Note 15 — Commerce between the Philippines and Nueva España (continued 2)

The King. To the reverend father in Christ, Don Juan de Palafox y Mendoza, bishop of the cathedral church of Tlaxcala,15 member of my royal Council of the Indias, to whom I have entrusted the general visitation of my royal Audiencia of the City of Mexico in Nueva España and of its tribunals, and the visitation of the port of Acapulco, and other affairs very important for my service. [Most of this decree is omitted, as being only a repetition, in the main, of statements in Grau’s memorial preceding. The king rehearses the injuries done to Philippine commerce, the arguments pro and con an increase of duties, and the representations by the citizens of Manila in behalf of their petition for relief; and continues:] What they entreat with the humility belonging to my vassals, and set forth with arguments of expediency and good government, subject in everything to what shall be for my greater service, is that what is past be punished, but not so as to inflict the same penalty on those whose guilt is unequal; for if there shall prove to be guilt, it must be because they were induced to it more by their need and hardships than by the profits on their investments; and it is the fact that whatever they have acquired by these is known to be but a small part of the means which they have at present, and they have spent it and intend to spend it in serving me and in preserving those islands at the cost of their blood and property. They ask that for the present attention be given to what is hidden and concealed, and that this be diminished and reduced to the amount permitted and regulated; and that, until they know in the islands what they ought to do, and what new decrees shall be issued, those penalties be not carried out against the citizens, and that they shall not be punished for what they have committed through ignorance. They ask that for the future the duties be not increased on what shall be found within the amount permitted, whether in silver or merchandise; that no innovations be made in the appraisement of the goods, nor by opening the packages or measuring them, through any different method from that which has been [hitherto] observed and followed, since (as is very evident) they pay more than they are able to; and they state that the despatch of the two ships was included and is still contained in the composition of the 600,000 pesos for the year 1635—a proposition very plain and undisputed, which does not admit of doubt, since it is expressly, clearly, and distinctly stipulated, noted, and agreed in the document which was executed regarding this matter, the first section of which reads as follows: “First: that in this agreement shall be set down and included the two ships which are expected to come from the Philipinas Islands this present year, or early in this coming year of 1636, to this Nueva España with registry; and if one or both of them shall not have sailed, or shall not sail, from the said islands, or if they be forced to put back to port, this agreement shall hold good regarding those which shall come in the following year, at whatever time therein; and the ship which shall not sail this year may do so next year, so that there will be two vessels; and they may land at the port of Acapulco in this Nueva España the goods that they carry, paying to his Majesty his customary royal dues, without those goods being seized; nor can anything be confiscated thereon in case each person declares what he shall carry, in conformity with the proclamation which will be issued. [This goes] with declaration that if (which may God not permit) the ship be wrecked at sea, or plundered by enemies, no other shipment be allowed.” It does not seem as if the persons who drew up and signed this contract could state more contingencies regarding the voyage of these ships, in order that these might be included in the document, since they set down the following: sailing in the year 1635; being obliged to put back to port, and being shipwrecked; sailing not in that year, but in the following one, that of 1636; arriving at Acapulco in that year, or in 1637 at whatever time therein; one ship arriving, and the other being obliged to go back to port, or not sailing at all; and finally, settling beforehand the account and despatch of two ships which would arrive after the date of the contract and agreement, up to the completion of the said year 1637. Moreover, the necessary declarations were made as to the cargo of the ships: that it must pay the customary dues, all goods being declared; and that, if this alone were done, they could not be confiscated, even though they should come outside of the registry, for this is meant by declaring them. The facts of the case were, in all these matters, that the ships did not sail in the year 1635, but in 1636, and reached Acapulco at the beginning of 1637—a voyage included and expressly stated in the [aforesaid] document. In this case, conformably to the section which is here copied, it could not and cannot be doubted that these two ships were the first to arrive after the agreement, within the limit set therein, and with the permitted amount of goods registered—not only as that amount had always come, but with more rigorous and orderly [inspection]. As for the landing of the goods, this was done as the above section directed; for Don Pedro de Quiroga, when the ships cast anchor, caused proclamation to be made that all should declare whatever goods they carried; with this, and the severity which he exercised in permitting the goods to be removed from the ships, not a bale was concealed, or considered as such, nor was anything seized as contraband. [The king then mentions Quiroga’s rigorous and oppressive measures, almost in Grau’s own words, and continues:]