Page:The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803 (Volume 04).djvu/85

1576-1582] this year. It seems that your Majesty has been pleased to bestow this encomienda upon the son of the defunct adelantado, Legaspi. If this should pass to him—as it is only reasonable to expect that it should, since such is your Majesty's pleasure, and it is a favor to the children of him who died in your Majesty's service—it would be most serious damage to the condition of these islands. For not only has your Majesty no income in grain, nor any place from which to obtain it, but these Indians, as they are near, work very well, when told that they are tributarios of your Majesty; and they serve in cutting wood, and do other things which are very useful and important here. If perchance the heir of the defunct governor should come to ask for his rights, I believe that it would be well to ask him to do us the favor of waiting until this point in my letter can be answered. Some plan might be arranged, if it pleased your Majesty, so that he should be recompensed in Nueva España. This will prove advantageous, since this encomienda has been already allotted to the royal crown. I entreat your Majesty to please to have the matter examined, because it is important. For this reason I mention here the number of Indians, and their tributes. It is a healthful and rich land.

104. The provinces in these islands that would be profitable to settle are those that can maintain the Spaniards and can provide them with food. If these are not colonized by us, the Indians will continue their old mode of life, which means attacking others. For this reason, it would be well to grant some lands, but with discretion, so that we shall not be separated; for each by itself would prove but a weak community, as happened on the appearance of the corsair. For