Chapter II · THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE AUDIENCIA OF MANILA (1583–1598).

The conditions which determined the establishment of an audiencia in the Philippines differed little, if at all, from those in Spain’s other colonies. All of Spain’s dependencies were situated at great distances from the mother country; the Philippines were farther away than any. Furthermore, the Philippines were isolated and could not be successfully maintained, if dependent on, or identified with any other colony; distance and other factors which we shall note made undesirable and impracticable a continuance of established relations with New Spain. If, however, the governor of the Philippines came to be almost absolute in his authority, his absolutism differed in degree rather than in kind from that of the governors and viceroys of other colonies. The contiguity of China and Japan, the constant danger of military invasion and naval attack by outside enemies and the dependence of the colony on the commerce of China also made the case of the Philippines somewhat different from that of the colonies in America. In general, the situation in the Philippines called for a distinct audiencia with the same powers and functions as were exercised by the audiencias of the other colonies.

The government of the Philippines, prior to the establishment of the Audiencia of Manila, during the period 1565–1584, was subordinate to the viceroy and to the audiencia in Mexico. The time required for the transmission of documents and correspondence, the fewness of ships available for the voyage between the Philippines and New Spain, and the unsatisfactory means of communication resulting therefrom, seriously inconvenienced the residents of the colony. In matters of government and justice appeals had to be taken to Mexico. This proceeding involved great loss of time and expense, and was especially inimical to the administration of justice. The assignment and regulation of encomiendas, the supervision of financial affairs, the control of the Chinese trade, the dispatch of the galleons to New Spain, and the assignment of cargo-space on these ships, were all matters which, at that great distance, and at that time, called for divided control. The execution of all these duties was too great a charge for the human frailties of one man; the governor could do it neither honestly nor well. The necessity was apparent of having a central government in Manila which would be self-sufficient in itself; that is, independent of New Spain, and at the same time capable of repairing its own defects.

The relations which existed between the Manila government and the authorities of New Spain are illustrated by a letter which Governor Gonzalo Ronquillo de Peñalosa wrote a month later than the correspondence above alluded to. In this letter he announced the arrival of a ship from Mexico, which, he said, bore nothing but charges against him. These complaints, he alleged, had been formulated by agents of Dr. Francisco de Sande, his predecessor, whose residencia he had conducted and whom he had deprived of his office as governor. Ronquillo wrote that

He concluded by pointing out the inconsistency of his position, subject as he was to Sande, the man whom he had displaced because of the former’s unfitness to occupy the post of governor. Although Governor Ronquillo de Peñalosa did not ask for an audiencia on this occasion, he did petition for an educated assistant to aid him in the administration of justice. “The trouble here,” he wrote to the king, in the letter above quoted, “is that the people are of such a nature that, at the same time when justice is done to one, an enemy is made of another person.” The rule of Ronquillo de Peñalosa as governor was distinctly typical of the possibilities of an absolute executive, far removed from the restraining influence of the courts, with scarcely any limitation upon his operations. Appointed as he had been for life, with proprietary attributes, and with the power of naming his successor, Ronquillo de Peñalosa was the first governor sent out from Spain in pursuance of the policy of entrusting frontier commands to military men who were fitted by profession and experience to deal with situations which demanded the qualities of the soldier, rather than those of the administrator and politician. An attempt thus seems to have been made to remedy the ills which had been characteristic of the administration of Lavezares and Sande by entrusting the governor with more centralized power—an attempt to correct the evils of absolutism with the mailed fist and more absolutism, backed by military power.

Enough has been noted of the evils of the government as it existed before the establishment of the audiencia to understand the reasons for the creation of the tribunal. The whole matter summarizes itself in the excesses of the governor, and the necessity of protecting all classes of society from his absolutism. These abuses called for the establishment of a tribunal nearer than New Spain, which would, in a safe and expeditious manner, impose the necessary limitations upon the governor, insure an equitable collection and an economical expenditure of the public revenue, and bring about particularly the elimination of official corruption. It was desirable to protect the merchant in his legitimate business, to insure stability in the relations of church and state, and to obviate the existing evils in the administration of the provincial governments. The latter meant the assignment of encomiendas in accordance with the law to deserving individuals instead of to friends and relatives of the governors, or to other prominent officials of the colony. It also meant that the natives on these encomiendas should be protected from the rapacity of the encomenderos. It was realized that an effort should be made to insure the imparting of religious instruction to the natives in partial return for tribute paid by them. Finally, it meant the establishment of a tribunal which would have power to enforce the law prescribing that the alcaldes mayores and corregidores should exercise faithful supervision over these matters which were within their jurisdiction. A tribunal was needed, not merely to hear such appeals as might come to it by process of law, but with authority to intervene actively in affairs of government, checking the abuses of the governor and protecting the community from his absolutism.

Finally, the Audiencia of Manila was established by decree of Philip II on May 5, 1583, in the following terms:

The jurisdiction of the tribunal, it is to be noted, extended throughout the Island of Luzon and the rest of the islands of the Archipelago, as well as over “the mainland of China, whether discovered or yet to be discovered.”

The decree which provided for the foundation of the Audiencia of Manila consisted of three hundred and thirteen sections. Although the audiencia was subsequently abolished for a few years, it was re-established in 1598 and these articles were again utilized. It is therefore worth while to notice the most important provisions of the law of establishment, which was to serve as a foundation for the audiencia during a period of approximately three hundred years. The first thirty-eight sections were devoted to the creation of the tribunal, to a definition of its jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases, and to a determination of the proper method of procedure in them. The audiencia was to have authority to try cases of appeal from gobernadores, alcaldes mayores, and other magistrates of the provinces; it also had jurisdiction over civil cases appealed from the alcaldes ordinarios of the city and original jurisdiction over all criminal cases arising within five leagues of the city of Manila. Appeals were to be tried by revista (review) before the tribunal. Cases of first instance (vista) were not to be tried in the tribunal, excepting those to which the government was a party, or the above-mentioned criminal cases. The judgment of the audiencia was usually to be final in ordinary suits, and always in criminal cases. Those involving the government, and civil suits exceeding a certain value were appealable to the Council of the Indies. Notice of appeal to the latter tribunal had to be served within one year after the objectionable decision was rendered, and the party appealing the case was obliged to post financial bonds covering the expenses of suit in case the final judgment were not favorable to him. The decision of the audiencia was to be executed in all cases, even though an appeal to the Council of the Indies had been made. The procedure followed in the chanceries of Valladolid and Granada was to be enforced in the Audiencia of Manila except when the contrary was especially ordered. Investigations might be made by one judge, but the concurrence of two was necessary for all decisions involving the reversal of a former judgment, or in cases wherein a certain amount was at stake. In the latter case, an assistant judge might be chosen from outside the audiencia to assist the regular magistrate.

The audiencia was forbidden to act alone in the selection of judges of residencias or pesquisidores; it was commanded not to interfere with governors of provinces, but it had the right, when, charges had been made by private individuals, to conduct investigations of governors’ official conduct. The audiencia was empowered to investigate the judges of provinces. Magistrates were forbidden to hear cases affecting themselves or their relatives, and when a case involving more than one thousand pesos was before the tribunal, and no oidor was eligible to try it, an alcalde ordinario might serve in the place of a regular magistrate, with appeal to the Council of the Indies. Criminal charges against the oidores were to be tried by the president, with the assistance, if need be, of such alcaldes ordinarios as the latter might select. No relative of the president or of an oidor could be appointed legally to a corregidor-ship or to an encomienda. Oidores were eligible for appointment by the president from time to time to inspect the administration of justice and government in the provinces.

Oidores were forbidden to receive fees from or to act as advocates for any private person, and they could not hold income-yielding estates in arable land or cattle. Oidores were forbidden to engage in business, either singly or in partnership, nor could they avail themselves of the compulsory services of Indians under pain of deprivation of office. Any person could bring suit against an oidor. As noted above, such cases would either be tried by the president or by an alcalde ordinario on the president’s designation. Such cases might be appealed to the Council of the Indies.

The audiencia, according to the terms of its establishment, had extensive authority over matters of government. In case of the death or incapacity of the president, the audiencia was to assume control of affairs, the senior oidor filling the post of president and captain-general, with special charge over military matters. Under such circumstances the administrative and executive functions were to be administered by the audiencia as a body. The governor, who was also president of the audiencia, was ordered to make a complete report annually to the Council of the Indies on the state of the government and the finances of the colony, including an account of the gross income and expenditures, a survey of conditions of the encomiendas and corregimientos, as well as a report on the conduct of officials, including oidores. In fact, all matters that came regularly under the care of the executive were to be covered in the annual report of the governor and captain-general of the Islands.

The president was empowered to delegate the oidores, in turn, to make tours of inspection in the provinces. The magistrates, as visitors, were to inquire into the character of service rendered by the alcaldes mayores in the administration of government and justice. They were to note the state of the towns and their needs, the means taken for the construction and preservation of public buildings, and the condition of the Indians on the encomiendas. They were to see whether they were faithfully and efficiently instructed in religion, or whether they were permitted to live in ignorance and idolatry. Reports were to be made by the visitors on the state of the soil, the condition of the crops and harvests, extent of mineral wealth and timber in the provinces under investigation, weights and measures, and in fact, everything that had to do with the general welfare. On these trips the oidores were authorized to take such action as they felt to be necessary. Two oidores were also required to make weekly inspections of the prisons of the colony.

The decree of establishment also directed that certain phases of ecclesiastical affairs should claim the attention of the audiencia. The chief duty of the tribunal in that regard was to keep the ecclesiastical judges from exceeding their authority, and the practices of the audiencias of Spain were especially prescribed as a precedent for the local tribunal. The audiencia was charged with supervision over the assignment of benefices, and especially with the settlement of the property and estates of bishops and archbishops who died in the Islands. The audiencia was ordered to permit nothing to be done which would be in prejudice of the rights and prerogatives of the church. The tribunal was instructed to assist the prelates on all occasions when they petitioned for royal aid. It was also to see that properly accredited bulls were read and applied in the Spanish towns, but not in the native villages.

As noted above, suits involving the royal treasury and the collection of money for the government were to be reviewed and decided before any other that might come up in the royal audiencia. It was the duty of the fiscal to prosecute these cases in the interest of the government. At the beginning of each year the president and two magistrates were to audit the reports of the oficiales reales, and if these reports were not duly and properly rendered, the salaries of these officials were to be withheld. After auditing the accounts the committee was to count the money in the royal treasury. The oidores who did this extra work were to receive an allowance of twenty-five thousand maravedís (about 56 pesos) in addition to their regular salaries. The authorization of the audiencia was necessary for the payment of extraordinary expenses not appearing in the regular budget and these disbursements were made subject to the later approval of the Council of the Indies. The audiencia was held responsible in these matters by the Council. Full reports of expenditures made on the responsibility of the audiencia were to be made to the Council, and the oidores were held accountable in their residencias for their votes cast in the junta or acuerdo de hacienda, as the committee was called.

The audiencia was given supervision over the administration of the estates of deceased persons; it was to examine the accounts of executors and see that the wills of the deceased were faithfully executed and that all was done in accordance with the law. For this purpose an oidor was delegated each year with authority to dispose of these cases in the name of the audiencia. In a subsequent chapter the duties and activities of this administrador or juez de bienes de difuntos will be enlarged upon.

Considerable space in this decree was devoted to prescribing the rules for the trial of cases involving Indians, with a view to securing justice both in their administration by the encomenderos and in the supervision which the alcaldes mayores exercised over the encomenderos. The provision was made that “our said president and oidores shall always take great care to be informed of the crimes and abuses which are committed against the Indians under our royal crown, or against those granted in encomiendas to other persons by the governors.” The audiencia was directed to exercise care that “the said Indians shall be better treated and instructed in our Holy Catholic Faith, as our free vassals.”

The audiencia was required to exercise care that suits involving Indians were neither lengthy nor involved, that decisions were reached promptly and without unnecessary litigation, and that the rites, customs, and practices to which the Indians had always been accustomed should be continued in so far as was practicable. The audiencia and the bishop were to see that there was a person appointed in each village to give instruction in religion. Alcaldes mayores were ordered not to dispossess native chiefs of their rule or authority; they were, on the contrary, to appeal cases involving them without delay to the audiencia, or to the visiting oidor. The audiencia was to devote two days a week to hearing suits to which Indians were parties. Encomenderos were to be protected by the audiencia in the possession of their encomiendas.

A proportionate amount of attention in this cédula is devoted to outlining the duties of the fiscal, who, from many points of view, was the most important official directly connected with the tribunal. It was his function to appear as prosecutor for the government in all cases tried before the audiencia, and he was forbidden to serve as the advocate of any private person during his term of office. He should devote his attention especially to matters involving the exchequer. He was to prosecute all cases of appeal from the alcaldes mayores and corregidores on behalf of the government, and “he was to take care to assist and favor poor Indians in the suits that they have, and to see that they are not oppressed, maltreated, or wronged.” The fiscal, ordinarily, was not to prosecute unless it were on the complaint of some person, but in cases of notorious injustice, or when judicial inquiry was being made, he could take the initiative on his own account. It was his duty to perform any and all legal acts which were consistent with his position, and which were designed to bring about justice or to secure the royal interests.

The remaining sections of this decree, and, in fact, the greater part of it, are devoted to establishing the duties of the fiscal and the minor officials of the audiencia, to fixing a tariff of fees to be charged for notarial and other legal work and to the determination of other matters which are of no great consequence to the purposes of this chapter.

Among the minor officials attached to the audiencia were the alguacil mayor and his two deputies. These were to act as the executive officers of the court and were empowered to make arrests, serve papers and execute similar functions. Their duties, as a whole, were much like those of the English or American constable or sheriff. They might arrest, on their own initiative, persons whom they caught in crime, as, for example, those playing forbidden games of chance, or indulging in immoral practices, typical particularly of the Chinese. The alguacil was responsible for the maintenance of the prison of the audiencia; for this purpose he could appoint a certain number of jail-wardens.

There were also clerks of court and notaries, chosen by royal appointment. Their duties were those customarily required of such officials, not differing from those of today. The audiencia likewise had official reporters, similar to the court reporters of the present day. Advocates and attorneys practicing before the audiencia had to fulfill certain prescribed requirements in regard to learning, training, and general ability. Receivers, bailiffs, jail-wardens and interpreters each received their due amount of space and attention in this cédula. The interpreters were to assist the Indians who were defending themselves in a Spanish-speaking court. Among their duties was the translation of the testimony of witnesses, of the questions of attorneys and the rulings of the courts into the native dialects, or into the Spanish language, as the circumstances might require. These interpreters were also required to assist the natives in the formulation of legal documents. All these minor officials were to be regulated in the collection of fees by a legal tariff. Finally, the audiencia was provided with an archive within which were to be deposited and kept the great seal of the government, and all official papers, including records of cases and official acts.

The most direct and striking consequence of the establishment of the audiencia in Manila was the discord which it engendered between the various officials and functionaries of the government. Whereas, before the inauguration of the tribunal, the chief ill of the colony had been the unrivaled absolutism and the high-handed proceedings of the governor, now, with the division of power newly effected, the creation of new departments, and the checking of one official against another, strife and contention took the place of despotism.

There were but few misunderstandings between the oidores over their judicial duties. The functions of the audiencia, as a court, were clearly defined and distinctly understood. Although appeals were made from the audiencia to the Council of the Indies, as appeals are always made from a minor court to a superior tribunal, there was little dissatisfaction with the body in the exercise of its purely legal functions. Its value in protecting the natives on the encomiendas from the tyranny of their masters, the facility rendered to the administration of justice by making appeal to New Spain unnecessary, and the advantage of having immediately at hand a tribunal with plenary powers were readily recognized.

The chief objection to the tribunal developed as a result of the audiencia’s interference in matters of government and administration. Disputes arose between the governor and the oidores, and among the oidores themselves. The lack of experience in the local field of the president and magistrates may have been one of the causes of the unsatisfactory conditions immediately following the establishment of the audiencia. Another and possibly a more important reason lay in the nature and wording of the articles of establishment. A certain amount of confusion existed in the minds of all as to the extent of power which the audiencia should have in governmental and ecclesiastical affairs. No definite distinction had been drawn between the powers of the president and those of the oidores in matters of government, and the former at once accused the latter of infringing upon the jurisdiction of the executive. The oidores, on the other hand, claimed that their advice should be taken in all matters of appointment, defense, patronage—both ecclesiastical and secular—finance, commerce and interior administration. They began to intervene actively in those matters, to the displeasure of the governor and treasury officials. All the oidores as well as the fiscal, wrote lengthy memorials and reports to the king, offering advice on this affair or that, and criticising the governor, the bishop, and the oficiales reales for acts done within their own spheres of authority. In sending these reports and in making these suggestions, the magistrates did not question their own authority and they resented exceedingly the objections and charges of interference by those concerned.

Another petition which may reflect some discredit upon the audiencia was one which asked for the abolition of the one and one-half per cent tax on imported money, and for the elimination of the three per cent almojarifazgo. Both of these taxes bore heavily on the Chinese and on the Spanish merchants of Manila. “These two taxes,” wrote the oidores, “are drawing the life-blood from the Chinese, who would otherwise bring products of great value to our shores.” The oidores had commenced this memorial by showing the financial needs of the colony. They had requested assistance from the treasury of Mexico, yet, in the same communication, they proposed to abolish three of the most profitable sources of colonial revenue that existed. These recommendations not only illustrate the wide sphere of influence of the magistrates, but they also seem to confirm the allegations which were often brought against them, charges, indeed, which they proffered against one another—that each was more interested in trade than in the welfare of the government. Notwithstanding the fact that the economic life of the colony depended on the Chinese trade, the evidence seems to indicate that, even this early in the history of the tribunal, its magistrates had personal interests to serve. In the letter referred to above, Dávalos, who seems to have been a dissenting party to all these proceedings, charged his contemporaries with being guilty of undue mercantile activity.

This memorial shows that the oidores considered it to be their duty to inform the court fully as to the part which the audiencia played in this affair. The matter at hand constituted a question of disobedience of the law, and the Audiencia of Manila had done what it could to enforce it. The tribunal had assumed a role quite as important as that of the governor. The episode shows also that the audiencia was consulted by the governor in this matter, which was purely governmental. It would not be unfair to suggest that a potential factor in stimulating the oidores and merchants of Manila to prevent the voyage of Pedro Unamanú or the Portuguese to China for trading purposes must have been the desire to safeguard the Spanish interests in the Chinese trade, and particularly those of Manila, which were the sole reliance of the colony. It was essential that this commerce should be prevented from falling into the hands of other individuals or nations.

The audiencia itself wrote to the Council at the same time: “There has been in this tribunal, between the oidores and the president, continual misunderstandings as to jurisdiction, which we have decided to submit to your Majesty to ascertain whether precedence in these matters belongs to the president or to the oidores.” The Manila cabildo recommended the re-establishment of the governorship with centralized authority: the power to grant titles, offices and encomiendas, with exclusive authority over the latter. This would include the power of appointing encomenderos in the name of the king. The recommendation was made by the cabildo that consultative authority in matters of government should be conferred on the ecclesiastical and military officials. It was also suggested that a defender of the Indians should be appointed other than the fiscal, for the latter, by nature of his office, was their prosecutor rather than their defender. It was the current opinion, this memorial went on to state, that the local prelate should be restored to his former place as defender of the Indians, and that he should have authority to dispossess encomenderos, if necessity for such action arose.

Dávalos was especially bitter in his denunciation of Governor De Vera, who, he said, had even resorted to force in order to intimidate the magistrates and had called a council of military officials on one occasion for consultation in matters of justice and government. The governor was accused of violating the laws which had forbidden officials to hold encomiendas; he had given the best posts in the government to relatives, and had completely set aside the judgments which Dávalos had rendered in his capacity as juez y administrador de bienes de difuntos. The audiencia had been powerless to oppose De Vera, largely, Dávalos inferred, because a majority of the magistrates were under his influence.

He complained that the audiencia had interfered with his administration of the finances and had suspended the payment of the drafts which he had drawn on the treasury. He had no recourse on account of the delay necessary before an appeal to the Council of the Indies could be answered. He complained that the audiencia had meddled with affairs of government on trivial pretexts, rendering him practically powerless.

In written memorials and in personal interviews with the king and with members of the Council of the Indies, Sánchez summarized all the arguments heretofore given, asking for the abolition of the audiencia. The newness of the country, the sparseness of the population and the poverty of the inhabitants, according to his argument, made such an institution a financial burden. If it were continued, the salaries of the magistrates would have to be paid from Mexico. An audiencia in Manila was not necessary, he urged, since the chief element of the population was military, and hence under martial law and jurisdiction. Even before the establishment of the audiencia it had been necessary to send but few cases to Mexico; indeed, alleged Sánchez, lawsuits seldom arose in the colony, and the presence of the audiencia encouraged rather than prevented litigation among the few merchants who lived in Manila. The discord caused by the presence of the tribunal and the continual lawsuits which it encouraged among the Spaniards had a disquieting effect on the natives, who had no need of such an institution, and who did not even understand its purposes. The audiencia, instead of serving as a protection to the natives, was an instrument of tyranny. The Spaniards, understanding the use of a court which would enforce the contracts made between them and the ignorant Indians, were often supported in the seizure of the latter’s property, which act, in reality, amounted to deprivation and legalized robbery. Sánchez stated that the natives had been terrorized by the audiencia. The magistrates, versed in the legal customs and practices of Spain rather than of the Indians, were unfit to administer justice in the Philippines.

The causes of the breakdown of the first audiencia may be found in the circumstances of the time, the personnel of the tribunal, the indefiniteness of the laws which created it, the novelty of the situation to magistrates and officials and their failure to adapt themselves to their duties and to one another. As an institution of reform the audiencia did not have time to adjust itself to a permanent status.

The regular organization for the administration of justice in the provinces was left precisely as it had been when the tribunal was in existence. The alcaldes mayores and the corregidores still functioned as judges of first instance and as governors of the provinces. The alcaldes ordinarios remained the judges of first instance in the city of Manila. These judges tried cases with appeal to the governor, and the judgment of the latter was final in cases involving a value of a thousand ducats or less. Cases of a higher category might be appealed from the decision of the governor to the Audiencia of Mexico, and thence, if again appealed, to the Council of the Indies.

The audiencia of three magistrates and a fiscal was replaced by a governor, who was both captain-general and sole judge. He was assisted in the latter capacity, as above noted, by a teniente and asesor, a lawyer, who advised him in legal affairs and prepared his judicial decisions for him. This reform was made on the representation of Fray Sánchez, that Manila had no need of a judicial system more pretentious than that of any Spanish provincial town. That city was accordingly reduced to the rank of a city or district, with dependence in judicial and administrative matters on New Spain, in whose audiencia appeals from the governor of the Philippines were heard.

Misa also showed that there had been many irregularities in the sale of offices, deficiencies which the presence of an audiencia would have checked. Instead of selling the minor clerkships of the exchequer, the governor had given them to his friends. Two offices, which were by no means insignificant, those of the chief clerkships of government and of justice, respectively, had been sold formerly for four thousand pesos each. The governor, however, had preferred to have them on his civil patronage list; this would not have been permitted had an audiencia been present to enforce the law.

The governor was charged by Misa with extravagance in the expenditure of the revenue of the colony. The payment of the salaries of new appointees to offices, friends of the governor, had made heavy drains on the treasury. The king, by repeated cédulas, had forbidden the designation of an excessive number of alcaldes and corregidores because of the desirability of economizing the resources of the colony. While the audiencia was in existence its consent had been necessary for the creation of new judicial districts, but since the recall of the tribunal, the governor had trebled the number of provincial officials, and, in addition, had permitted each to have a salaried assistant.

This memorial, from Misa, which was carefully considered at court, went far toward demonstrating that the restoration of the audiencia would have beneficial results, so far as the administration of real hacienda was concerned.

I established an audiencia in that city and province in order that everything might be governed by means of it, and that justice might be administered with the same universal equality, mildness, and satisfaction desirable; after its establishment I ordered it suppressed as experience proved it unnecessary in a land so new and unsettled; in its place I sent a governor, and though his administration was excellent, yet, inasmuch as that community had grown, and I hope that it will continue to grow, I have thought it advisable to found and establish the said audiencia again.

In this cédula, which was addressed to Governor Tello, the king pointed to the increased importance of the Philippines, and to the many expeditions by which the Island of Luzón and other islands of the Archipelago had become pacified and more densely settled. The increase of commerce with the Chinese was also cited as a reason for providing the Islands with a more stable government. It was stated that in the administration of justice there should be as much efficiency as possible without the loss and inconvenience involved in appealing cases to Mexico. The governor would have more time for his increasing administrative and military duties if disengaged from his former judicial functions. The cédula continued:

The governor and the magistrates were jointly charged to do all possible to discourage Indians and Spaniards from wasting their means in fruitless and petty lawsuits. The natives, according to this new reglamento, should always be protected against the designs of those who would take undue advantage of them. The governor was moreover instructed to confer with the archbishop and audiencia in ecclesiastical affairs, and the prelates were especially forbidden to excommunicate and issue declamations from the pulpit against the officials of the civil government, such as were constantly proclaimed when Salazar was bishop. Priests were not to meddle with the civil government, or with the pancada, or with any form of trade.

The audiencia as reformed, with the powers and duties noted, began its life in Manila on May 8, 1598. The inauguration of the tribunal was attended with general rejoicing, and a celebration characterized by great formality and pomp. The royal seal was conducted through the city in a procession which was composed of all the royal and clerical dignitaries. Church, state, and citizenry united in expressing satisfaction at the restoration of the tribunal, with its consequent prospect of an efficient government and administration of justice.

Reforms were made in the scope and composition of the audiencia at various times during its existence. It developed from a commission of three magistrates, with a president at its head, with definite and ill-expressed powers over a vast archipelago, whose population was sparse and scattered, to a double-chambered tribunal of appeal in second and third instance, with definite jurisdiction over a well-organized commonwealth. It would be highly desirable, did space allow, to review chronologically the important reforms which were made in the organization, scope and jurisdiction of the Audiencia of Manila throughout its history. The most important of these, however, will be noted incidentally in the following pages.