good-will; for they saw that he was the one of whom the province had need for those times.  Thereupon, our father Fray Miguel Garcia performed an action most worthy of his devout heart, namely, to kneel down before our president, and with tears to resign his office, confessing himself as unworthy and insufficient for it, while he did not have the grace or rather the age for it.  This he did with so many tears that his devotion made many others weep.  The bishop-elect of Sugbu, who was present, caused our father visitor to dispense him in whatever obstruction he had by reason of his age, and to confirm him in the election.  The bishop cooeperated, and considered it good that the province had elected him; and the province itself insisted on it by universal acclaim.  Consequently, our father visitor confirmed our father provincial Fray Miguel Garcia, first dispensing him for the impediment of the lack of age, which was but little.  That lack was more than supplied by his excess of prudence.

The definitors elected at this chapter were the reverend fathers:  first, Fray Francisco Bonifacio; second, Fray Juan de Tapia; third, Fray Vicente de Sepulveda; and fourth, Fray Estacio Ortiz.  The absolute provincial, father Fray Diego Gutierrez, received a vote.  The visitors who were elected in this definitorio were father Fray Bernabe de Villalobos and father Fray Antonio de Porras [22], the latter being adito. [23] All the above in assembly made excellent regulations, and established for that time very good acts and laws; and they charged our father provincial with the execution of them, since on that depended the universal good of all the province.

It was proposed in this chapter, and, in fact, it was so ordered, for reasons that were very apparent there, that the chapters in the future should be held every four years, and the intermediary chapters every two years.  The main consideration that influenced them was the great deficiency that the fathers create in their convents during the time when they come to the election, and they deemed it advisable to obviate this injury as much as possible, since it could not be entirely remedied—­concluding that the expenses, if they could not be avoided, at least would be delayed as late as possible.  This was agreed upon at that time, but later it was considered unadvisable, and consequently the enactment in this matter was repealed.

After the election, and the departure of the vessels to Castilla, our father visitor undertook to go to visit the province of Bisayas, which he did very slowly.  He took as his associate our father Fray Hernando Becerra, [24] then a recent arrival.  He visited the island of Panay very leisurely.  When about to go to the convent of Sugbu, he took as associate our father Fray Alonso de Mentrida, [25] then without office, as he had refused any.  He established an excellent system in that convent, of which he had great care.  He caused its annuities to be raised,