[_In the margin_:
"This was ordained by the king, Don Felipe Second, grandfather of
your Majesty, as the Council of Portugal will inform you."]
From the foregoing it is easily seen that the trade of Eastern India
is, from a temporal standpoint, the most profitable to your Majesty and
for your subjects; and from a spiritual standpoint, for the maintenance
and propagation of Christianity in China and Japon. This was proved
in the years during which this plan was tried. [_In the margin_:
"Conversion there has entirely ceased today because this plan has not
been tried during recent years, and because of the severity of the
present emperor of China, who even punished laymen for protecting the
religious who went from Felipinas to China contrary to his commands."]
It is plain, therefore, that the trade of Nueva Espana and Felipinas
with Japon and China is unprofitable in comparison with that of Eastern
India, not to mention the marked injuries already pointed out which it
inflicts upon Espana, and which must be repaired and corrected lest
greater ones be sustained. The trade always carried on with Nueva
Espana is fully sufficient to maintain Felipinas. In this they carry
gold and some of the silks which the Chinese merchants carry from
China to Manila to be sold; and they might bring silks from Macao,
should your Majesty now order it. In return they bring from Nueva
Espana what they need for their own maintenance and growth (to make
it unnecessary to go to Japon and China for the same).
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