In reply to the accusations of Narvaez against Cortes, they represented, that Narvaez sent word to Montezuma on his arrival in Mexico, that he came to rescue him, by which he occasioned a dangerous war. That when Cortes desired to see his commission, and represented the necessity of an amicable junction of their forces for the good of the service, Narvaez would give no answer, but immediately declared war against Cortes and his companions, by which they were forced to defend themselves, and that Narvaez had even presumed to seize his majesties oydor, for which Cortes deemed it requisite to bring him to punishment. That when Cortes went to wait on Narvaez, that he might see his commission and remonstrate with him on his proceedings, Narvaez had attempted to make him prisoner by surprise, of which proof could be made by witnesses. As to the failure of Garay, and the ridiculous charge of having poisoned him; it was well known that the expedition under Garay had failed through his own misconduct and ignorance of the country; after which he had gladly accepted the friendly offers of Cortes, who had given him an hospitable reception in Mexico, where an alliance was agreed upon between their families, and Garay was to have been assisted in establishing a colony on the river Palmas; and finally, it was established beyond all doubt, by the oaths of the physicians who attended him, that Garay had died of a pleurisy. In regard to the charge of retaining his majesties fifth, it was proved that Cortes had fairly expended it in the public service, together with 6000 crowns of his own property. That the fifth which he had retained for himself, was according to compact with the soldiers; and as to the shares belonging to the soldiers, it was well known that very little gold was found in Mexico on its capture, as almost all the wealth of the place had fallen into the hands of our allies of Tlascala and Tezcuco. That the torture given to Guatimotzin had been done by his majesties officers, contrary to the inclination of Cortes, in order to force a discovery of where the treasures of Montezuma had been concealed. As for the buildings, though certainly sumptuous, they were intended for the use of his majesty and his successors, and that the work had been carried on by the Indians, under the order of Guatimotzin, as was always done in building houses for the great in that country. As to Alonzo de Avila having taken the commission from Narvaez by force; it appeared there was no commission among his papers, which consisted entirely of receipts for the purchase of horses and the like; and farther, that these papers had been taken without any order from Cortes, who never saw any of them. As for Tapia, it was urged, that if he had come to Mexico and produced his majesties orders, they should have been received and obeyed by Cortes with the utmost humility: But that his incapacity was so notorious to every one then in New Spain, that it was the universal advice and desire of all that Cortes should retain the command. As to the pilot Umbria, whose feet had been cut off, this had been done in the due course of justice, for having run away with his ship. That Cardenas had consented along with all the rest to give up his share of the gold, that the whole might be sent to his majesty; and that Cortes had given him 300 crowns from his own pocket, which was more than he deserved, being a person of no consideration and no soldier.

The court having duly weighed all the charges and answers, the whole proceedings were reported to his majesty, together with their opinion and sentence, which were entirely in favour of Cortes, whose merit and valour, and that of all the veteran conquerors of Mexico, were highly praised. Velasquez was enjoined silence in respect to his complaints against Cortes, and was told that he might seek for the remuneration of his expences by a legal process. Cortes was declared governor-general of New Spain, pursuant to the orders of the pope, and the court approved of the arrangements which he had made in the country, authorizing him to distribute and appoint the districts or repartimientos in the way he thought proper. Narvaez was referred for redress to France, where Avila was still a prisoner. The pilots Umbria and Cardenas obtained royal grants of property in New Spain, to the extent of a thousand crowns in annual rent. And it was ordained that all the veterans of Cortes should have immediate and ample gratifications in lands and Indians, with such precedency in rank as their valour and services had deserved. This sentence was confirmed by the emperor at Valladolid, who was then on his road to Flanders; and he gave orders likewise for the banishment of all relapsed converts in New Spain, and that no Scholars76 should be admitted into that country for a certain term of years. His majesty, and his brother the king of Hungary, were graciously pleaded to write letters to Cortes, and to us the conquerors, thanking us for the good service we had performed.

This affair being decided in our favour, the necessary documents were entrusted to two relations of Cortes, Roderigo de Paz and Francisco de las Casas, who carried them in the first place to St Jago in the island of Cuba, where Velasquez resided. On the sentence being made known to him, and proclaimed by sound of trumpet, he fell ill from vexation, and died soon afterwards poor and miserable. Francisco de Montejo had the government of Yucutan and Cozumel from his majesty, with the title of Don. Diego de Ordas was ennobled, getting for his coat of arms the volcano of Guaxocingo, and was confirmed in all his possessions in New Spain. He went back to Spain two years afterwards to solicit permission to conquer the province of Maranion, in which enterprize he lost his life and all his property. On the arrival of Las Casas and De Paz in Mexico with the appointment of Cortes to the government, there were great rejoicings everywhere. Las Casas was made a captain, and got the encomienda of a good district called Anquitlan; and De Paz was appointed major-domo and secretary to Cortes, getting likewise valuable possessions. Cortes liberally rewarded the captain of the vessel which brought out this pleasing information, and provided handsomely for all who came out to New Spain from his native country of Medellin. All the proceedings of our agents in Spain were regularly conveyed to us the conquerors; but it seemed to me that they agented solely for Cortes and themselves, as we who had raised Cortes to his greatness, were continually encountering dangers and hardships, without any reward. May God protect us, and inspire our great emperor to cause his just intentions towards us to be carried into effect. To us, the ancient, wise, and brave conquerors of Mexico, it appeared that Cortes ought to have duly considered his true friends, who had supported him from the first through all his difficulties and dangers, and ought to have rewarded us according to our respective merits, and his majesties orders, by giving us good and profitable situations, instead of leaving us poor and miserable. By his majesties orders, and by his duty, Cortes was bound to have given to us and our children all the good offices in the kingdom of New Spain; but be thought only of himself and his favourites. In our opinion, who were the conquerors, the whole country ought to have been divided into five equal parts, allotting one to the crown, another for the holy church, and the remaining three parts to Cortes and the rest of us, who were the true original conquerors, giving each a share in perpetuity in proportion to our rank and merits, considering that we had not only served his majesty in gratuity, but without his knowledge, and, almost against his will. This arrangement would have placed us at our ease; instead of which, many of us are wandering about, almost without a morsel to eat, and God only knows what may become of our children.