retained, in order to give an account thereof to your Majesty; but, in so far as regards the execution of his charge, he was not hindered. It seemed best to me to give an account thereof to your Majesty, so that in the future you may provide what may be most expedient in the matter.
27. That the viceroy of Nueva España kept back the money of citizens of those islands to the great damage of this country, the licenses being given to Peruvians.
Your Majesty has ordered that the viceroy of Nueva España should each year give licenses to citizens of this state for five hundred thousand pesos, the money to be brought here in return for their merchandise which they export hence. It happened that this year's sale of the goods that went over last year was profitable; and the said viceroy, although he was under obligation to execute that order, did not do so. He assigned to the citizens only two hundred thousand pesos in licenses, and the balance, making the sum of five hundred thousand, to Peruvians, on condition that they should become citizens in these islands for a certain time—thus keeping back from the citizens three hundred thousand pesos, which has brought about disastrous injury. For not only were they prevented from availing themselves of their own property, but the Peruvians to whom were given, in their places, the said licenses, being wealthy people, came loaded down with money to be registered—although the fiscal of your royal Audiencia and another royal official, who went to inspect the ships, could not find any proof, as the money had all been taken out before they arrived at the fort. When they arrived here, finding much cloth in the posses-
