Among the benefits which this city receives from the intercourse
with the Sangleys, by no means the least important is that, while in
Espana stone-masonry is so expensive and difficult to produce, here,
through the diligence and industry of the Sangleys, we are able to
build fine houses of hewn stone at a low cost; and in so short a
time that in one year a man has been able to complete a house, all
ready for habitation. It is wonderful to see with what rapidity many
sumptuous houses, churches, monasteries, hospitals, and a fort are
being built. The Sangleys also made very good bricks and roof-tiles
at low cost. At first, lime was made with stone as in Espana; but now
the Sangleys are using a kind of pebble, called "white corals," which
they find on this coast; and also shells of large oysters, of which
there is a large quantity. At the beginning this lime did not seem to
be of good quality; but the kind produced ever since has been so good
that no other kind of lime is being employed in this city. It came to
be sold at so low a price that for my house as well as for others we
bought a cahiz [36] of lime for four reals, and one thousand bricks
for eight--although this is not the fixed price, for it fluctuates
according to the money which comes from Mexico. The Sangleys know how
to take advantage of the right time; they sell their goods dearer when
they know that there is money to buy them, but they never raise the
price so as to make it unreasonable. They agree to bring all the lime,
bricks, and tiles to the house of the purchaser, thus saving him a
great deal of labor. It is of great advantage also to have the Sangleys
construct the building; they agree on so much per braza, including the
cutting of stones and the carrying of the sand. If they are given the
lime, they will furnish all the rest, and will thus deliver the house
or work without any trouble to the owner. The day's wage of a Sangley,
when he does not work by the job, is one real, and he provides his own
food. The Sangleys are hard workers and very greedy for money. The
number of those who have come to this city is so large that another
large Parian is being built by the side of the above-mentioned one,
resembling it in shape. Many Sangleys have built their houses in it,
and it would be filled with people by this time had not the bricks of
Mexico failed us last year through the Marquis de Villa-Manrrique--who,
according to report, prevented the shipment of