this crown, therefore, should preserve that city for its dignity, and maintain it as the daughter of its power. Number 14. Third reason of the importance of the islands: their native and acquired character The third reason is the character, both native and acquired, of the Filipinas Islands. That of Luzón produces a quantity of gold, of which a quantity has always been found and obtained in its rivers. Rich mines have been discovered, now more considerable than ever. By a decree of August 12, 1578, the [reduction of the] royal fifth to the tenth was conceded to the inhabitants. [16] That had some extensions later, from which it is inferred that metals were obtained. There are persistent rumors regarding the Pangasinan hills, which are forty leguas away from Manila, namely, that they are all full of gold-bearing ore. In the year 620, [17] Alférez Don Diego de Espina [España--_MS._] [18] discovered the rich mine of Paraculi in Camarines. It extends for nine leguas, and it is hoped that it will have a considerable output. That has occasioned the command that the privileges of miners in those islands be observed, by a decree of September 22, 1636. They also abound in copper, which is brought from China with so much facility that the best artillery imaginable is cast in Manila, with which they supply their forts, the city of Macan and other cities of India, and it is taken to Nueva España; for the viceroy, the Marqués de Cerralvo, sent the governor, Don Juan Niño de Tabora, twenty-four thousand pesos, in return for which the latter sent him eighteen large pieces to fortify Acapulco. Of not less importance is the quicksilver of the Filipinas, whither the Chinese carry it in great quantities. It can be shipped--as is permitted and ordered by different royal decrees of August 15, 1609, and May 15, [19] 1631--to supply the deficiency of that metal for working the mines of Nueva España. Number 15. Commerce of the islands, domestic and foreign; and in what the domestic consists