All Chinese goods shipped to New Spain must be consumed there and the shipping of Chinese cloths to Peru in any amount whatever even for a gift, charitable endowment, or for use in divine worship was absolutely prohibited. [93] As these regulations were evaded, in 1636 all commerce was interdicted between New Spain and Peru. [94] A commerce naturally so lucrative as that between the Philippines and New Spain when confined within such narrow limits yielded monopoly profits.  It was like a lottery in which every ticket drew a prize.  In these great profits every Spaniard was entitled to share in proportion to his capital or standing in the community. [95] The assurance of this largess, from the beginnings of the system, discouraged individual industry and enterprise, and retarded the growth of Spanish population. [96] Le Gentil and Zuniga give detailed descriptions of the method of conducting this state enterprise [97] after the limits had been raised to $500,000 and $1,000,000 respectively for the outgoing and return voyage.  The capacity of the vessel was measured taking as a unit a bale about two and one-half feet long, sixteen inches broad and two feet high.  If then the vessel could carry four thousand of these bales, each bale might be packed with goods up to a value of one hundred and twenty-five dollars.  The right to ship was known as a boleta or ticket.  The distribution of these tickets was determined at the town hall by a board made up of the governor, attorney-general, the dean of the audiencia, one alcalde, one regidor and eight citizens. [98]

To facilitate the allotment and the sale of tickets they were divided into sixths.  Tickets were ordinarily worth in the later eighteenth century in times of peace eighty dollars to one hundred dollars, and in war time they rose to upwards of three hundred dollars. [99] Le Gentil tells us that in 1766 they sold for two hundred dollars and more, and that the galleon that year went loaded beyond the limit. [100] Each official as the perquisite of his office had tickets.  The regidores and alcaldes had eight.

The small holders who did not care to take a venture in the voyage disposed of their tickets to merchants or speculators, who borrowed money, usually of the religious corporations, at twenty-five to thirty per cent per annum to buy them up and who sometimes bought as many as two or three hundred. [101] The command of the Acapulco galleon was the fattest office within the gift of the Governor, who bestowed it upon “whomsoever he desired to make happy for the commission,” and was equivalent to a gift of from $50,000 to $100,000. [102] This was made up from commissions, part of the passage-money of passengers, from the sale of his freight tickets, and from the gifts of the merchants.  Captain Arguelles told Careri in 1696 that his commissions would amount to $25,000 or $30,000, and that in all he would make $40,000; that the pilot would clear $20,000