A second abuse developed out of dilatory payment of the situado. Shortages often forced the governor to secure food and supplies elsewhere, usually in Cuba. Here, however, he was forced to pay high interest rates on the money he borrowed and high prices for the necessities he obtained on credit. Then, when the subsidy finally reached Saint Augustine, he had to pay out most of the available specie to usurious Havana merchants. [Note: Fr. Simon de Salas to king 6/14/1705] Additional delays in remitting the annual subvention to Florida started another, similar cycle. The price and quality of supplies obtained in New Spain created other problems for the governor. He needed specie to pay his soldiers and purchase the necessary articles for his Floridians. If the governor’s situadista to New Spain could obtain good-quality supplies at low prices, more money remained for salaries and other pressing colonial needs. For the most part, however, the situadista cold make few bargains. The viceroy’s agents, probably in collusion with merchants in Mexico City and Vera Cruz, charged exorbitant prices for their goods, exorbitant even for inflation-ridden New Spain. At the same time, foodstuffs sold to the situadista were often of inferior quality, and it was common to find wormy flour and rancid pork among the items destined for Saint Augustine. [Note: king to gov 5/22/1702] If foodstuffs were not contaminated at the time of purchase, a few months on the wharves at humid Vera Cruz considerably abetted the molding process. Lack of ships was usually responsible for these delays and led to the contamination of goods obtained in Mexico. The high costs (approximately 18,000 pesos) of shipping the specie and supplies by land from Mexico City to the Gulf and by sea from Vera Cruz to Saint Augustine drained still more pesos from the subsidy allocated to Florida and added to the governor’s woes. Governor Zuniga Seeks Additional Help in Spain The many abuses in administration of the subsidy system placed heavy burdens upon the governor. Without money and supplies he could not provide his soldiers with money, food, uniforms, or proper weapons. He could not maintain the defenses of Saint Augustine, pacify the Indians, or support a vigorous mission program. In fact, his entire colonial program depended upon the annual subsidy. Without it he was helpless. (Tepaske GSF)