[The following laws are translated from _Recopilación de leyes_,
lib. ix, tit. xxxxv, "Concerning the navigation and commerce of the
Filipinas Islands, China, Nueva España, and Perú." [1] The various laws
of the _Recopilación_ are not arranged chronologically, but they are
here thus given--retaining, however, the number of each law. Those laws
given in the present installment range in date between 1583 and 1609,
those beyond the latter date being reserved for a future volume. Some
of the laws, as shown by various dates, were promulgated more than
once, either in the original form, or possibly amended. When there
is more than one date, the chronological order follows the earliest
of these.]


Law LVIII

The appraisements and registers that shall be made of the merchandise
shipped in the vessels despatched from Filipinas to Nueva España
and other places, shall be made solely by the officials of our
royal exchequer. The distribution [of cargo] that shall be made
in the vessels of the said islands, and of the merchandise shipped
on our account, and the appointment and examination of the pilots,
masters, and other officials, shall be made in the presence of the
aforesaid persons; and the laws ordained by this titulo shall be
observed. [Felipe II--San Lorenzo, June 14, 1583.]


Law XXXV

It having been committed to, and charged upon, the governor
and captain-general of the Filipinas that he should endeavor to