best for your royal service, and for
the welfare and usefulness of both this church and this commonwealth,
at that time; and to that we at present refer you. As new occasions
have come to light, we inform your Majesty, in accordance with our
bounden duty, that on the eve of St. Francis' day last past the Chinese
Sangleys, who live in the outskirts of this city, rose against it,
to the number of twenty thousand, setting fire to the houses, and
killing several Spaniards and Indians who lived without the wall. They
fought with some of our men, killing one hundred and thirty Spaniards,
including many of the most prominent men. They attacked the city,
stationing themselves in a large stone church building, which was
being completed by the friars of St. Francis, standing three hundred
paces from the wall--a very bad situation for it. The city was in
great danger from their attack, for there were hardly a thousand
Spaniards in it. Our men set fire to the alcayceria of these same
Sangleys, which stood about twenty paces from the wall. Our Lord was
pleased to deliver us from the many and great dangers in which this,
your Majesty's city, found itself; for its loss would have destroyed
the Filipinas, and the Christian community and faith of Jesus Christ
our Lord in them, if He had not miraculously delivered us. The enemy
abandoned the situation that they had seized, on account of the damage
that the artillery did them, and retired to the country inland,
where our men pursued them, cutting off and killing them in a very
short time. Thus did our Lord remove the danger in which this city
and these islands of your Majesty have been so many years, because
the governors preceding the one we now have would not comply with
and observe the royal decrees and mandates of your Majesty, although
they were urged and advised to do so, both in private and from the
pulpit. For the good government of this country it would be well for
your Majesty to be pleased to provide some efficacious means for the
observance and execution of your royal decrees and mandates; since
from the failure to do this has resulted the loss we have mentioned,
and perhaps still greater is yet to come. We also dread a very large
fleet which is expected to come from the kingdom of China against this
city. May our Lord, in His mercy, defend and protect this, His cause,
and not permit this new plant to be killed.

Toward the end of the past month this city took fire; and, as th