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. 24]

0630-1634]

CABILDO TO FELIPE IV

247

the highest perfection. God our Lord would be
greatly pleased if the honors, dignities, and prelacies
of this country be given to those who have served
and labored in it. From that three blessings of high
importance will follow. The first, that your Majesty
will have fulfilled your obligation in accordance
with the excellent principle of distributive justice.
Thus have our sovereigns Kings Philipo Second and
Third, of glorious memory, your Majesty's grandfather and father, ruled, ordered, and commanded in
their royal patronage. And most certain can your
Majesty be that there have always been and there are
now men worthy, capable, and of great talents, from
whom much may be expected, both in this cabildo
and in the orders - especially that of St. Dominic and
that of St. Francis; but, since they do not try to obtain
the prebendaries of this church, never will their
affairs be known, nor will any of them ever be seen
in that royal court, for neither can they go, nor do
they possess the wherewithal to send. These arguments will have greater force and power in the
future, because of the two universities which your
Majesty has permitted in this city-one in the residence of the Society of Jesus, and the other in that
of Santo Tomas of the Dominican friars, where students are being trained and many graduated. Thus
this city is today full of poverty-stricken seculars,
and one must fear that there will be so many within
a few years that they will die of hunger, because we
have not any benefices to give them in this archbishopric or throughout the islands; for these are
held by friars, who cost your Majesty so dearly. It
is very desirable to refrain from sending many of the
religious who come from Espafia, which is an argu