had procured on credit--assuring them in my name that these would be expedited at Acapulco in the same manner as formerly, for which purpose he ordered that all the goods should be registered with the utmost possible exactness and equity. The effect of this was, that Don Pedro de Quiroga paid no attention to what the governor had promised in my name; instead, his harsh nature being thereby irritated, he displayed greater severity, and, not content with detaining whatever the ships carried, he weighed and opened registered bales and chests--contrary to the usage at all the ports, against the regulations provided by royal decrees; and the appraisement that he made of the merchandise was so increased and exorbitant that what was at its just price in Mexico worth 800,000 pesos he rated at four millions. For the commodities which in Manila cost at the rate of nine pesos, the said Don Pedro appraised at twenty-two; and much of the cloth was sold in Acapulco, in his very sight, at six pesos, while he had collected the full amount of the royal dues, on the basis of twenty-two, at which he had valued the goods. By this one may judge how considerable a loss the citizens experienced, not only in paying the dues on so increased a valuation, but in the loss of the money they had invested. It may easily be judged that, by making this valuation so contrary to justice and reason, the registers transgressed the permitted amount; and with this appraisement he began to inflict new and hitherto unknown injuries on the commerce, with the sole intent of obtaining another composition, and demanded for it 500,000 ducados. God permitted that he should die; but, on account of his death, what he had begun was continued by the marqués de Cadereyta, and continued with no less severity. For he forcibly extorted from the commerce 300,000 pesos, which the citizens did not owe according to the document that they signed at the time of their first agreement; and he made them draw up a document regarding the commerce, with declarations at the start that they had not entered protest against signing the document for the 300,000 pesos, by which act they left themselves no recourse. In order to relieve themselves from these annoyances they signed the said obligation, although they knew that it was the utter ruin of the commerce; but with this, and the damages and losses that their property suffered--for, besides opening the packages, they remained several days on the beach, with guards, and other expenses--not only their profit but their principal was consumed. Another factor in this loss was the necessity of securing what belonged to the islands out of the 600,000 pesos of the first composition; and for this, and the composition of 300,000 pesos, with the half-annat (which is charged to them), they were obliged to take moneys at a loss, and to sell very cheaply the goods that had remained. The result was, that of all the investment for the said year