sos as a gratification to another deserving man. With
that the former will have received a goodly part of the income that
your Majesty orders me, by a royal decree that he presented to me, to
give him in unassigned Indians or in those of an encomienda which may
become vacant. I could well wish that there were more Indians vacant
than there are, in order to fulfil all that your Majesty orders me,
and which the said Luis de Contreras merits by his character and
good qualities.

Having seen the exactness with which I fulfilled the above, I am told
that many are going about looking for decrees and trying to procure
them now from your Majesty, in order to obtain like encomiendas and
other posts. I entreat your Majesty to postpone granting those favors
until you shall first be informed by your governor of these islands
and your Audiencia; for not all of them will be so well employed as
is the aforesaid, if I may judge from the methods by which I have
heard that they are seeking them, as they procure papers by means of
witnesses presented on their part, which make much of what in itself
is nothing. Although the fiscal intervenes in the matter, it is to
be noted that no one attempts to make investigations unless in some
case when he regards the fiscal as quite on his side.

I am told that some persons here are trying to obtain the office of
treasurer. Besides, that the present holder of it has not left it, I do
not as yet know many who could fill the place to be left vacant by him
in this charge, because of the many qualifications necessary--namely,
trustworthiness, accuracy, system, and other qualities. Although I do
not think that there is lack of a person in whom these will be found,
still I think it necessary to consider carefully the one who should
be chosen for this post, to be sure of it.

One of the things that your Majesty needs most in this county is
intelligent clerks for the efficient administration of the royal
revenues. And because it is certain that much would be gained by it,
I petition your Majesty to send half a dozen of them, who shall have
been reared in a good school. Your Majesty should not neglect to
order the supervisor-general, Tomas de Ybio Calderon, to despatch
one; and I trust that the person whom he would furnish may not be
unsuitable. For authority to serve in the more important offices
of this profession which should become vacant here, the inspector
Diego de Castro Lizon would be quite suitabl