Note 15 — Letters from Governor Hurtado de Corcuera (continued 3)

From this and many other entries in these tables, it appears that much of the money reported as paid from the royal treasury never really left it, but that accounts were simply canceled. The benefit of these transactions would accrue to the purchaser of the pay-check, for he bought at a discount from the original holder; and, until the law whereby all the creditors of the royal treasury made a voluntary gift to the king of two-thirds of the account was enforced by Corcuera, he could use the pay-check at its face value, thus making immense profits, or canceling his debts to the royal treasury at small cost to himself.