ch he places more stress, according
to what he has told me, is a section of a decree of your Majesty sent
to Don Alonso Fajardo, dated Madrid, December 10, 1618, in which your
Majesty uses the following language:

"We have also learned that, through the opportunity furnished by
fulfilling an order which my officials of my royal treasury of
those islands had--that, if a necessary and unavoidable case arose
in which some new expense would have to be incurred, the governor,
Audiencia, and the royal officials should assemble and discuss it,
and what should have the majority of votes should be executed,
giving me advice thereof--on this account many expenses, salaries,
and wages have been incurred and increased without any necessity,
for the private ends of each one. Consequently, I order you not to
make these expenses, except in sudden cases of invasion by enemies;
for by doing the contrary so much injury to my royal treasury results."

There are two chief points in this section which can be discussed. The
first is that your Majesty says that you have heard that the expenses
have been incurred for private ends, and not because they are
justified. He who told your Majesty that the wills of the governor,
auditors, and royal officials in Filipinas could be unanimous, even
for their private interests, has deceived you; for experience shows
the contrary. Neither should your Majesty believe that we are all so
vile that we would be making unlawful expenditures of your revenues
in order to pleasure one another. Well assured can you be of this by
the limitation and restriction that would have to be because of the
majority of votes; and because the governor, in whom your Majesty
trusts most fully, does not have the final decision. Scarcely any
authority is given him in this, and a great deal is taken away
from him.

In regard to the second point, what occurs to me to say is that, if we
are to understand that we must wait for sudden emergencies, and until
the enemy is at our gates, in order that we may make any expenses
in defense of it; I, Sire, as a soldier (which is my profession),
declare that in the Filipinas Islands there is a continual invasion
of enemies. Accordingly, since we are confronting so many, it is
necessary that we be always in a state of defense. Consequently,
we must not wait until they arrive before we make the expenses for
the necessary precautions--especially since Manila is surrounded by
Chinese and Japanes