Dominican), One of the Augustinian officials signing
the above document, Joan de Tapia, writes another and personal letter
to the king, giving further accounts of Fray de Leon's illegal acts
and general unfitness for his office. Tapia also accuses him and
one Fray Amorin of having appropriated to themselves various funds
entrusted to their care; and says that Leon is investing in mercantile
speculations money which must have come from the convents.
One of the auditors, Antonio de Ribera Maldonado, writes to the king
(June 28); he complains of the conduct of Governor Acuna toward himself
and others, and of his appointments to government positions. Maldonado
also asserts that Acuna evades the laws regulating the Mexican trade,
securing for himself and his friends privileges which rightfully
belong to the citizens at large. He asks that he may be permitted to
remain longer at Manila, instead of going to Mexico.
_The Editors_
March, 1904.
RELACION DE LAS ISLAS FILIPINAS (_concluded_)
By Father Pedro Chirino, S.J. Roma: printed by Estevan Paulino,
in the year MDCIV.
_Source_: This is translated from the original printed work, for which
purpose have been used the copies belonging to Harvard University
and to Edward E. Ayer of Chicago.
_Translation_: This is made by Frederic W. Morrison, of Harvard
University, and Emma Helen Blair.
RELATION OF THE FILIPINAS ISLANDS
And of What Has There Been Accomplished by the Fathers of the Society
of Jesus
How Father Francisco de Vera returned to Espana for more
fathers. Chapter XXXVII.
The men of the Society remained in the rest of those Pintados Islands,
occupied as we have already seen. In various places, during those
two years, there had been newly erected to the glory of Jesus Christ
thirty churches; but in all this the least important thing was the
material gain, for the real success was in the continual increase of
the body of Christians in all those churches. In places where Ours
did not reside, each church had its own representative [_fiscal_],
who took care of it and assembled the people, at least on feast-days,
to recite the prayers and chant the Christian doctrine. They did this,
not only in the church, but in their houses; and even when journeying
by water, or cultivating the soil, their usual recreation is to sing
these exercises. In proportion at the fruit grew more abundantly, so
did the need of laborers increase--until Ours, ex
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