75. The Audiencia of Manila in a letter of November 9, 1722, taking into consideration another which they had written on August 6, 1713, in which they set forth the losses which that commerce had suffered--in [the wreck of] their galleons, the unsuccessful fairs of Acapulco, and the excessive pecuniary extortions that they had suffered in Acapulco on account of the royal duties and in other ways--to the end that new measures might be taken by his Majesty for the rigorous reëstablishment of the commerce of those islands, describe (influenced by the urgent representations made by the city and by previous information obtained by each auditor) the affliction which has been caused by the new decree of October 27, 1720. They declared that they judged necessary for the maintenance of these islands and the propagation of the holy gospel, not only the permission for the silk and the stuffs prohibited by the cited despatch, but also the increase of the permission from 300,000 to 500,000 pesos. The Audiencia affirmed that the Spaniards could not exist without this commerce, because the culture of the fields was in the hands of the natives and the management of the guilds [gremios] in those of the Sangleys and their mestizos; that the salaries and pay with which the military officers, soldiers, and civil officials were recompensed did not reach half the annual expense of their families, in consideration of which it was commanded to include then the distribution of the lading of the galleons; and that, while the permitted amount was 300,000 pesos, and the number of citizens so great, the investment of each one, even if all were alike in wealth and services, did not amount to 400 pesos, the profit on which was not enough for the proper support of a man who was not actually poor, and on this account they could not increase their wealth. When the Europeans see that it is useless to transport goods to those regions where there is not, outside of commerce, any motive which would induce them to remain, or which would bring other new traders, those who consider the matter have reason to fear that in a few years the capitals of those who live there will be consumed, and that others will refuse to enter into the same experience; then Philipinas will be left to the Indians and Sangleys, the gospel ministers without the guards of Spaniards for their protection, the military posts without garrisons, the natives without any control, and everything on the blink of a deplorable ruin.