[Footnote 29: These "vaisseaux de registre" were supposed not to exceed 300 tons, but through fraud were often double that burden.] [Footnote 30: Duhalde and de Rochefort; Scelle, _op. cit._, i. p. 54.] [Footnote 31: Gage, _ed._ 1655, pp. 199-200.] [Footnote 32: Duhalde and de Rochefort; Oppenheim, ii. p. 318.] [Footnote 33: Scelle, _op. cit._, i. p. 45; Recop., t. i. lib. iii. tit. viii.] [Footnote 34: There seems to have been a contraband trade carried on at Cadiz itself. Foreign merchants embarked their goods upon the galleons directly from their own vessels in the harbour, without registering them with the _Contratacion_; and on the return of the fleets received the price of their goods in ingots of gold and silver by the same fraud. It is scarcely possible that this was done without the tacit authorization of the Council of the Indies at Madrid, for if the Council had insisted upon a rigid execution of the laws regarding registration, detection would have been inevitable.] [Footnote 35: Weiss, _op. cit._, ii. p. 226.] [Footnote 36: Most of the offices in the Spanish Indies were venal. No one obtained a post without paying dearly for it, except the viceroys of Mexico and Peru, who were grandees, and received their places through favour at court. The governors of the ports, and the presidents of the Audiencias established at Panama, San Domingo, and Gautemala, bought their posts in Spain. The offices in the interior were in the gift of the viceroys and sold to the highest bidder. Although each port had three corregidors who audited the finances, as they also paid for their places, they connived with the governors. The consequence was inevitable. Each official during his tenure of office expected to recover his initial outlay, and amass a small fortune besides. So not only were the bribes of interlopers acceptable, but the officials often themselves bought and sold the contraband articles.] [Footnote 37: Froude: History of England, viii. p. 436 _ff._] [Footnote 38: 1585, August 12th. Ralph Lane to Sir Philip Sidney. Port Ferdinando, Virginia.--He has discovered the infinite riches of St. John (Porto Rico?) and Hispaniola by dwelling on the islands five weeks. He thinks that if the Queen finds herself burdened with the King of Spain, to attempt them would be most honourable, feasible and profitable. He exhorts him not to refuse this good opportunity of rendering so great a service to the Church of Christ. The strength of the Spaniards doth altogether grow from the mines of her treasure. Extract, C.S.P. Colon., 1574-1660.] [Footnote 39: Scelle, _op. cit._, ii. p. xiii.] [Footnote 40: Scelle, _op. cit._, i. p. ix.]