  When the religious arrived there, that province had many inhabitants.  Now, although it lacks that great number of former years, yet it is not depopulated. [96] The people there have accepted Christianity more readily than all others of the islands.  They have more to do with the Spaniards than the others, and try to imitate them as far as possible.  But the more they try to do that, the more do they show their texture as Indians.  Very many people have been conscripted