forbidden them to go to China and Japan, and now to
Espana. So great is the freedom and assurance of these saintly folk
that they say they will go whether I will or no; that I am the most
ill-tempered man in the world, the most cruel, intolerable, and wicked;
and that it is from fear that I will not let them go. In response to
this, I say that I beseech your Majesty to be pleased to hear them
and peruse their letters, and to appoint a person and time, so that
the truth may be known; for, if the truth be known, for me and for
the vindication of whatever they may say, I am sure that no man in
this country can injure me in the least degree. This is the truth,
and even though other motives unite with malice and evil intention, I
am not concerned a maravedi in my honor or another's honor, or any sign
of it. If this be not so, may neither God nor your Majesty protect me.

What I find here is plenty of debts, which your Majesty owes for
the services of the poor Indians, and for the work and material
on the public buildings, all of which the Audiencia failed to pay;
and for the salaries of chaplain, chancellor, bailiffs, and others,
the total of which must amount to more than thirty thousand pesos;
and there is nothing here with which to pay them.

In order to obviate the discomfort of the soldiers, who are quartered
some in one place, some in another, among the inhabitants; and to
prevent the quarrels into which they get with the people, I have
built for them barracks of stone and brick which are now finished,
and which will accommodate four hundred. They are near the official
buildings and a small fort which I have made, where they may keep
their flags, and where they may be assembled aid at hand, and safe
from the misfortune of fire, when there is need of such safety.

With your Majesty's permission, I must state that I regret the trade
of these Chinese, for it seems to me injurious. It might be forbidden
on the ground of the great sums of money which they take from these
islands to foreign countries. The most of the trade is in cotton
stuffs--the material for which they take from this country in the
first place, and bring it back woven. The natives here could just as
well make these, if they chose, of their own cotton, and even better
than those which come from China. They could export them to Mexico,
and could have a trade worth four hundred thousand pesos. This
would lead to greater care in producing and cultivating the