One of the auditors, Melchor Davalos, writes (July 3, 1584) to the king a letter which, withal containing some valuable information regarding matters in the islands, is a curious mixture of pedantry, bigotry, egotism, and vanity.  He mentions the arrival and establishment of the Audiencia at Manila, complains that he cannot obtain the salary due him, and relates the services which, he thinks, entitle him to better treatment.  He asks for instructions as to what shall be done with the Mahometans, and cites the permission formerly given to Legazpi by the king to enslave the Moros in certain cases, also the example set by the sovereigns of Spain and Portugal in expelling or crushing the Moors who inhabited their dominions.  Davalos also desires the king to settle the question of slaveholding by the Spaniards, which he is inclined to justify; and to take such action as will prevent the Chinese from obtaining all the money which comes to the Philippines.  The utmost poverty prevails among the Spanish soldiery, who are unpaid; and Davalos advises that they be sent to make fresh conquests, by which they can support themselves.  The Spanish post in the Moluccas is menaced by the native king of Ternate, and a large force of troops is to be sent to its aid.  A controversy arises among the Spanish officers over the appointment of a commander for this expedition, which Davalos proposes to settle by himself going as commander—­thus satisfying all the discontented captains, as he informs his royal correspondent.  He desires the king to grant him authority to punish the Chinese for vicious practices, and thinks that the friars should convert and baptize these heathen more rapidly than they are doing.

The new governor, Santiago de Vera, writes (June 20, 1585) to the archbishop of Mexico.  He encounters many difficulties—­coolness on the part of the bishop, lack of support from his associates in the Audiencia, and but little acquaintance with the needs of the islands in the royal Council of the Indias.  His duties are onerous and his responsibilities too great; he asks the archbishop to aid him in an appeal to the king for relief from these burdens and vexations.  Vera cannot yet procure the quicksilver which he has been asked to send to Mexico, but will try to obtain it from the Chinese traders.  The king of Ternate has revolted, and affairs there are in bad condition; more troops are needed, but cannot be spared from Manila.  Vera discusses various matters concerning some of his officers, and affairs both military and civil.  He sends to Spain, under arrest, two prisoners—­one of them Diego Ronquillo, a kinsman of the late governor Gonzalo Ronquillo de Penalosa, charged with defalcation in the trust of the latter’s estate.