That is unnecessary,
for the said islands have an abundance of flour, which is shipped
from Japon and China so cheaply, that it costs sixteen reals per
quintal in the city of Manila. That shipped from Nueva Espana costs
your Majesty, delivered in the said city of Manila, more than eighty
reals per quintal.
From Nueva Espana to the said Filipinas Islands are also transported
in the [ships], _habas, garbanzos,_" [51] and lentils, which are for
the provision of hospitals, fleets, and convents. It serves no other
purpose than to arrive at Manila rotten; and if any arrives in good
condition, it does not seem so. For the provision of the fleets,
a grain [_semilla_] is grown in that land [_i.e._, Filipinas] which
resembles beans, and is very cheap. Consequently it is unnecessary
for the ships to carry more than what they need for their voyage when
they leave Acapulco.
A quantity of _gerguetas_ [52] are also shipped from Nueva Espana to
the said Filipinas Islands. They are said to be for the use of the
soldiers, but that is unnecessary, for that land has other kinds of
cloth--both those that are produced there, and others that come from
China--which are better and cheaper. If your Majesty will order that
to be stopped, it will be of much importance to your royal treasury,
and will increase it by many ducados; while it will benefit greatly
the soldiers who serve your Majesty in those islands, for, when this
cloth is delivered there, they are obliged to take it.
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