For all this it is necessary for your Highness
to order that the ships of the said line that shall be built shall
carry the fireplaces under the forecastle, and as is the custom in
this line of the Yndias; and that the storerooms of the officers of
the ship do not occupy that space. The officers sell the storerooms
to the passengers for considerable money, and stow goods in them,
which is not among the least of all the troubles.
_Item_: That the freight and cargo that the said ships must contain
be stowed in the first hold, and that between decks shall be only the
ship's stores, the chests of the sailors, the messrooms, rigging,
sails, and all necessary supplies. They should carry even rigging
for the port of Acapulco, since there is rigging at Manila which is
very cheap; and then your Highness will not have to spend vast sums
in taking it from San Juan de Lua to Acapulco overland, which is one
hundred and fifty leguas.
_Item_: That all the passengers who shall come from Filipinas to
Nueva Espana in the said ships should pay a fare of two hundred pesos
if they have a berth or messroom under deck, and those who do not so
have berth or messroom, one hundred pesos, as an aid in the expenses
of the ships. This should be understood not on the outward trip
[to the islands] but on the return trip. [99]
_Item_: That the sailors be not allowed to take aboard more than one
chest of goods, of the size assigned by the governor; for there is the
utmost confusion in this regard, and the sailors are allowed to carry
two or three very large chests, larger than common.
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