We order that there be but one commander and one lieutenant (who
shall be admiral) for the two ships from Filipinas to Nueva España;
that each ship shall take no more than one military captain, besides
the ship master and as many as fifty effective and useful soldiers
in each ship with pay, and the sailors necessary to make the voyage
properly each way--who shall be efficient and examined--and one pilot
and assistant to each ship; for both ships one purser [_veedor_]
and accountant. All appointments to the said posts shall be made by
the governor and captain-general alone, without the intervention of
the archbishop, or of any other person, notwithstanding what shall
have been provided to the contrary. We order that choice be made from
among the most respected and influential inhabitants of those islands,
and of those most suitable for the said offices and the duties that
the appointees must exercise. If they shall not be such, the matter
shall be made an article in the governor's residencia. [Felipe
III--Barcelona, June 15, 1599; Valladolid, December 31, 1604; San
Lorenzo, April 22, 1608; Madrid, May 23, 1620.]



Law XXVII

We charge and order the viceroys of Nueva Espanña that the troops
that they send to Filipinas be useful, and that they go armed; and
that the men go to the governor of the islands to ask for the pay that
the captains take from their soldiers. In regard to this the governor
shall take legal action and punish those whom it touches. [Felipe
III--Denia, August 16, 1599.]