No. 60. — 1908.] cocto : history of ceyloh". 



167 



because in the year 1585 he passed an alvard, signed by the 

 cardinal Alberto, regent of the kingdom, in which he com- 

 manded that payment was no longer to be made to the persons 

 to whom the king of Cota had granted the debts due to him, 

 and that on account of these he was to be given each year 

 what had usually been given him for entertainment, which 

 was a thousand parddos 1 ; as we shall state more exactly and 

 at greater length in our Tenth Decade, because here we only 

 refer to it, these things being closely connected. 



* * * * * * * 



1 The alvard of 1585 spoken of by Couto is not in the Arch. Port. -Or. : 

 but in that collection is a letter from the king to the viceroy, dated 6 

 February 1589, paragraph x. of which (180-1) runs: — "And I was 

 pleased at the manner in which you acted regarding the king of Ceilao, 

 and at your having ordered payment to be made to him of the thousand 

 parddos that he has yearly as pension, which as a Christian king, and 

 one who has nothing else to sustain him, it is right that he should not 

 lack, and that you have particular care of him, and that he understand 

 by deeds and words that I have enjoined it upon you ; and as regards 

 the money that he gives to several persons on account of what was lent 

 to the viceroy Dom Affonso. I have nothing fresh to treat of, because 

 by the ships of the past year I commanded to write to you that in no 

 case should payment be made of any of this money, having been informed 

 that a great quantity had been paid to persons to whom he gave it 

 with much largess, without there being a book of receipt or expenditure 

 of his money, regarding which I commanded a provision of mine to be 

 passed, which I sent you in past years, which you shall cause to be 

 observed entirely as is set forth therein." The promise that Couto 

 here makes, of dealing with the subject in his Tenth Decade, he appears 

 to have forgotten to fulfil, since he does not refer to the matter therein, 



