ands,
determined to suspend the commission, after first having conferred
with me. What I did was to assemble the orders and learned persons of
my cabildo. I found: first, that the commissary was not discalced,
although he must be so by virtue of a bull and express privilege,
which he carries in order to visit this province, or to exercise
an act of jurisdiction. The authorization borne by him was very
extraordinary and had a great excess of the ordinary warrants. There
was added a very forcible argument of administration, which is that
twenty or more of the leading friars had been sworn witnesses in
the present contention, while the commissary had given testimony
contrary to theirs, so that no good administration was looked for,
but only numerous scandals and dissensions. Then affairs almost
reached the point where the province was in hostile array, one side
against another. Accordingly, all those of the council, without any
dissenting voice, resolved that it was inexpedient for the commissary
to enter on the administration. That resolution was followed, and
the provincial proceeded with his duties in peace. Therefore, those
in Nueva Espana will be informed from here to send hereafter only
persons of the discalced religious and of their profession, and they
will be peaceably received. For if they are of the cloth [_pano_],
[10] the discalced religious fear that they are trying to introduce
themselves into this province and into that of Xapon, and to drive
the discalced from here; this has been attempted, contrary to what
this city has requested your Majesty several times to order--namely,
that no friars of the cloth come to these islands, but only discalced,
with whom the province has always been established. [_Marginal note_:
"Seen."]

The great service which the Society of Jesus is performing for God
and your Majesty in the conversion of souls is well known. But they
cannot continue to prosecute what has hitherto been done in this
province because of their lack of workers; for many have succumbed
to the hardships of their ministry, while others are crippled and
incapacitated from helping in the missions. Consequently there is
need of a goodly shipment of these servants of God to be sent, who
so edify and instruct by their good example and learning. For this
purpose, the order is sending Father Francisco Gutierrez as their
procurator-general. I humbly petition your Majesty to be pleased to
order that he be despatched