Of the viceroy of Nueva Espana, so many things are said in this country, that if but one-tenth of them were true, it is impossible for your Majesty to know them and fail to correct them.  This is another of the heavy afflictions that God has sent upon this land, for even the severity which has been shown by him to those who go from here is alone sufficient to make this land desolate.  No consideration is given to the fact that the citizens and soldiers thereof serve your Majesty with the same hardships and loyalty with which other men have served their king.  Nevertheless, there is no lack of persons to inform your Majesty thereof, since the loss of temporal things is always felt more than the spiritual.  I leave it to be described by those who have felt the hurt, since it does not concern me in any way, except the regret that I feel for the damage done to my neighbors; for my enterprises and traffic are to remedy the needs of the poor, and to defend and help the natives of these islands, who have much need thereof.  The complaint that I make of the viceroy of Nueva Espana is that he has not allowed more than fifteen Dominican friars to come here, although your Majesty sent to Mexico forty of them.  This is the greatest damage that the viceroy could do to this country, as there is exceeding need of ministers of religion, such as come now.  If the fifteen were five hundred, the evils of the country would be corrected, and the conscience of your Majesty quite at ease.  It is such men that your Majesty should order to come here, and you should refuse to permit those to come who will do more harm than good.  Likewise your Majesty should order the generals of the orders of St. Francis and St. Augustine to send hither visitors, who are most necessary.  Those of St. Augustine are to be preferred, however, as the friars of St. Francis are more retired from the world.

I wrote to your Majesty, via Malaca, of what had happened with the religious in regard to the observance of the royal decrees treating of the instruction of the Indians by the religious.  As the licentiate Ayala, fiscal of the royal Audiencia here, sent the records concerning the subject, I shall but mention and not refer to them at length.

At other times I have written to your Majesty explaining the impossibility of a bishop being able to govern all the bishopric which I have now.  For this island of Lucon it is necessary to have two or even three bishops—­that is to say, I humbly beseech your Majesty to be pleased to provide for the Pintados Islands a bishop with his seat in the city of Cubu.  By the relation which I am sending, your Majesty will see that two bishops are not sufficient.  I declare to your Majesty that in that case the royal conscience would not be at ease nor would mine; and I dare not leave it unsaid, for fear of my peace of mind.