When I arrived in this country the royal buildings were demolished, and there was no place for the Audiencia to meet, nor for the residence of your Majesty's servant who governs here. I therefore used all my efforts to erect royal buildings which should be substantial, and they have been built, and are at present finished off with hewn stone. There are three suites of apartments: one toward the street, in which the Audiencia meets, and where the royal seal is; a second toward the sea, where I live; and the third is situated in the middle, where resides Doctor Morga, auditor of this royal Audiencia. It will be expedient to continue work on this building until it is made large enough for the rest of the auditors and officials of the royal Audiencia to live in. I assure your Majesty that they suffer inconveniences in coming from their homes to the Audiencia and its sessions, in so intemperate a climate; and if they lived together they could attend better to the service of your Majesty. To put this work in the state in which it is, ten thousand pesos, which was its cost, were borrowed, as there was no money in the royal treasury, from the funds of the fourths; and I wrote to Mexico to send me that amount in order to pay it back. This has not been done, and I beg your Majesty to order the viceroy to send that sum of ten thousand pesos, since it was spent in a work so important for the service of your Majesty; and to send as much more to continue the work, if that already used be considered well spent.
18. That houses of stone were built for the cabildo and in them was placed the coat-of-arms which your Majesty granted to this city.
I also found this city without houses for the ca-
