ent either
letter or messenger, nor has he done so to this day. Imagine what
any one holding my office would think when one who endeavoured to
rob their Highnesses, and who has done so much evil and mischief, is
honoured and favoured, while he who maintained it at such risks is
degraded.

"When I heard this I thought that this affair would be like that of
Hojeda or one of the others, but I restrained myself when I learnt
for certain from the friars that their Highnesses had sent him. I
wrote to him that his arrival was welcome, and that I was prepared
to go to the Court and had sold all I possessed by auction; and that
with respect to the immunities he should not be hasty, for both that
matter and the government I would hand over to him immediately as
smooth as my palm. And I wrote to the same effect to the friars,
but neither he nor they gave me any answer. On the contrary, he put
himself in a warlike attitude, and compelled all who went there to
take an oath to him as Governor; and they told me that it was for
twenty years.

"Directly I knew of those immunities, I thought that I would repair
such a great error and that he would be pleased, for he gave them
without the need or occasion necessary in so vast a matter: and he
gave to vagabond people what would have been excessive for a man who
had brought wife and children. So I announced by word and letters
that he could not use his patents because mine were those in force;
and I showed them the immunities which John Aguado brought.

"All this was done by me in order to gain time, so that their
Highnesses might be informed of the condition of the country, and
that they might have an opportunity of issuing fresh commands as to
what would best promote their service in that respect.

"It is useless to publish such immunities in the Indies: to the
settlers who have taken up residence it is a pure gain, for the best
lands are given to them, and at a low valuation they will be worth
two-hundred thousand at the end of the four years when the period of
residence is ended, without their digging a spadeful in them. I
would not speak thus if the settlers were married, but there are not
six among them all who are not on the look-out to gather what they
can and depart speedily. It would be a good