689 / 1070
.BenK
Ill.
Royal
Commentaries.
[pace of (everal days, uncil Monday the
24th
of .March,
when the new Statutes weve
publiddy proclaimed,
át
wbich time !he perfons who were prefent ~eue,
the
Vice–
king, che Vifüor, and
ali
che Omnol.
So foon as nhe Proclarnanion was ended;
die
Sheriff
af
rhe Ciry broke chrough che
Cro.ud,and in .a confofed mannet carne
up to the Vifüor, and deliv.ered him a Petition whicb he had prepared, with
fe~
vera! Reafons agaiiníl ch€ new Starutes ; rhe People at the fame üme rnunnuring,
and
feeroingly refolved
to
rnaintain their forrner libercies: Upon which the Vi–
licor, fearing che outrage of che People, oegan to excufe hiin[~lf, and with much
ea::metlnefs declared, that what he had done therein , was lilOt
of
choice, bue by
compulfion: promifing
themti'ith
all che affurance imaginable, that whát(oever.
io
thac Prodamation t€n<rled
tc3'
uhe prejudice of che Conquerotli·s he would never
en_force or execuc.e ;_ and chat he would aflured_ly perform whatfoever he had prci–
m1fed to che Deput1es of che Common Council of che People. And whereas ch~y
feemed to
gi:ve
no credence to
his words, he much comp.lained, and with vehe–
ment Aífeveracions vowed and fwo.re to them, that he was infinirdy concerned,
and char rhey thernfeJves did not
fomuch delire che flouriíhing eílate aod con-
dition of
New Spain,
as he did,
.
•
.'
He
moreover promifed upan Oath to write unto
Mi
Majeíly in favour ef c-h~
c:;onq
uerouris and lnhabicams, befeeching his Majeíly ilot onely
to.
c,onferve uqco
thell;)
chf.irEftates and Revenue, Privileges and ancient Charters,·but ükewife, cd
co~fir
m and eolarge che farne,
and to
confer upon rhem chofe other Lands t© be
é~
gually d'ivided, which !ye waf}e 3.nd without a Poffeífor.
In
like
manner che
Bifhop'
of
,Me....
iro,obferving che general fadnefs and difcoment which appeared in
d1e
. CO.tJ!l·
tenance
of
che Cit~ns, oífered
to
engage his owri Faith and Credit, rhat rhe
Vi–
füor
fh©uld
perform whatfoever he.had promiíed; and for ad evidence ofhis kind–
nefs, he invtte::l a.U the People
on the
next day being che cwency
fifch
of
M4rc.h,
:mcl
lhe great Fefüval
cf our
Lady , to be ptefent at che
gteat
Churc'h , }Vhere
he
Ji)FomHed t©. give tlnem
a
Sermen,
and
chat che VHicor íhould tlebrace' Mafs.
\i'V'ith thefe Promifes and Aífurances,. uhough their Miads \;Vere
a
licde eafed·;
fet
th~y deparced
fad
and,fearfull, douhtiBg nhe performanc:e -o~
the
~ny Pr0mi–
íeswluch were rnade
to
them ;
and
cbougt.1 chey pa[ed chat
mghc
w1ch
fear and
angu,iJlvof miod ; yec in·tlne rn@rning they íilocked tQ che greac Churoh; where·
the
Vice-king, the }l'ldges
<!_flcl
Officers of tbe Corpdration
of
che City we're pre–
fent. The Vifüor having fínifhed che
Mads,
che Bifhop of
Mexico
afcended che
Pulpi~, and
oogan his Serrnon, in
which
he produced many Texts of Holy Scri~
pcure~1ercinent
to
the Affiiéhon of the Pcmple, and enforced chem with thac
,
ze.aland fervour
of
Spiric, as gave greac comfort and conrolation to the Beo¡¡,le. ,
After which oheir. fullenneís began to vaoifh ,
an..d
more i::heerfulnefs ap¡ileared in
their,convéríation a'nd bufine[s:
fo
that.the Attorney General and Judges went
to
make 6he~r viíic
to
Don Fr,anci[co Tell~,
conrriving'
w.ich
him the forrri and
me-,
ehod
whereby chey were to make rheir applicatidn to his .Ma:jeíl:y far
a
redrefs of
thefo aggrievances which were defigned again(rc them :
in
purfuance
,of
which,
w.irh
the confem and advice
0f
the Viíitor, chey named t\\'.Oifriers ofgoeid ,eíl:ee'm;
and cwo Burgomaílers of che City Counci,\;i whom they depuced in behálf
df
che
whole Kingdom
ro
qmy their addrefs inco
Germany,
whereJhe
E.mpieroüf
at
c}lat
time reficled being e111ploy~d in Wars ag;ünH che
Litrber.dn1:
~ith thern tbe
Vtfi::
tor fent
his
Le¡cers of r~co1nmendacio!!l, giviog
his
Ma;je¡ty
¡¡~
underíl:imd.
1,'
h'o'.w
m9c;h che fofµel){io1l of
thti!
!ale Statutes concerned eme $enrice of Go~,
110d,
<ilf;his
Majefiy: and
the
confervaüon of che comllloo peace and quiet of ~'hat Cournrey,–
aod
011
ch~
concrary, what inc.ooven:ien~es; tr(l)uhles
al.'lcl
.confüfidns might ,vefu!t'
fi-om che execution of chem.
·
,
In
ali which patticulars
the
VHitpr ¡:,erJm¡;ned
b.isw.ord like
.a
Cend~mi:an,
Far
!n his Lerters t() bis Maje{ly, having in
,the
firft
place ,given
.a
rel&tlon of hís'~oy–
age, and
of
what happened at his arriv;il
in
Ne!W
.Spai;p,
he toucbed up@fi divers'
-things relaring
to
che ex-ec,i1tion of
tbe
New Sracutes ; rnmar¼ing
wbcré'
in' every
Law
mighc properly be re.llrained
or
e@lasged: w.iJhia chis Letter
he·
indo[ecl
a·
paper containing
2
5
He.acls, relating
to
fad\l
fOno:i:tiGns as w.ere .ptoper .a'nd .cen·–
ding coche welfare of rhe
Jndíans
' ,¡¡,nd in,wbat m.ann~r they mtght b.e
beíl:
con–
ferved, aod che Natives.¡n,reafed : bowfoever the Anides were
.ali
for ihe moíl
pare in favour of the
Spaniard,;
who were lnhabicao'ts of. chofe Coufil.tries.
With thefe Difpacches the perfons
gépucecl rn
carry tbe Addrefs emballted
for
Spain~
and
with them
fevéral· others who were
willing
to
be
abfent,
to
avoid che
force·