more use than to augment the grandeur of this crown; but granting that they possess the advantages that I have mentioned, the loss, cost, and expense is nothing; and it remains abundantly proved how necessary, just, expedient, and requisite it is to maintain them. If the Philipinas are to be maintained, it now remains to ascertain how and in what manner this shall be done, in order to secure their preservation, and [at the same time] to avoid any considerable injury to the royal exchequer and to the other kingdoms of this crown. For this there are but two methods, and these alone; no other can be found which is adequate and efficacious. The first one is, the method which is adopted for the island of San Martin, and for all the military posts which his Majesty maintains in the Indias and in other regions, and for his fleets and armies; this is, to furnish from the royal treasury all that shall be necessary for this purpose. Granting that the islands cost annually 850,000 pesos and furnish revenues of 244,000 pesos, his Majesty will have to supply 606,000 pesos. Although this is a great sum of money, the preservation of those islands is so desirable, and so much more will have to be lost and spent if the islands are lost, that, in case there shall be no other way, it will be necessary and compulsory to accept and carry out the above method--although even that would not be enough, for the islands now cost 850,000 pesos [only] because the citizens of Manila give much aid, and render service with their persons and property. In one year they have thus given more than 200,000 pesos, as is made evident in the larger memorial, nos. 59 and 60. Accordingly, this method is exceedingly costly, and even more so than it would seem, for the reason that I have stated. There remains, then, the second method, the only one [available]; this consists in granting commerce to those islands, which would suffice to secure three results. The first of these is, to preserve the present revenue of 244,000 pesos that they yield; for that sum, or the greater part of it, is based on the wealth which the islands obtain from their commerce, and if this fails them they will produce much less, and therefore much more will have to be supplied [from without]. The second, to give the royal treasury the benefit of the 606,000 pesos which (or the greater part of that sum) are deficient for the usual expense account, as has been shown. The third, to furnish the citizens with means by which they can, in emergencies, aid the extraordinary expenses--as they always have done, and still do--by having a commerce to support them; but without this it will be necessary, as they would lack the means to render such aid, that the king should bear these expenses. These three results being granted, the preservation of those islands readily follows.