It would be
more advisable to increase the power of the king in Europe, where
the forces could attend to emergencies without the casualties that
militate against them in outside seas and dominions. Each one of these
arguments was enforced so minutely by the ministers of the treasury
that this proposition merited consideration and examination. Had
God permitted the king to exclude the Filipinas from his monarchy,
and leave them exposed to the power of whomsoever should seize them
first, the Malucans would have so strengthened the condition of their
affairs that it would have been impregnable.
This same resolution has been communicated on other occasions, and
in the reign of King Filipo Third, now reigning. He, conforming
to his father's reply, has ever refused to accept counsel so
injurious. Consequently, that most prudent monarch answered that the
Filipinas would be conserved in their present condition, and that the
Audiencia would be granted sufficient authority so that justice could
be more thoroughly administered; for in the completeness and rigor
of justice the king based the duration and energy of the state.
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