Possession in the name of John of God and his Order.
I take possession of all the said lands in the name of John of God, and of all the professed brothers of his Order, and, being present, in the name of Lazaro de Santa Maria, who came here in compliance with a brief of His Holiness, given to me for that end, that the same Brotherhood might found, administer, and maintain by their professed charity all the hospitals there may be in those parts, so necessary that the natives may learn all our methods, and hold us in the love and veneration which the sight of our curing the native sick, and giving them other benefits, deserve.
Possession in the name of the Order of the Holy Ghost.
I take possession of all these lands, by the right that His Holiness and His Majesty granted, to make just divisions of the lands and of the people on them; for all the Knights that are in these parts of the Order of the Holy Ghost as discoverers, settlers, defenders, and preservers, and no other, obliged without pay to serve in all the royal and public employments, with every human and divine office as regards the natives as their defenders, and with profession of all the rest that is in their constitution.
Possession in the name of His Majesty.
Finally, I take possession of this bay, named the Bay of St. Philip and St. James, and of its port named Santa Cruz, and of the site on which is to be founded the city of New Jerusalem, in latitude 15° 10′, and of all the lands which I sighted and am going to sight, and of all this region of the south as far as the Pole, which from this time shall be called Australia del Espiritu Santo, with all its dependencies and belongings; and this for ever, and so long as right exists, in the name of the King, Don Philip, third of that name King of Spain, and of the eastern and western Indies, my King and natural Lord, whose is the cost and expense of this fleet, and from whose will and power came its mission, with the government, spiritual and temporal, of these lands and people, in whose royal name are displayed there his three banners, and I hereby hoist his royal standard.
The reading being finished, all cried with loud voices: “Long live the King of Spain, Don Philip III., our Lord!” Then we entered the church to give due thanks to God.
They said three Masses, and the fourth, which was sung, was by our Father Commissary. All the people took the sacrament very fervently. This done, the three Ensigns, who now held the banners in their hands, inclined them to the ground in front of the altar, the Royal Ensign holding the royal standard. The Commissary blessed them with great solemnity; and, at a certain signal that was given to the ships, whose mast-head banners displayed the royal arms, and at the sides the two columns and the plus ultra, with the streamers fluttering, fired off all their guns with full charges; the soldiers discharged muskets and arquebuses, and the gunners sent off rockets and fire-wheels. In the middle of all this noise, all shouted with almost infinite joy, and many times: “Long live the Faith of Christ!” And with this the celebration of the festival came to an end.