_ 75 _ and the greed of those who govern her; self-interest is all, robbing the people for the king and the king for oneself. On the subject of Ormuz, I think I should mention here the gift which the kings of that realm made of the customs house, which is registered in the records of the factory of Ormuz. It will be advantageous to His Majesty to know how the members of his Council and his viceroys should proceed in the matter of the claim of the kings of Ormuz for macarrias or tribute which they pay each year to the Kings of Persia and of Lar, and other laid down in the documents relating to the gifts made by these kings. In September 1543, the Licentiate António Cardoso, secretary of the State of India, left Goa by order of the Viceroy Nuno da Cunha and went to Ormuz. He at once began an examination of the Captain of the Fortress, who was Martim Afonso de Melo, as complaints had been made against him to the Governor. He found that the accusations were unfounded or trivial such as are usual in India because Martim Afonso was a fidalgo of considerable ability, merit and virtue. Having completed his inquiry, he had discussions with King Salgur Shah, who wanted to endow his Lord, the King of Portugal, with the revenues of the custom house, for that was the
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTg0NzAy