Of those who were opposed to it the bishop of Chiapa was first and foremost, and was supported by his colleague, brother Rodrigo, of the Dominican order, the new bishop of Palencia, De la Gasca, the marquis de Mondejar, and by two auditors of the royal council of the Indies. These prelates, in opposition to the opinion of all the above-mentioned cavaliers, (with the exception of the marquis de Mondejar, who refused to pronounce in favour either of the one or the other party, merely listening to what each had to say, and to see which way the majority would go,) declared that the Indians should not be distributed in perpetuity, and that they should be compelled to deprive many persons of their Indians, who at present derived considerable incomes from them; though, in the first instance even, they had been more deserving of punishment than of reward. This was particularly the case in Peru, they said, where peace would be maintained if these views were carried out; for it was to be feared that the troops there would rise up in open insurrection, if they found no further distribution of Indians was to be allowed.
To this the bishop of Mechoacan, who was on our side, answered, by asking the licentiate De la Gasca, why, instead of punishing all the thieves and vagabonds, whose infamous practices were notorious to the world, he had even presented them with additional Indians?
To this the licentiate smilingly replied: "Indeed, I considered, gentlemen, that it was no little matter for me to maintain peace there, and that I escaped with my life, after I had deprived so many persons of their possessions and punished them as the law required."
After a good deal of further speechifying pro and con, we, supported by several others who were present, proposed that the distribution in perpetuity should at least be carried into effect in New Spain, though only for the benefit of the true Conquistadores, who sailed from Cuba with Cortes, and those of Narvaez's and Garay's troops, who were still living. Of the Conquistadores, we added, there were but few remaining, for the greater part had lost their lives in battle in the service of their monarch. The services which we had rendered to the crown fully merited such distinction; the other troops could be rewarded in some other way.
As the commissioners could not come to any decision among themselves on this point, some of the prelates and royal auditors proposed that the matter should be laid at rest until his majesty returned to Spain, as it was necessary that the emperor should himself be present in discussing a matter of so much importance. We others, the bishop of Mechoacan, and several of the cavaliers present said, however, that the majority, as far as regarded New Spain, had declared in favour of the distribution in perpetuity, and that our affairs must not be mixed up with those of Peru; that it was also very evident, from the commands which his majesty issued in appointing the commission, that he was in favour of this measure. However, all the arguments we adduced, all we might say with regard to the important services we had rendered to the crown was to no purpose; the auditors of the royal council of the Indies, the bishop las Casas, and brother Rodrigo persisted in their opinion, and added, that on his majesty's return from Germany, the Conquistadores would be rewarded in such a manner that they would never find cause of complaint hereafter.
Intelligence as to how this matter had terminated was brought to New Spain by the very next vessel, and the Conquistadores determined to despatch procuradores in their own name to his majesty. I had again returned to Guatimala about this time, when Andreas de Tapia, Pedro Moreno Medrano, and Juan Limpias Carvajal wrote to me on the subject of our memorial, in which I was mentioned as one of the oldest of the Conquistadores. I then communicated with the other Conquistadores staying in Guatimala, desiring them to subscribe what they could to defray the expenses of our procuradores. We could not, however, raise sufficient money for the purpose, and it was therefore determined that the citizens of Mexico should join us in this matter, that we might despatch our procuradores in common; but this also came to nothing, and thus matters remained until our invincible king, Don Philip, whom God grant a long life, made certain regulations in favour of the Conquistadores and their children; and also of the oldest settlers who had families, as may be seen by the royal decrees which were issued.
CHAPTER CCXII.
Of various remarks which were made respecting my history, which the reader will be pleased to hear.
After I had completed this my history, two licentiates called upon me and begged permission of me to peruse it, in order that they might acquaint themselves better with the history of the conquest of Mexico and of New Spain, and that they might judge for themselves in how far my history differed from the representations which Francisco Lopez de Gomara and doctor Illescas have given of the heroic deeds of the marquis del Valle Oaxaca. As ignorant persons, like myself, always learn something from men of learning, I gave it to them, but under the condition that they should neither add nor take anything away from it; as everything I had related was conformable to truth. When the licentiates had read through the whole of my work, one of them who was a great rhetorician, said he was astonished at the sharpness of my memory, that I should not even have forgotten one single circumstance of the many things that had taken place from my first voyage of discovery under Cordoba down to the present time. With respect to my style of writing, both remarked, that it was plain old Castilian, which was more agreeable at that time than those embellished sentences which are generally affected by historians; and that though my style was plain it was rendered beautiful by the truth which it contained. They were, however, of opinion that I had written too conspicuously about myself, in describing the battles at which I was present, and that I should have left this to others. I ought also, they said, to have quoted other historians to confirm my statements, instead of dryly saying: This I did, This happened to me; for, added they, I was only witnessing for myself. To this I replied, and said as follows: "In certain despatches which Cortes forwarded to the emperor from Mexico in the year 1540, my name and the services I had rendered to the crown were also mentioned, and how I had made two former voyages of discovery to New Spain." In these despatches Cortes spoke as an eyewitness of my conduct in the many battles we fought with the Mexicans, of the courage I had evinced on every occasion, of the many wounds I had received in the numerous engagements, and also how I had accompanied him on the expedition to the Honduras, and said besides several other things in my praise, which it would be tedious to enumerate here. The illustrious viceroy, Antonio de Mendoza, wrote in a similar strain to his majesty respecting the officers who were then serving in New Spain. His accounts agreed perfectly with those of Cortes; and lastly, I myself in the year 1540 gave the royal council of the Indies sufficient proofs in confirmation of what both had said. But should you senores licentiates, continued I, not feel satisfied with such witnesses as the viceroy and Cortes, and with the proofs I have myself adduced, I can bring forward another witness, who must have greater weight than any other in the world, I mean the emperor Charles the Fifth himself, who, by one of his royal letters bearing his own seal, addressed to the viceroys and presidents, commands that I and my sons shall be munificently rewarded for the many important services which I have rendered to the crown. I myself possess the original letters containing these commands. But if you wish for any further witness, behold the territory of New Spain, which is thrice the size of old Spain; count the numbers of towns and settlements which have all been founded by Spaniards, and sum up the wealth which is continually passing from this portion of the new world to Spain. Another reason why I have written this true account is, because the historians Illescas and Gomara never mention a word in our praise, but give to Cortes alone all the glory of our conquests. If they had been honestly inclined they would not have passed us, the Conquistadores, by in silence; a share of Cortes' heroic deeds is also due to me, for in all his battles I fought among the first; besides that, I was present in so many other engagements in the provinces under his officers, as you must have seen in the course of this history. I can also claim my share of the inscription which Cortes put on the silver culverin, we called the phœnix, and which Cortes sent a present to his majesty from Mexico. The inscription ran thus: