After his arrival at court, the subject of his having dismembered the convents of Nicaragua was revived, and it was decided that he should reëstablish them in person. In consideration, however, of the fact that in this matter he had merely acted according to the orders of his superiors, he was exonerated from all blame and appointed vicar general of the province of Nicaragua, which was at the same time segregated from that of San Vicente de Chiapas. He was then ordered to collect a number of friars and return to Leon, the king bearing the expenses of the expedition and providing everything necessary to refit the convents. He was heartily welcomed by the bishop, settlers, and natives, and together with his colleagues renewed his labors throughout the province; but toil and advancing years had sapped his strength, and about the year 1562 Fray Juan de Torres sickened and died at an Indian village on the Desaguadero. After his decease the Dominicans became disconsolate and all left the province, some for Santo Domingo, others for Peru, and the rest for Spain. The ornaments and properties donated by the king to the convents were left in charge of lay brothers, but subsequently the Dominicans of San Vicente de Chiapas appropriated them as belonging to the order. They were obliged, however, by a judicial decision to return them, after which they were distributed by royal order among other churches. * * * * * [Sidenote: COMMERCIAL RELATIONS.] At the close of the sixteenth century the chief towns in Nicaragua were Leon the capital, Realejo, and Granada. In 1586 the former was in a dilapidated condition, the houses that fell into decay being never rebuilt. Realejo had but thirty settlers and its chief industry was the building and repairing of ships. Granada had two hundred vecinos and at a short distance from it were many tributary Indians. The walls of the buildings were of mud, buttressed with a few bricks and stones, the roofs being of tiles. The population included encomenderos, merchants, traders, and a few mechanics and stock-raisers. Vessels traded thence with Nombre de Dios, passing down the Desaguadero to the North Sea, though with some difficulty during the dry season.[XXIV‑35]