An oidor in the Philippines served as judge of medias anatas. [304] These taxes were levied upon the salaries of all officials of royal appointment, except ecclesiastics, these exactions varying in amount from one-half the first year's income to one-tenth of the gross salary of each official. The cédula of June 2, 1632, [305] ordered the judge-commissioner of medias anatas to surrender the money which he had collected to the treasury officials who in turn were to transmit it to Spain. [306] More definite information as to the nature of the duties of the judge-commissioner of these funds may be gathered from the cédula of December 14, 1776, by which Oidor Félix Díaz Quejada y Obrero was appointed as commissioner of medias anatas in the Philippines. This magistrate was authorized to retain four per cent of all that he collected. This percentage, the cédula stated, was the same as was paid to the commissioner of medias anatas of New Spain. The cédula ordered Quejada to collect this tax from all royal appointees, but not from governors of towns or Indian caciques who were elected yearly, and who, of course, were not royal appointees. Appeals from judgments of the commissioner of medias anatas were to be entertained in the Council of the Indies only, and not in the audiencia. [307] It has been pointed out already in this chapter that the effect of the reforms of the intendancy was to limit the jurisdiction of the oidores over special commissions. This is especially true of those relating to finance. An illustration of this is shown in the disputes which occurred between the oidores and the governor, over the conservatorships of betel, [308] wine, tobacco, playing-cards, and cockpits. When these sources of income developed in the latter part of the seventeenth century, their supervision, as usual, had been conferred on oidores with title of asesores or jueces-conservadores (judge conservators). [309] This was done in disregard of the laws of the Indies, wherein was expressed the desirability of conferring these assessorships, if possible, on properly qualified officials, other than oidores. The magistrate holding a commission was to attend to the legal duties and adjudicate all suits in connection therewith. The latter regulation was made in order that when the cases were brought to trial the magistrate might not be incapacitated by having rendered decisions in them ahead. The law continued in the following strain: when a case so urgent and extraordinary offers itself that an oidor must be appointed, warning is hereby given that ... the same magistrate who tried the case originally may not be judge. [310] This law conceded that oidores might serve when other magistrates were not available.