17. Although there is no evidence in the Expediente [67] of what resulted from the commissions given to Señor Palatox by the decrees which may be seen at the end of the preceding "Period," one consequence was that the Philipinas trade with Nueva España was continued, in the form which we shall soon describe. For the viceroy of that kingdom, Conde de Paredes, when he was in office made remonstrances at various times from the year 1684 until 1686, in regard to the great confusion which always had been experienced in the valuations of the cargoes on the ships from Philipinas which arrived at the port of Acapulco; and he declared that none of the measures which had been employed had been sufficient, so that they could regulate the duties which the merchants of those islands ought to contribute, nor for preventing the illegal acts and frauds which were committed, to the injury of the royal treasury. He had therefore found it expedient to make the regulation (as he had done) that every ship of those which came to the above port of Acapulco should compound its customs duties [indultasse] in the amount of 74,000 pesos; and this had been the practice until Conde de Galve had gone to fill that viceroyalty, and he gave an account of this matter. 18. On receiving this information, despatches were sent on June 5, 1697, to the viceroy and Audiencia of Mexico and to the governor and Audiencia of Philipinas, informing them that the said arrangement had been revoked and annulled, since it was contrary to what had been commanded by laws, decrees, and royal orders, and for many other serious and just reasons. Both of these governments were commanded to cause the publication of the revocation and annulment of the above arrangement, and were ordered to take especial care in the administration and careful collection of the duties which the merchandise in that traffic ought to contribute--most strictly observing the regulation that no more goods should go from those islands than amounted to 250,000 pesos, nor should more than 500,000 be allowed to go back as proceeds. Moreover, this commerce must be strictly confined to citizens born in Philipinas, and prohibited to those of Nueva España; for any goods which should be found belonging to the latter must be considered as confiscated, and those which should come outside registration, if they belonged to those islanders, must pay double duties. The declarations [manifestaciones] of these goods must be made within the limit of six hours, or at most of twelve, which was fixed as the utmost allowance of time. It was most strictly commanded that for the future they should no longer allow the declarations of [registered] merchandise which until then had been permitted, that the ships in that commerce should not exceed a burden of four hundred toneladas each, and that they must be the two which sailed each year to the port of Acapulco.