I petition your Highness to have the said seats assigned, and to order
the wives of the said auditors to sit elsewhere, since in none of the
Yndias do the latter sit in the principal chapel, thus depriving the
said cabildo of their seats.
_Item_: The royal magazines have very few muskets and arquebuses for
the defense of that kingdom. I petition your Highness to be pleased
to have a quantity of arms sent, and also to order that they be
distributed among the citizens; and that the latter pay those who
give them those muskets and arquebuses the price that your Highness
shall have paid for them there, and the costs [of transportation].
_Item_: The province of Nueva Segovia, the most northern province of
the island of Manila, which is very near China, is a very good and
fertile land. It is becoming entirely pacified and quieted. There
the Order of St. Dominic is in charge, and they are gathering much
fruit. It is the best land in the islands and the most fertile. There,
inasmuch as the climate is temperate, the products of this country
can be produced, such as wheat, fruits, and other food. It lies in an
excellent region, and has there a Spanish city, called Nueva Segovia,
which gives name to the said province. It has but few inhabitants now,
because the encomenderos of that district go to Manila and desert
it. Will your Highness be pleased to order the said encomenderos to
live in the said city, and your governor to make efforts to settle
it, especially with people who will cultivate and sow the land, so
that that district may retain its excellence.
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