orders, they do not proceed blindly, ordering any one whomever to be advanced--but only with great consideration and prudence, and after informing themselves of his birth and his morals, and examining and testing him first before the ministry of souls is entrusted to him; and to say the contrary is to censure the most illustrious prelates, to whom we owe so much veneration and reverence. Furthermore, there are among these Indians, many (and perhaps most of them) who are as noble, in their line of descent as Indians, as is any Spaniard; and some of them much more than many Spaniards who esteem themselves as nobles in this land. For, although their fate keeps them, in the present order of things, in an almost abject condition, many of them are seigniors of vassals. Their seigniory has not been suppressed by the king, nor can it be suppressed. Such we call cabezas de barangay in Tagálog, and Ginhaopan in Visayan. They and their children and relatives lose nothing of their nobility because they serve the king in cutting timber, in the fleets, or in other personal services which are necessary in this land. As they lose nothing, it is also much honor for them that the king be served by them. Accordingly, there are sargentos-mayor, masters-of-camp, captains, governors of the villages, and lieutenants, and all are Indians of distinction. These would not go to row in a banca, and their hands would certainly be freed from handling a bolo or an ax in the cutting of timber, and their mothers, wives, and daughters would not have become spinners, if it were not for España. And although all the Indians seem of one color to the father, this color is well distinguished among them; and they are very respectful to their chiefs and much more so to their priests, even though these be Indians like themselves." Delgado continues by saying that, although some of the native priests have turned out badly, that is not sufficient to condemn them all. It is arbitrary to declare that the Indian enters the priesthood solely for his own comfort, and because of the respect shown him, and not because of the spiritual blessings. Many Spaniards also enter the ecclesiastical estate merely for a living. There are examples of Negro, Japanese, and Chinese priests. "Consequently, it is not to be wondered at that the most illustrious prelates and bishops should ordain Indians here and in Nueva España, and in other parts of the Indias." [326] The date of the Navarro copy is wrongly given as 1725.