Note 4 — Letter from Alonso Fajardo de Tenza to Felipe III
Reading edition
It is also necessary to know who shall try in the first instance the sailors and officers of ships, and those who work at ship-trades, inasmuch as they have no commander or admiral, nor any lieutenant of mine, in such charge, to whom it is committed by any decree of your Majesty. The same doubt exists in regard to the artillerymen, who now have a general of the artillery, as your Majesty has ordered one to be appointed; and if, when that office is lacking or suspended, it [i.e., the right of trial in the first instance] is vested in the lieutenant or captain of the artillery, as it was before. I have written this so long and specific relation to your Majesty, as I desire that Page 258you may in each and every thing order what is most suitable for your service.4