Page:The Philippine Islands, 1493-1803 (Volume 09).pdf/106

 others, since they are near one another. By this means, those souls might be helped.

The island of Catanduanes, which lies north, near the island of Luçon, is about thirty leguas in circuit, and has four thousand Indian tributarios. It is apportioned to four encomenderos. Eight ministers of the gospel are needed for the conversion of those people, who number about sixteen thousand souls.

The island of Luzon, whereon is located the city of Manila, is the best and most thickly populated, most abundant in food and richest in gold mines. It is three hundred leguas in circumference, and is all apportioned among encomenderos. The villages in the chief places of the provinces belong to your Highness's royal crown. In this and other parts, your Highness has thirty thousand tributarios or thereabout. Although they all pay tribute in the villages under charge of encomenderos, many of them have no instruction; and they have paid, and there has been collected from them, tribute for more than sixteen years. That this may be quite evident to your Majesty, he says that, in the province of Camarines, located eighty leguas from the city of Manila in the said island, in the vicinity of the volcano of Albay, are four encomenderos, who collect more than three thousand tributes, and there are no ministers of the gospel. This means twelve thousand souls to be converted, for not one of them is a Christian, for the reason given above. For their conversion, six ministers will be necessary.

Further in the above province are four other encomenderos, who collect tribute from the island of Capul (which lies four leguas away), and from the bay of Ybalon. They collect almost three thousand