254 
SCENES IN THE PACIFIC. 
doing, shall be under the command of their officer, and in no¬ 
wise amenable to the Padres for neglect or disobedience ; nor 
shall their entrance, discharge, or payment be in any way 
supervised by them. 
The disorder and inconvenience growing out of this regu¬ 
lation, very soon become apparent. The missions are fre¬ 
quently forsaken by the guards, the Padres have much diffi¬ 
culty in procuring them as escorts in their visits to their pa¬ 
rishioners ; the Indians are frequently oppressed by them 
when distant from their captain ; and a system of trading and 
chaffering commences between the soldiers and Indians, which 
dissipates much that the Padres have labored to establish, and 
seriously neutralizes their instructions and counsels. So much 
evil, however, grows out of this new order of things, that at 
the end of eighteen months the Viceroy abandons it; puts the 
new garrison under a lieutenant, subject to the captain at Lo™ 
retto, and makes these officers subordinate to the Padres. 
As soon as affairs are thus established on a firm footing, the 
Society of Jesus appoints new missionaries to gather the dis¬ 
persed members of the ruined missions. Meantime his Ma¬ 
jesty, continuing to receive advices of the condition of Cali¬ 
fornia both from the Viceroy and the Society, is induced not 
only to order a new garrison, but to direct that the loss oc¬ 
casioned by the rebellion shall be repaired from the Royal 
treasury; and also, that the Council of the Indies shall lay 
before him the best plan for effectually reducing the Califor- 
nias. Such means are deliberated upon, a plan for the accom¬ 
plishment of these ends proposed, and orders for its execution 
signed by his Majesty sent to the Viceroy on the thirteenth of 
November, 1744. He is directed to proceed in the execution 
of them without delay, and also to send further information. 
The reply to these dispatches reaches Madrid after the 
death of Philip V. and the accession of Ferdinand VI. His 
Majesty is even more ardent than his predecessor ; and, upon 
the information sent him, issues a more particular and full set 
of instructions than any that have preceded them. He de- 
