religious orders in the islands are furnished (_ca_. 1612), at
the royal command, by their superiors. The Augustinians enumerate
fifty-six houses with one hundred and fifty-five priests and thirteen
lay brethren. The Jesuits maintain two colleges (Manila and Cebú),
six residences and two missions; in these are forty-five priests,
twenty-eight lay brethren, eight novices, and eleven scholastics--in
all ninty-two religious. Each "residence" is a center of missionary
activity for all the Indian villages around it, in some of which are
churches, and to others visits are paid more or less frequently by the
fathers who live at the residence. The Franciscans have forty-eight
houses in their missions to the Indians, and four in the Spanish
towns; they also maintain six hospitals. They have one hundred and one
priests and thirty-eight lay brethren, besides twenty-one religious
in Japan. The Dominicans have eighteen houses, and one hospital, with
sixty-two friars; besides these, they have three houses in Japan, with
nine religious. The field occupied by the Augustinians is in Western
Luzón, Panay, and Cebú; and the villages in which they minister
number 58,800 tributes--which, at three persons to each tribute,
means a population of 176,400 souls. The Jesuits conduct missions in
Luzón, Panay, Leyte, Samar, Bohol, and adjacent islands; they have
sixty-eight churches, besides those in Manila and Cebú, and are in
charge of about 50,000 souls. The Franciscans have missions in Luzón,
with 80,000 souls; also some in Maluco and Japan. The Dominicans also
work in Luzón, ministering to somewhat more than 16,000 souls.

The viceroy of Peru writes to Felipe III (April 12, 1612) in regard
to the Philippine-Mexican trade, giving his report and opinion, at
the king's command, regarding the request of the Sevilla merchants
that the Philippine trade be taken from Mexico and transferred to
Spain and Portugal. This letter is an interesting exposition of