50. That the damage which this illegal trade occasioned to the royal treasury and to the Spanish trade enabled one to judge of the great amount of property which those ships transported, of the treasures which they carried, of the loss which they caused to the commerce of España, and of the amount which they did not contribute [to the royal revenues]--augmenting by this means the power and wealth of those infidels, who are enemies to the Christian faith and to the crown. For this reason, and because the consulate and commerce of Sevilla firmly believed that this was the greatest loss and the greatest source and cause of the ruin of the trading-fleets, and that which most urgently called for relief with the most prompt and energetic measures: they concluded by entreating his Majesty that he would deign to give orders that the permission given to Philipinas be strictly observed, under the most severe penalties, commanding that its limits be restricted within the limits of its first concession, for this purpose despatching the most rigorous orders; and that the trading-fleets should go punctually and frequently, each year. On this point they expatiated at length, and it is omitted because it does not belong to this subject. 51. In view of this information and of the proceedings in the Council (of which there is no account in the Expediente) it is found that by decree of January 8, 1718, his Majesty stated to the Council that, having been informed of the quantity of stuffs, silken fabrics, and other merchandise which the ship from Philipinas brought, by which the greater part of the silver of Nueva España was carried out of that country, he had decided to prohibit absolutely the trade in the aforesaid commodities. He declared that the only trade which could be carried on was in linen goods, porcelain, wax, cinnamon, cloves, and other products which are not carried from España, to such an amount of these kinds of goods as the Marqués de Valero should notify to the governor of Philipinas, which must be transported by one of the ships which for the last five years had arrived at Acapulco [from the islands]. His Majesty furnished with this a copy of the order to this purpose which he had given to the Marqués de Valero, the tenor of which is as follows: [Here follows a copy of the decree, dated at Madrid on January 8, 1718.] 53. By another decree of June 20, in the same year, 1718, his Majesty sent to the Council, for its information and guidance in the matters which belonged to it, a copy of another decree (which was issued to the Council of Castilla), prohibiting the importation and use of the fabrics from China and other parts of Assia, since this was to the injury of the manufactures and commerce of España; its tenor is as follows: [A copy of this decree is also given]. PERIOD VI