The fort, which is being built of stone, has been fractured in some places, from the great weight.  They say that it is caused by the small amount of cement used, and because it is near the water and built in a round shape.  It seemed as if it could be made secure by building three buttresses with three cavaliers; and this work is now being done.  If the cavaliers had been built at first, much money could have been saved; but, as there are no engineers here, they have done the best they could—­although several captains say that they had given warning at the beginning of the work.  For this there has been collected a little more than four thousand pesos from certain duties which used to be paid to your Majesty on the money brought from Nueva Espana.  Later, collections were made from the Indians of the land, on each being levied one real—­thus raising another twelve thousand pesos, more or less.  Now another tax of one real has been levied on the Indians, who are oppressed by it; but as your royal treasury is so poor, everything must be borne.

In last year’s letter I advised you that at my petition, taxes were levied on the Indians in their suits, according to the tariff of Spain, charging the Spaniards triple the amount.  Finding that the clerks could not support themselves on so small fees, and at risk of levying too much, it was ordered that the fees be doubled, and it was so done.

Captain Esteban Rodriguez de Figueroa, son-in-law of the licentiate Melchior Davalos, your auditor, killed his wife and nephew, the own son of his brother, saying that they had committed adultery.  This he proved by some Indian women of his house, although he did not find them in the act.  I conducted the trial, and, after review thereof, condemned him to six years of exile, and a fine of five thousand pesos for your royal court, the expenses of justice, and other things.

This year a Japanese ship came to this port with many supplies and arms.  There must have been more than five hundred arquebuses and as many of their kind of swords, and some battle-axes.  As the conspiracy of the Indians had taken place when the said ship arrived, it was believed that it came for the execution of that plot.  On entering the port, this ship was boarded, and all its cargo was sequestered and the crew imprisoned.  It was learned that they were going to sell the weapons in Cian, and they were released from custody, on condition that they would sell the goods here.  This they did, and this country has consequently been supplied with weapons.

As your royal treasury is usually in need and lack of money, it happened at the beginning of February of this year that, on petition of the prebendaries and curas of the cathedral, the bishop of these islands commanded the royal officials, under pain of excommunication, to pay them the stipends assigned them from your royal treasury—­amounting to one thousand five hundred pesos annually, for four prebendaries.