Of what occurred from the year 1718, in which the commerce of silken fabrics was prohibited, up to the year 1722, in which the merchants of Philipinas protested. 55. The Marqués de Valero, then viceroy of Mexico, in a letter of March 12, 1719--accompanied by a duplicate of another letter dated June 20, 1718, in which he acknowledged the receipt of the despatches in the private correspondence, dated January 8 of that same year, which prohibited all silks in the ship from Philipinas--considered the inconveniences which would result from that commerce being reduced to linen goods, porcelain, wax, pepper, cinnamon, and cloves, excluding stuffs, and raw silk and [silken] fabrics. For, he said, if this prohibition should be put in practice, the result would be the decay of religion, and the risk that it would be neglected, and its extension would be endangered and even exposed to ruin although this matter had cost his Majesty so much solicitude in promoting and assisting the missions for preaching the faith. [He declared] that the Spanish families who were there would abandon the settlements, for they could not maintain themselves in those islands without the trade in the aforesaid commodities, since that in the merchandise allowed to them had no profit, on account of its low price and the little demand for it. That the natives of Nueva España were also included in the prohibition, since their usual material for clothing was the stuffs from China, on account of the moderate prices of these, and because they could not use the cloth from España, since it was more expensive--unless, if they are deprived of the former, it will follow that they consume the latter; for if their need and poverty would permit it they would use the Spanish cloth, since all value it more on account of its greater durability and better quality. That the arrival of the trading-fleets was welcomed by the rich merchants, but that most of the people in the kingdom were much more eager to see the ship from China; and, if its arrival were delayed, one did not fail to notice many expressions of regret. That the royal treasury was notoriously injured; for, with the duties which the silk merchandise yielded, the situado was forwarded to Philipinas and the Marianas Islands, and in default of those duties it would be necessary to make the remittance from the funds in the treasury of Mexico. That would cause arrears in paying the fixed charges which the treasury had to carry, and could hardly meet with all its income, and the royal treasury would also be injured by the loss of the ten per cent which was paid by the silver sent in return for merchandise; and, besides, the few commodities which were carried would not yield enough to cover the cost of the navigation.