and mainly to the injury of
the Indians. The religious make assessments on the natives under
the name of benefactions, and employ them at their will, without
limit. I have striven to find means to correct this, and have entered
suit against the agents whom they employ to carry out their plans;
these are called fiscals, and are cruel executors of the will of the
religious. I offered my plea, and accordingly the Audiencia decided
that none of them should have the right to hold Indians in service or
should collect any contributions; and a certain amount of abatement
of this unjust practice seems to have resulted. Those who are most
notorious in this matter, and who are worse than all the others,
are the members of the Order of St. Augustine. They are practically
incorrigible, on account of having as provincial Fray Lorenco de Leon,
a friar of much ambition and ostentation. He left these islands to ask
your Majesty for bounty, and now he is striving to go again, and for
that purpose has collected a large amount of money. He has even taken
the silver from some of the mission churches of his order; and when he
visited the province of Ylocos, he even carried away the monstrances
for the most holy sacrament from Ylaguan, Vantay, Candon, Tagudin,
and other places. It will be well for your Majesty to decree and grant
authority to the Audiencia, that it may cause official investigation
to be made into these matters and others which may arise, and that
it may proceed as do the viceroys of Piru and Mexico. For, so soon
as friars are interfered with in any respect, they begin to declare
that ecclesiastical censures have been incurred and disturbances are
raised, which give occasion for scandal to the common people. When
I saw this, I petitioned the said Audiencia for some correction of
the unlawful acts of the said provincial; and they directed that
the bishop of Nueva Segovia (who was present in this city) and the
vicar-general of this archbishopric should make an official report
in the matter. This they have done in a secret document, stating
the great transgressions of this friar. When I petitioned that some
decree should be passed in session of the Audiencia, it was decided
that a remedy should be provided; but I have not learned that anything
has been done. I inform your Majesty of this, that you may take such
measures as shall be necessary.

A great aid in making a beginning in correcting the unlawful
proceedings of these rel