residencia; all public officers in New Galicia were to be called to account; the management of the royal revenues, public funds, and repartimientos was to be closely investigated. 'The examinations were to be conducted with brevity and nothing reduced to writing except what was essential. The juez de residencia was required in his reports of the proceedings to give an account of the character of the witnesses and the probable motives which might influence their testimony.[1] Explicit instructions were also given him for his guidance in the treatment and government of the natives.
Hastily arranging his affairs in Spain, Torre sailed with his family, and arrived at Vera Cruz toward the end of the year. Here he learned that Guzman — who, as the reader is aware, had arrived at the capital — was making preparations to escape, having ordered a vessel for his departure. No time was to be lost, and Torre, leaving his family in Vera Cruz, set out secretly for the city with a single attendant.
There was a bond between Guzman and Mendoza, dissimilar as they were in many respects; they both hated Cortés, and there could be little rivalry between them, for Mendoza stood high while Guzman had fallen low. And so the viceroy received the New Galicia governor kindly when he came to Mexico,[2] confident in the measures he had taken for escape both from the country, and from the unpleasantness of a residencia.
But the inexorable judge was nigh. Entering the viceroy's hall of reception one morning Guzman met Torre coming from an audience with Mendoza. The recognition was mutual, and the new governor of the north politely informed Guzman that he was his prisoner. Resistance was useless; escape impossible. The toils were around the wild beast that had so long
- ↑ Puga Cedulario, 158.
- ↑ According to Bernal Diaz, Mendoza, having heard of the king's intention to send out a juez de residencia, wrote to Guzman and induced him to come to Mexico — 'y le señaló por posada sus Palacios. . .y el Virrey le hazia mucha honra, y le fauorecia, y comia con èl.' Hist. Verdad., 231.
