Before, however, going into the next period let us see who were entitled to participate in the galleon trade. The right to ship was known as boleta or ticket, and there were as many boletas as divisions in the ship. On the average there were 1,500 such divisions, each worth from 200 to 225 pesos, a good portion of which were given to the governor-general, the religious corporations, the regidores, the favorites and privileged, and the widows of retired Spaniards. Those who had no capital to invest in merchandise sold their boletas to the merchants, and in spite of prohibition, this practice continued with impunity. The cargo consisted chiefly of Chinese and Indian silk and cotton cloths, and gold ornaments, and were sold at one hundred per cent profit in New Spain. [121] Almost all the merchants secured loans from the "Obras Pias," [122] which were funds donated for pious purposes, and two-thirds of which loaned at the following rate of interest: for Acapulco, fifty per cent; for China, twenty-five per cent; for India, thirty-five per cent; the rest of the funds formed the reserve. Besides the merchandise and silver the galleons transported the official correspondence, arms, troops, missionaries, and public officials. The officers of the galleon were highly paid. The commander, who had the title of general, made 40,000 pesos per voyage, the pilot about 20,000, [123] and the mates, 9,000 each. Most of the crew were natives. [124] Effects of the galleon trade What were the effects of the Manila-Acapulco trade upon the economic growth of the Philippines? There are two answers to this question. On the one hand, those who believe that the policy of restriction was necessary in order to protect the industries of Spain, of course, say that such policy was beneficial. Furthermore, it is alleged that no other economic activity could have been possible during the early part of Spanish domination because, at the time, there were no products of the country which would serve as the basis of a rich and flourishing commerce; there was no capital sufficient to exploit the natural resources of the Philippines. And to show that Manila was benefited by acting as a distributing point of Oriental goods, the prosperity of Singapore and Hongkong is cited; what prosperity would these cities enjoy if it were not for the fact that they act as entrepots of the East? [125] The very retention of the Philippines depended upon its ability to support itself in part, and the profits from the trade as a whole made that possible.