gave it, and it was so sound that they esteemed it highly, the more on account of the character of him who offered it. Hence, when the time came to appoint bishops for these islands he was appointed the first bishop of Nueva Segovia, although such an idea had never crossed his mind, and it was necessary to force him to accept the bishopric. The Council even went so far as to ask him to indicate to them those who seemed to him suitable for the other bishoprics; and those whom he thus indicated were appointed. He sent out religious to the province three times. The first company he sent with father Fray Alonso Delgado, the second with father Fray Pedro Ledesma, and the third, whom he accompanied himself, went under the direction of father Fray Francisco de Morales as vicar, who was afterwards the first minister of our religions order in Japon, and a holy martyr. That he might better prepare the religious for the journey, he went twice from Madrid to Sevilla when he was already a bishop traveling on foot with his staff and his hat like a poor friar; so the people who came to find him and did not know him asked him if he had seen the bishop of Nueva Segovia. He, to avoid vanity, answered them that the bishop was on his way to Sevilla, concealing the fact that it was himself. For the advantage of the inhabitants of Manila, he brought it about that commerce with Nueva España was opened to them and that the money which came from their trading was sent back to Manila up to the amount of five hundred thousand pesos in money or silver bullion. Up to that time, they had license only to receive the principal back again; while the profits were retained in Mexico, or were brought back without a license, at great expense. For the Indians he obtained, by a memorial which he offered, that the natural dominion and chieftaincy which they had over their villages should be left to them, with all their lands, mountains and rivers, and the other rights which they had from of old; since the fact that they had become subjects of his Majesty ought not to cause them to lose the natural right which they had inherited from their ancestors. Further, since the conquest of these Philipinas Islands had not been carried out conformably to the holy instructions which the conquerors carried with them, and which they were bound to observe, but had been carried out in exactly the opposite manner and with the most serious acts of injustice, he gave information with regard to these things to his Majesty and to his royal Council of the Indias. It was decreed that the consent and voluntary obedience and allegiance of all the Indians should be asked for anew. The new bishop, Don Fray Miguel, very earnestly undertook to attempt to carry this decree to execution, and accordingly it was made. When the bishop was desirous of embarking, there were so many rumors of enemies, and the damage inflicted at Cadiz was so great, that it was impossible to have any fleet that year; and