470. The slaves who were strictly such were called alìping sa guiguilir. This term comes in strict Tagálog to mean the servants below stairs; for the term guilir signifies "the lower part of the house," or "its lower entrance." These were bought and sold, or acquired by war, although those who were born in a family were seldom sold, for affection's sake. Such served their master in all things; but the latter would give them some portion of his field, if they were faithful and zealous in their labor. If they gained anything by their industry, they could keep it. If they were slaves because of debt, a condition that was very frequent among them, when the debt was paid they were free; but they were also obliged to pay for their support and that of their children. At times it was usual to transfer the debt to another, for the obtaining of some profit; and the poor wretches remained slaves, even though such was not their condition. Much of this is found yet, although not with the rigor of slavery, but by the force of obligation; but these poor pledged creatures suffer a certain kind of slavery in their continuous and toilsome service. The authorities ought to employ all their care for the uprooting of so keenly felt an abuse. 471. If perchance these slaves sa guiguilir acquired any gold through their industry, they could ransom themselves with it and become pechèros; and that ransom did not cost so little that it did not amount to more than five taes of gold, or thereabout. If one gave ten or more, then he became free from every claim, and became a noble. For this purpose a certain ceremony took place between the master and the slave, namely, the division between the twain of all the furniture that the slave used--and that with so great strictness that, if a jar was left over, they broke it and divided up the bits; and if it were a manta, they tore it through the middle, each one keeping half. 472. From the time when our brother Plassencia explained this difference of slaves, many acts of injustice which the Indians practiced on one another were remedied; for they made slaves of those who were never so, because, as the term alìpin is so confused, and the alcaldes-mayor did not know the secret, they declared one to be a slave in all rigor, because the Indians proved that he was alìpin, which signifies "slave," being silent, in their malicious reserve, as to whether he was namamahay or sa guiguilir. There were many such acts of trickery.