t he had issued against Don Juan de Vargas, since he
had to send it to a superior tribunal--that is, to the tribunal of the
Inquisition. The auditors sent him a second decree; he replied that he
was encumbered with affairs of more importance than those of Don Juan
de Vargas, and could not make [formal] answer. They sent a third one,
commanding him to send such answer; he replied that the doings of Don
Juan de Vargas were public and manifest, so that it was not necessary
to enact anything against him, and accordingly he had no documents to
send them. The secretary of the Audiencia notified him of the fourth
decree, and had orders to read it to the archbishop, but not to give
it to him, because the three former decrees had remained in his hands
without his making any answer. The secretary was told, however, that if
the archbishop should demand a certified copy, he should give him one
and bring back the royal decree; but the archbishop declared that if
the decree were not surrendered to him he would not answer it. As he
did not render obedience to the four decrees, his Majesty commanded,
by his royal decrees, that the archbishop should be declared banished
from the kingdoms. The governor went to talk with him, to start him,
as they say on the road; and it is said that he found him obstinate.

Now follows the fiction that they made arrangements, in order that
the governor might not consider himself obliged to undo what had been
done, [140] by recalling the sentence of banishment, and bringing
the archbishop to Manila. They ordered that all the estates of this
community should go to entreat the governor that the archbishop
should not be exiled; and the same persons went on this errand who
[afterward] bemired themselves in causing the archbishop to return to
Manila. These men went about talking and declaiming to everyone in the
community about the great difficulties, both spiritual and temporal,
which must follow from [the banishment]; but in reality all these were
fantastical, since there would be no further difficulties than those
which the governor chose--as there were none when the archbishop was
banished the previous time; [141] for one would hardly believe how
great is the hatred that most persons feel toward the archbishop and
his officials, and to the Dominican friars. The Order of St. Francis
was remiss in making this request, but an auditor brought them to
terms, as well as the members of the cabildos, both ecclesias