"Therefore, his majesty, having seen and duly considered all these things, and heard the opinions of his councillors thereupon, has sent me for the express purpose of restoring peace, tranquillity, and good order to the country, by the revocation of the obnoxious regulations, with full power to extend his royal pardon for all that has already occurred, and to take the opinion and advice of the colonists upon those measures that may be most proper and advantageous for the royal service, the glory of God, the good of the country, and the benefit of its inhabitants. In respect to such Spaniards as cannot be provided in the country with repartitions of lands and Indians, I have orders to employ them in new discoveries, where they may acquire honour and riches, as has already been done by so many other persons. I earnestly entreat you therefore, as a Christian, and a wise and prudent gentleman of honour, to reflect seriously on all these things. As you have hitherto always evinced much affection and attachment to the welfare of the country and its inhabitants, you certainly have great reason of thankfulness to the Almighty, that in so important and delicate an affair, neither his majesty nor his councillors have been disposed to consider your past conduct in the light of revolt and rebellion against the legitimate authority of the sovereign, but have rather been pleased to view it in the light of a just and necessary defence of your own rights, and those of the Spanish inhabitants of Peru, until the decision of his majesty upon your supplications and remonstrances might be made manifest. Therefore, since his majesty has been graciously pleased to grant to you and the other colonists all that you required by your supplications, by abrogating the obnoxious regulations, it is incumbent upon you, as an obedient and loyal subject, to evince a respectful and prompt obedience to the royal orders30."

"I have represented all these things to you, that you may not flatter yourself by a false confidence of being able to resist the power of his majesty, who is able if it should so please him to employ irresistible force in repressing the commotions and disorders of Peru, instead of those measures of clemency, which it has pleased God that he should now resort to; and that if reduced to the necessity of using force, it will be necessary for his majesty to take care not to ruin the country by sending too great a number of troops, instead of being under any difficulty as to sending a sufficient power to overcome all possibility of resistance. You ought likewise to reflect that matters will necessarily take a quite different turn than they have hitherto done. Hitherto your followers have been influenced by their own self-interest, not only considering the late viceroy as your enemy and your cause as good, but all of them looked upon him as their personal enemy, who wished to deprive them of their properties, and to put to death every one who opposed his designs. Under these circumstances your followers were necessarily impelled to adhere to your party in the defence of their own lives and properties. But as both are now secured, by the revocation of the obnoxious regulations, and the amnesty granted by his majesty, the Spanish inhabitants of Peru have now their legitimate sovereign as their friend and protector, to whom we all owe the most entire loyalty and obedience. I entreat you to reflect seriously on these things, and to consider that, in the present situation of affairs, and the turn which they must assuredly take in the sequel, you cannot count upon the adherence of any one, if you unfortunately choose to follow wrong measures. By contributing your assistance to put an end to the commotions which have distracted the kingdom of Peru, the whole inhabitants of that country will remain indebted to your exertions for the maintenance of their rights and privileges, in having opposed the execution of the obnoxious regulations, and having procured a favourable attention to their supplications and remonstrances; insomuch that his majesty has been pleased to send me with an express commission to listen to and redress all grievances. Should you unfortunately resolve upon refusing submission to the royal authority, you will obliterate all the merit you derive from your past conduct; as by endeavouring to continue the troubles and commotions, you will shew yourself actuated by motives of personal interest and ambition, instead of any regard for the good of the public. Instead of serving the interests of the Spanish inhabitants of Peru, you will become the cause of infinite injury to all, and will be considered as the enemy of the kingdom, by perpetuating the troubles, and occasioning the destruction of the lives and fortunes of your friends and adherents. You ought likewise to consider that, by continuing the war, you will render it necessary to bring over a numerous army into Peru, so that you will become accountable to God and man for all the miseries and disorders which may follow, and for the entire ruin of the country and its inhabitants, by which you will incur the hatred of all the principal colonists, merchants, and other rich persons."

"To conclude, I pray God to take you and all your followers under his most holy protection, and that he may inspire you with proper sentiments on this occasion, for the good service of his majesty, the eternal welfare of your souls, and the preservation of your lives, honours, and estates; and I remain; illustrious Sir, yours, &c.

PEDRO DE LA GASCA."

Gonzalo had only been a few days in Lima on his return from Quito, when he received letters from Hinojosa informing him of the arrival of the president. He was much disturbed by this intelligence, which he immediately communicated to the captains and other principal persons of his party, and with whom he consulted upon the steps necessary to be taken in this conjuncture of affairs. Some were of opinion that it was necessary to get rid of the president, either openly or by secret assassination; while others recommended that he should be invited into Peru, where it would be easy to oblige him to agree to all their demands; or where at least they could draw their negociations with him to a great length, by insisting on convening an assembly of deputies and procurators from all the cities of the kingdom at Lima, to deliberate on the subject of his reception, and to determine whether he should be received or not; and, as Peru was of vast extent, it would be easy to put off the meeting of that assembly for two years, during which period the president might be kept in the isle of Puna under a confidential guard, by which he might be prevented from writing to Spain that the country was in rebellion; more especially as they could keep him in continual suspense, by representing that the general assembly could not meet sooner on account of the vast distance of some of the cities. Even the most moderate were for obliging the president to return into Spain.

In this council of the leaders of the insurrection, it was likewise proposed to send deputies from all parts of Peru to his majesty, to explain the state of the colony, and the events which had occurred; and particularly to exculpate their conduct in regard to the battle of Quito in which the viceroy was slain, by throwing the whole blame upon him as the aggressor. It was likewise proposed that these deputies should humbly implore his majesty to invest Gonzalo Pizarro in the government of Peru, for which especial purpose they should be so instructed and empowered by all the cities. They were also to be instructed, during their residence at Panama on their way into Spain, carefully to learn what were the powers and instructions of the president; and to endeavour to prevail upon him to delay proceeding to Peru, until they had informed his majesty of the true state of the kingdom, that ulterior orders might be issued in consequence. It was proposed at the same time, if the president persisted in coming into the country, to take him into custody. Some even proposed to put him to death during the journey, while others proposed to have him poisoned at Panama and likewise to put Alonzo de Alvarado to death. Many other proposals of a similar nature and tendency are said to have been made at this time; but as all these transactions took place in the secret meetings of the chief of the insurgents, it is difficult or impossible to ascertain the precise nature of their deliberations. It was besides resolved, that the messengers who were to be sent to the president should be charged to deliver him letters from the principal inhabitants of Lima, strongly urging him to refrain from coming into Peru, even in terms of insolence and implied threatening.