s it is necessary for the
minister to put his shoulder to the wheel so that the village may be
well governed--now by directing the gobernadorcillos in its employ,
now by encouraging them and giving them zeal and energy and courage in
certain decisions which they, through their cowardice, do not dare to
make unless an order or command proceed from the minister; now also by
restraining the audacity of the greater against the less, in order to
prevent the annoyances that the chiefs practice upon their _cailianes_
[105]--thereby protecting the cause of the wretched, which is one
of the duties that the council of Trent (in the place cited at the
beginning of this work), commits to those who are ministers of souls.

"There are two kinds or modes of annoyances which the Indians who are
more influential practice on those of lower rank. Some are peculiar
to the cabezas de barangay, with their cailianes; others are common
to every kind of rich Indian toward the poor. I shall first treat of
those of the first class, and next, of those of the second.

"First, the cabezas are accustomed to impose on their cailianes certain
taxes of silver, rice, and other products, under pretexts that they
there feign, of service to the church or to the village. Perhaps,
they cast the blame on the alcalde, who is most often unaware of such
taxes and is not told of them. The remedy is that, when the minister
learns of it, he causes the cabezas to be punished, and the silver
to be returned to the cailianes.

"Second, when the father or some passenger pays the Indian rowers
or carriers, or tanores, through the medium of the cabeza or of the
government, the silver generally does not reach the hands of the
Indians; but the cabezas keep it, under pretexts which they advance
that the Indians owe a certain polo or tribute, long overdue, or
similar things. The same thing happens with the money which the father
or passengers give them with which to buy provisions, and, with the
_opas_ of those who perform personal duty for others. The remedy for
all this is for the minister to solicit him to pay the money to all
[the Indians] into their own hands; and especially should he do that in
what he buys [from them] or when he makes the Indians perform any work.

"Third, that in the polos the cabezas exempt whomever they wish,
without other justification than that they choose to do so; and
because those persons contribute silver, tobacco, or rice to the
cabeza, th