Page:The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803 (Volume 07).djvu/276

 among them, and they themselves can be instructed when they have ministers, the encomenderos shall be entitled to collect from them the portion which we have named above. In order that from this time forth, the king in the royal encomiendas, and the encomenderos in theirs, may, as has been stated, collect the third part or the half, the following conditions must be observed:

First: That the encomenderos shall endeavor, with the utmost diligence and care, to establish sufficient religious instruction in their encomiendas. In case they are unable to do so, they shall write to his Majesty, requesting him to provide the necessary number of ministers to teach the Indians; and they shall ask this so earnestly and effectively that his Majesty will feel himself under obligation to send ministers. They shall likewise offer, if it be necessary, to pay a part of the expenses which his Majesty shall incur in sending the ministers.

Second: In case ministers cannot at once be found to instruct the natives, orders shall meanwhile be given as to how the encomenderos are to reside in their lands. This should not be done in the manner which has been hitherto practiced, when some of the encomenderos hoping thus to reduce their expenses go to live in their encomiendas (indeed, I know not if there are any who act otherwise), and there employ the Indians in the service of themselves, their families, and their houses, taking away their possessions at the lowest price, and treating them as if they were their slaves. They care nothing for instructing the natives, or setting them a good example, or preparing them to receive baptism; on the contrary they exasperate the Indians