and scandals that the common enemy of souls compassed during that time for the ruin of many--which filled the world with gloom, and gave perfidious heretics the opportunity to blaspheme against the Catholic priests--for they are very well known. The archbishops of Manila tried to establish that kind of ecclesiastical hierarchy in Filipinas, but as he was so holy, and only desired to promote the greater honor and glory of God (Qui cogitationem pacis et non aflictionis habet) [87] he found considerable inconveniences and even impossibilities in effecting what he was attempting. For Don Juan de Palafox had a great plenty of secular priests who were very suitable in learning and virtue for choosing and presenting for the missions, which the orders were abandoning, because they refused to submit to the rigor of the canonical collation in the appointments to the missions. But the archbishop found a great lack of secular priests in these islands, for scarcely are there enough in this country to fill the choir of the cathedral of Manila, with prebendaries and chaplains for the royal chapel, and some few curacies which the clergy hold in this archbishopric. For the Spaniards in this country multiply but slowly, and very few of their sons apply themselves to following the ecclesiastical life, either secular or regular. That is so true that the orders could not maintain themselves if it were not for the continual missions that are brought from the kingdoms of España. Thus, the clergy is composed of the sons of the Spaniards of this country, and with these is maintained a cabildo in this cathedral of Manila, so distinguished that it might belong to one of the first churches of España; for most of them are doctors in sacred theology, after having graduated first as masters of arts. He who has the least degree is a master. All of them are very learned and of known virtue, which is a cause for admiration, as they live so far from reward that one rarely passes from the sphere of the dignities of the said cabildo. For although some have attained the episcopal dignity, these are very few--as, for instance, this year their dean, Doctor Don Domingo de Valencia, was promoted to the bishopric of Camarines, [88] but at such an age that he cannot obtain the dignity for a long time. However, in order to comply with his obligation, and to give the orders an incentive to represent in judicial form what they had to allege, the archbishop resolved to place the visitation in execution. He began with the mission at Binondoc, outside the walls of the city of Manila, belonging to the religious of St. Dominic, who immediately abandoned that mission; and the same was done by the other orders, who left the missions in their control in the hands of the governor as vice-patron. The latter referred the consultative vote on a so great and weighty matter to the Audiencia in the royal assembly. It was thoroughly discussed by the auditors of the Audiencia,