This decree is to be executed without fail.
I, The King By order of his Majesty: Antonio de Eraso Aranjuez, April 24, 1584.
Annual Income of the Royal Exchequer in the Philippines Report of the annual income from tributes and other sources of profit appertaining to his Majesty in these islands of the West, and the ordinary expenses therein.
The tributes from the villages belonging to the royal crown amount in one year to twenty-two thousand pesos of eight reals each XXII U.[3] pesos Dues from tithes and assays of gold, four thousand pesos IIII U.pesos From import duties on merchandise which comes from Nueva Espana and China, six thousand pesos VI U.pesos Fines accruing to the exchequer, one thousand pesos I U.pesos -- ----------- XXXIII U.pesos Salaries and ordinary expenses The yearly salaries of the president, auditors, and fiscal of the royal Audiencia amount to sixteen thousand five hundred and forty-four pesos of the said gold XVI U.DXL[IIII] pesos The salaries of two royal proprietary officials, and of another who serves to fill a vacancy, four thousand six hundred and eighty-seven pesos and four tomins IV U.DCLXXXV[II] pesos Gratuities to the religious orders, three thousand pesos III U.pesos Collection of tributes, one thousand five hundred pesos I U.D pesos Ordinarily there are a hundred seamen, shipwrights, and forge-men, whose wages are paid from the royal treasury in Nueva Espana; and some assistance, charged to that treasury, is given to them in this island, as aid for their support, besides their ration of rice-- which amounts in one year to two thousand pesos II U.pesos Item: Fifty-five Indians who are carpenters, and a like number of iron- workers, for work on the ships; and a hundred other Indians for services in casting artillery, building houses for the royal service, work on the fortifications, manning the oars on three fragatas, and ordinary service-- who earn two thousand pesos II U.pesos Item: Twenty thousand fanegas of rice for the sustenance of the seamen, shipwrights, and iron-workers, and the Indians for the above works and services; at the rate of two tomins a fanega, this costs five thousand pesos V U.pesos Five hundred quintals of iron, at one peso a quintal U.D pesos Also five hundred quintals of cordage, net weight, at one peso a quintal U.D pesos Also five hundred quintals of pitch, at one peso a quintal U.D pesos Five hundred pesos' worth of charcoal, for the forges U.D pesos One thousand pesos' worth of timber, logs, and planks, for the dockyards and work on the ships I U.pesos For the repairing of magazines, royal buildings, and fortifications, and for timber for the same, one thousand pesos more I U.pesos The said expenses amount to forty-one thousand eight hundred and thirty-one pesos XLI U.DCCC.XXXI pesos Accordingly, in one year the exchequer incurs a debt of eight thousand eight hundred and thirty-one pesos; usual debt of the treasury each year VIII U.DCCC.XXXI pesos The said account does not include extraordinary expenses that arise, such as the pacification of the natives throughout these islands, and certain other expeditions, and material for their defense--expenses that occur each year (especially for the past three years), in this region.

With the aid sent to Maluco, repairs on his Majesty's galleon which came from that place, the rebuilding of the fort and magazines, and the buildings which have been erected for the royal Audiencia and its president and auditors, the said works have cost his Majesty in all more than thirty thousand pesos in the said three years for extraordinary expenses, for which sum the royal exchequer is indebted.
Extraordinary expenses for three years, XXX U.pesos Andres Cauchela Juan Baptista Roman Domingo Nerdules In the city of Manila, in the Philipinas Islands, on the fifteenth day of June, one thousand five hundred and eighty-four, the honorable president and auditors of the royal Audiencia established in this said city stated that, in order that his Majesty might be informed of the value of provisions and other articles sold in this island, as well as of the harvests therein and of the supplies that are brought from Nueva Espana and the realms of Castilla, they gave orders to make, and they did make, before me the following investigation.
Luis Velez Cherino And, for the said investigation, the honorable licentiate Rojas, auditor of the royal Audiencia, took and received an oath before God and the blessed Mary, and on the sign of the cross and on words of the holy gospels, from Don Antonio Gofre Carrillo, treasurer of his Majesty's royal exchequer in this city and the Philipinas islands-under which obligation he promised to tell the truth.

Being asked regarding the tenor of the title of this inquiry, he said that this witness knows that every year one or more ships come from Nueva Espana to these islands for traffic, which bring, as merchandise, velvets, satins, damasks, taffetas, ribbed cloths in colors, velvet caps, shoes and stockings, linens from Holland and Rouen, wine, vinegar, oil, olives, capers, preserves, hams and fat bacon, flour, soap, hats, netted hose, Cordovan leather, raisins, almonds, and many other articles from the produce of Espana and Nueva Espana.

All these things are in this land usually worth double their value and cost in Nueva Espana.

Many times we have experienced lack of wine for saying mass and for the sick; sometimes a jar holding an arroba of wine has been worth at least one hundred gold pesos, and even much more.