338 Voyage of the Novara. 



selves with getting a very few specimens for our zoological 

 collection. 



On returning to the parsonage from this interesting 

 excursion, we found the Alcalde May or ^ who had come to Los 

 Banos ^om the adjacent small town of Santa Cruz, to wel- 

 come the foreigners, and be of service to them. The Alcalde 

 Mayor ^ or Gohernador, is the highest official, the chief both of 

 administration and justice in the province, a sort of prefect, 

 under whom are the Gohernadorcillos^ or departmental ad- 

 ministrators, beneath whom again the Cabezas,* or parish 

 justices, form yet a lower grade. The chief duties of these 

 native officials consist in seeing that the proper amount of 

 tribute or' head-money is duly collected. This impost is di- 

 vided into three parts : the duty for defraying the State ex- 

 penses amounting to five reals, that for supporting the Church 

 amounts to three reals, and that for the wants of the com- 

 munity amounting to one real, so that the whole taxation 

 levied upon each individual liable is about nine reals (4^. ^d. 

 English). In addition to the natives, the Chinese resident in 

 Manila and the half-breed Chinese are subject to a poll-tax, 

 the pure Chinese being rated according to their social posi- 

 tion and the nature of their calling. They pay on the aver- 

 age about 17 dollars, or about 15 times as much as the native. 

 The poll-tax of the Chinese Mestizo amounts to 18 reals, or 

 about twice as much as that on the native. All males are 

 liable to be rated for the poll-tax, as also all females when 



* Cabeza, the head, whence it is further applied to express " chief," or " chieftain." 



