With this in view I am sending two reverend Jesuit priests, persons distinguished in politics and mathematical learning, and the military engineer of this place, for the purpose of making an inspection of the capital of Palawan, as well as of the Island of Balabak, and its adjacent islands, and of examining their bays, ports, inlets, rivers, anchorages and depths, in order to construct a fort--which will be named after Our Lady of the Good End--in the most healthful location, secure by land as well as by sea, for the garrisoning of which an adequate force of artillery has been despatched. It will be kept guarded for the present by a small galley, two feluccas, a company of Spaniards, and another company of Pampanga Indians, besides the galley slaves [272] and the suite of the governor, and officials--all rationed for one year--who will number three hundred, the rest being returned to this capital when possession is once established. And that the taking of possession may be unopposed, useful, and lasting, I have planned for the strengthening of the said fort, with the primary object of having our troops sally from its walls to pacify the Sulu rebels who have been dwelling in certain districts of Palawan, or to exterminate them completely by fire and sword, preventing by means of the new fortress and the little flying squadron, the Kamukons, Tirons, and others, from laying waste the province of the Kalamians, and the adjacent islands; for, there being access to the entire chain of places and all the islands, facilitating attacks, and our vessels being on a constant cruise through those regions, their expulsion will be secured. But the greatest gain of all will lie in becoming acquainted with their lands, rendezvous and places of refuge, in view of the fact that the greatest defense which they have had up to the present time has been our own ignorance and negligence in the premises, they scorning our arms without fear, in the belief that they are unconquerable because the places of their abode are unexplored; wherefore the King of Sulu, pretending to serve us as a pilot among the Tiron Islands laughed at our expedition under the command of your Majesty's Reverend Bishop of Nueva Segovia, leading the Spaniards about with a halter wherever he wished, and wherever he thought they would suffer most fatigue. In view of all this, and of our present experience of the unbridled audacity with which they ravage almost all the provinces, I felt compelled to project this campaign of reconnaissance so as to test, by the favorable results secured, the surest means of benefiting these Christian communities, for I am in hopes of establishing, through this new colony, an impregnable bulwark against the whole Moro power and a source of reciprocal assistance to the fortress at Zamboanga. And I likewise propose to introduce into those parts, by reason of their proximity, commerce with Borneo, Siam, Cambodia, and Cochin-China, so that, through intercourse, the inhabitants of Palawan may become pacified and tractable and their towns become opulent; so that with the families which in due time will be drafted from the outskirts of this capital, a province of substantial usefulness may be formed, having greater respect for both Majesties; for, by erecting churches to God, a new gem will be added to the Royal crown, namely the glory of giving many souls to the Lord, while the savings of the Royal treasury will in time be appreciable.

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