that, as he is now appointed by the king the protector of the Indians,
he may have also funds for the expenses and assistants necessary for
this office; also that the same protection may be extended toward
the Chinese, who need it even more than the Indians. A royal decree
(July 23, 1590) orders that the trade with China shall be confined
for six years to the inhabitants of the islands.

Next follows a long document, a collection of papers (bearing
various dates in 1591) relating to the collection of tributes in
the islands. The first is a memorandum of the resources and needs
of the hospital at Manila; the former are so small, and the latter
so great, that the institution is badly crippled. A short letter
by Bishop Salazar (dated January 12) classifies the encomiendas
according to the amount of religious instruction given therein,
and lays down the conditions which ought to govern the collection
of tributes. He declares that the encomendero has not fulfilled his
obligations to the Indians under him by merely reserving a fourth
of the tributes for building churches; and advises that the small
encomiendas be combined to form larger ones. This letter is followed by
twenty-five "conclusions" (dated January 18) relating to this subject,
which express the opinions of bishop and clergy on the collection of
tributes from the Indians. These define the purposes for which this
tax should be collected, the restrictions under which collections
shall be permitted, and the respective duties in this matter of the
encomenderos, ministers of religion, and governors, They declare that
restitution should be made for all tribute unjustly collected from
the natives--which includes all that is taken from pagans who have
not been instructed, or from any Indian by force. Another letter
by the bishop (dated January 25) accompanies this document. He
states that he does not desire to forbid the encomenderos from