deciding this question, it must be considered that it might happen that the abilities required for the conduct of military affairs would be lacking in the senior auditor, while they might be found in the one whom the governor should appoint. From this it will be clearly seen that for the conduct of military affairs--especially in the condition in which these islands and the new conquest of Maluco at present are--it is undesirable not to be provided in this jurisdiction with a person of much distinction and experience in the conduct of war. Since your Majesty is at such a distance, and the remedy for these difficulties must come so slowly, there is no one to correct certain ecclesiastics. Their superiors sometimes pay very little attention to the complaints made against them, and hence there have existed and do exist serious acts of impropriety, especially among the religious. Since there is no one who has authority to investigate their cases or to write reports regarding these, matters are in a most lamentable condition, and mainly to the injury of the Indians. The religious make assessments on the natives under the name of benefactions, and employ them at their will, without limit. I have striven to find means to correct this, and have entered suit against the agents whom they employ to carry out their plans; these are called fiscals, and are cruel executors of the will of the religious. I offered my plea, and accordingly the Audiencia decided that none of them should have the right to hold Indians in service or should collect any contributions; and a certain amount of abatement of this unjust practice seems to have resulted. Those who are most notorious in this matter, and who are worse than all the others, are the members of the Order of St. Augustine. They are practically incorrigible, on account of having as provincial Fray Lorenco de Leon, a friar of much ambition and ostentation. He left these islands to ask your Majesty for bounty, and now he is striving to go again, and for that purpose has collected a large amount of money. He has even taken the silver from some of the mission churches of his order; and when he visited the province of Ylocos, he even carried away the monstrances for the most holy sacrament from Ylaguan, Vantay, Candon, Tagudin, and other places. It will be well for your Majesty to decree and grant authority to the Audiencia, that it may cause official investigation to be made into these matters and others which may arise, and that it may proceed as do the viceroys of Piru and Mexico. For, so soon as friars are interfered with in any respect, they begin to declare that ecclesiastical censures have been incurred and disturbances are raised, which give occasion for scandal to the common people. When I saw this, I petitioned the said Audiencia for some correction of the unlawful acts of the said provincial; and they directed that the bishop of Nueva Segovia (who was present in this city) and the