labours, and pure patriotism of the ministers of
religion. Let us travel over the provinces, and we shall see towns of
5, 10, and 20,000 Indians, peacefully governed by one weak old man,
who, with his doors open at all hours, sleeps quiet and secure in his
dwelling, without any other magic, or any other guards, than the love
and respect with which he has known how to inspire his flock." [81]

If this seems too rosy a picture, it still must not be forgotten that
at this time the ratio of whites to Indians in the islands was only
about one to sixteen hundred, [82] that most of these lived in Manila,
and that the entire military force was not more than two thousand
regular troops. [83] As has been intimated this condition lasted
down until a comparatively recent period. As late as 1864 the total
number of Spaniards amounted to but 4,050 of whom 3,280 were government
officials, etc., 500 clergy, 200 landed proprietors, and 70 merchants;
and in the provinces the same conditions prevailed that are described
by Comyn. [84] In more than half of the twelve hundred villages in the
islands "there was no other Spaniard, no other national authority, nor
any other force to maintain public order save only the friars." [85]

Recurring for a moment to the higher ecclesiastical organization, the
judicial functions of the church were represented by the archbishop's
court and the commissioner of the Inquisition. The Episcopal court,
which was made up of the archbishop, the vicar-general, and a notary,
tried cases coming under the canon law, such as those relating to
matrimony and all cases involving the clergy. Idolatry on the part
of the Indians or Chinese might be punished by this court. [86]
The Holy Inquisition transplanted to New Spain in 1569 stretched its
long arm across the great ocean to the Philippines, in the person of
a commissioner, for the preservation of the true faith. The Indians
and Chinese were exempted from its jurisdiction. Its processes were
roundabout, and must have given a considerable proportion of its
accused a chance to die a natural death. The Commissioner must first
report the offense to the Court in New Spain; if a trial was ordered,
the accused must be sent to Mexico, and, if convicted, must be returned
to the Philippines to receive punishment. [87]

The most peculiar feature of the old regime in the Philippines is
to be found in the regulations of the commerce of the islands. In
the _Recopilacion de leyes