ention that
the bishop and the religious superiors signed their approval of his
plan in this matter, soon after his arrival. Dasmarinas has already
compelled the encomenderos to refrain from collecting the fourth
part of the tax when they do not provide the Indians with religious
instruction--a reform which had never been secured until he made
it. He advises the bishop to institute another reform by insisting
that the encomenderos shall not collect any tributes until they shall
have provided for the Indians both religion and justice.

I do not understand how it can seem to your Lordship that to provide
the land with justice is to bring about its destruction. Your Lordship
has, indeed, told me that, when the alcalde-mayor is what he should
be, he better edifies and preaches than any minister of religion
whatever. Thus far, I have not found any of these officials who are
bad, except those of whom your Lordship has made some complaints to
me, and whose evil-doing is proved by naught else than the opinion
of your Lordship.

It seems to your Lordship that I wish to appoint too large a number of
these alcaldes-mayor; but one day your Lordship asked me to appoint
some of them. Since I have come to this land, I have established
a new administration of justice in the island of Masbate; and good
results which have followed, can be stated by the father custodian,
who arrived yesterday from that island, and is well acquainted with
the excellent result there. Hitherto, tribute has been collected there
in the absence of every form of religious teaching, or administration
of justice; but now, only from their intercourse and relations with
the Spaniards and from having justice established at once among them,
they have already made such progress that they demand a minister,
and even the blacks have come down from the interior to settle near us.

[The governor reminds the bishop that the progress of religion among
the heathen must depend upon the foundation established for that good
work by secular government; and that if this be not maintained the land
will relapse into barbarism, and the Spaniards will be compelled to
abandon what they have begun to build in the islands.] Your Lordship
should make some estimate of the damage which would result therefrom
to the king our lord and his royal treasury; for according to that his
Majesty would have to find one hundred and fifty thousand pesos and
more with which to make restitution, to say