Suppose, then, that besides the commodities of China, there are sent in the ships of this commerce some which are produced and manufactured in the Philipinas Islands themselves, and are gathered by their natives and inhabitants--such as wax, white and yellow; talingas, [8] table-covers, and lampotes [9] (which are pieces of cotton canvas); blankets from Ilocos, Moro, and Bombòn; and some civet. Of these products a hundred toneladas are usually shipped, for, as they are bulky, they occupy more space than they are worth; but it is actually worthwhile for the citizens to ship these to Nueva España, even though it be to sell them at no more than their cost, because they have no other market for these goods.
The usage which has hitherto been followed in regard to these goods is to ship them registered, and value them, and pay the royal dues, like the rest, without paying any attention to their being included or not in the 250,000 pesos of the amount permitted, although the returns for them have always been included in the 500,000 pesos of money; and in some years when the citizens have not had the cloth from China to fill up the amount of 250,000 pesos, they have done so with these goods--not because they supposed that such shipments were prohibited in other circumstances, but to supply the deficiency with such goods as they could send.
They ask, then, that to avoid uncertainties declaration be made that these goods, when satisfactory proof is given that they are the products of the islands, may be carried to Nueva España without limitation of their quantity, or obligation to include them in the amount permitted. This [request] is based on the fact that the prohibition was expressly imposed for the merchandise of China, which on account of being silk goods injured [the sale of] those which are shipped from España. This is gathered from all the decrees that have been issued in regard to this matter--all of which distinctly state the cloth of China as being the goods which damage [the Spanish commerce]--not that of the islands, which is not of that character.
Another reason is, that no province has ever been forbidden to export to others its own products, for this would be to close to them the intercourse with others which is their right by natural law; and even if its commerce be limited to certain provinces it ought not to be deprived of trade with all the others, but the exportation which it finds least inconvenient should be left to it. From Philipinas the commodities which those islands produce cannot be carried to other parts of the Orient, which have abundance of the same, and even better. As the only consumption of these goods is in the Indias, the citizens had begun to send them to Perù, Tierra Firme, Goathemala, and Nueva España; but of these four trade-routes three are prohibited, because with these goods are shipped those from China, so only the trade with Nueva España remains to them. It immediately follows that for this latter trade the transportation of goods must be free.