reason of this
was that, at the time of their settlement there, another chief occupied
the lands, which the new chief, upon his arrival, bought with his own
gold; and therefore the members of his barangay paid him for the arable
land, and he divided it, among those whom he saw fit to reward. But
now, since the advent of the Spaniards, it is not so divided.

The chiefs in some villages had also fisheries, with established
limits, and sections of the rivers for markets. At these no one could
fish, or trade in the markets, without paying for the privilege,
unless he belonged to the chief's barangay or village.

The commoners are called _aliping namamahay_. They are married, and
serve their master, whether he be a dato or not, with half of their
cultivated lands, as was agreed upon in the beginning. They accompanied
him whenever he went beyond the island, and rowed for him. They live
in their own houses, and are lords of their property and gold. Their
children inherit it, and enjoy their property and lands. The children,
then, enjoy the rank of their fathers, and they cannot be made slaves
(_sa guiguilir_) nor can either parents or children be sold. If they
should fall by inheritance into the hands of a son of their master who
was going to dwell in another village, they could not be taken from
their own village and carried with him; but they would remain in their
native village, doing service there and cultivating the sowed lands.

The slaves are called _aliping sa guiguilir_. They serve their master
in his house and on his cultivated lands, and may be sold. The master
grants them, should he see fit, and providing that he has profited
through their industry, a portion of their harvests, so that they
may work faithfully. For these reasons, servants who are born in the
house of their master are rarely, if ever, sold. That is the lot of
captives in war, and of those brought up in the harvest fields.

Those to whom a debt was owed transferred the debt to another, thereby
themselves making a profit, and reducing the wretched debtors to a
slavery which was not their natural lot. If any person among those
who were made slaves (_sa guiguilir_)--through war, by the trade of
goldsmith, or otherwise--happened to possess any gold beyond the sum
that he had to give his master, he ransomed himself, becoming thus
a _namamahay_, or what we call a commoner. The price of this ransom
was never less than five taels, and from that upwards;