bishopric who trade and carry on traffic, to the great scandal of
and bad example to both Spaniards and Indians. He who wrote your
Majesty told the truth in part, since two ecclesiastics from Nueva
Espana furnished this bad example, although I did what I could to
prevent them. Nevertheless, God punished them more severely than I
did; for all the property of one was taken away by the Englishman,
[40] and the other died here, and lost what he had sent to Nueva
Espana. Those ecclesiastics who are under my government, however,
have not exceeded their duty in this respect as much as your Majesty
has been informed. Moreover, they are not so many as has been said
in Spain, for there are not more than five who are stationed among
the Indians, and these are so poor that they do not even have enough
to eat. More than one and one-half years before this decree came, I
had taken measures to correct the excess which might result, having
ordered that no ecclesiastic should carry on traffic. This appears
by the ordinances which I had made concerning this. That your Majesty
may order them to be considered and amended, I enclose them with this
letter. In the future this order will be more rigorously observed,
according to your Majesty's command.

In the fourth decree, your Majesty says that the president of this
Audiencia wrote that when he came to this land, he agreed with me
as to the order [of precedence] to be followed when the Audiencia
and I should encounter each other in public. He further says that,
disregarding this arrangement, I sat in the place which did not belong
to me, and turned my back on the Audiencia. I would be very glad to
meet the president before your Majesty, and hear his reason for daring
to inform your Majesty in such a manner. It is very certain that no
such agreement was ever made between him and me, except that, when
there was to be a procession in the church, the president should go
with the auditors, and I with my clergy; for he claimed the right hand,
and I did not have it to take. Thus we came to this agreement. The
place, however, was not discussed, nor was there any excuse for doing
so, as it is well known that the Audiencia is always seated on the
gospel side in the body of the chapel; and, although the bishop is
usually in the choir, he may, when he wishes to do so, sit on the
gospel side, above the steps. Wherever I have been, this has been
the practice; and I sent an account thereof, with the testim