The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803; explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the Catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commericial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the beginning of the nineteenth century; [Vol. 1, no. 13]

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THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS

[Vol. I3

gleys facing them, the natives killed them - attacking
first one troop and then the other, with perfect safety
and not the slightest danger. In this affair twelve
or fifteen days were spent in the going, the work, and
the return, and for this he claims more remuneration
than if he had pacified the states of Flandes; and he
is not even contented with the governor having given
him an excellent encomienda in the vicinity of this
city, besides another good one which he possesses in
Pangasinan. At present he is enjoying both of them
contrary to the instructions of your Majesty, and they
are among the best in the islands.. I advise you of
this so that the service which he has rendered, the
time spent, the danger of the expedition, and the risk
that he personally ran, may be known, so that the
reward may be conformable to that and not to the
favor which the governor extends to him and the
claim which he makes. For he dares not ask to have
investigations made in the Audiencia, nor should an
opinion be given in it as your Majesty orders by the
royal decrees; for it is not known in the royal Council
how little he did, that it was not a service of such
importance as to demand more reward than what he
held in the first encomienda.
All the welfare of this land, for its maintenance
and the prosperity of those who reside in it, lies in
the cargoes of the ships which are despatched to
Nueva Espaiia, with which your Majesty favors the
citizens of this city and the settlers. I assure your
Majesty with the truth that I desire to employ, that
much wrong is done them, and that the ships are
laded for the dependents and connections of the governor, by which they are benefited with great riches;
and the same thing is done by the commanders and