ured to ship merchandise to Jolo, and
winking at the traffic carried on by the governors of the fortress of
Zamboanga with the people of Mindanao; whilst the latter, on their
part, sporting with our foolish credulity, have never ceased waging
a most destructive war against us, by attacking our towns situated
on the coast, not even excepting those of the Island of Luzon. They
have sometimes carried their audacity so far as to show themselves
in the neighborhood of the capital itself, and at others taken up
their temporary residence in the district of Mindoro and in places
of the jurisdictions of Samar and Leyte; and in short, even dared
to form an establishment or general deposit for their plunder in the
Island of Buras, where they quietly remained during the years 1797,
1798 and 1799 to the great injury of our commerce and settlements.

[Authority for war not lacking.] This want of exertion to remedy evils
of so grievous a nature is the more to be deplored as the Philippine
governors have at all times been fully authorized to carry on war,
and promote the destruction of the Moros, under every sacrifice, and
especially by the royal orders and decrees of October 26, and November
1, 1758, and July 31, 1766, in all of which his majesty recommends,
in the most earnest manner, "the importance of punishing the audacity
of the barbarous infidels, his majesty being desirous that, in order
to maintain his subjects of the Philippines free from the piracies and
captivity they so frequently experience, no expenses or pains should
be spared; it being further declared, that as this is an object deeply
affecting the conscience of his majesty, he especially enjoins the
aforesaid government to observe his order; and finally, with a view
to provide for the exigencies arising out of similar enterprises,
the viceroy of New Spain is instructed to attend to the punctual
remittance, not only of the usual "situado," or annual allowance,
but also of the additional sum of $70,000 in the first and succeeding
years, etc." In a word, our monarchs, Ferdinand VI and Carlos III,
omitted nothing that could in any way promote so important an object;
whether it is that the governors have disregarded such repeated orders
from the sovereigns, or mistaken the means by which they were to be
carried into effect, certain it is that the unhappy inhabitants of
the Philippines have continued to be witnesses, and at the same time
the victims of the culpable apathy