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Arredondo disputes Woodward's commission

Source: Historical proof of the right of the Catholic King to the territory held to-day by the British King under the name of New Georgia #558

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13. It must also be noted that the granting of patent, rents, and seigniory by his British Majesty to Captain Henry N. and his companions was because he had been informed that those lands were inhabited by savages and were yet to be explored, as is proved by the context of the patent itself, for it expressly says that the King, his master, granted rents and seigniories to the said captain and the settlers accompanying him in recompense of the service which they were performing for his crown by exploring those lands inhabited by savages. The grant must therefore be regarded as null and void, for it is clearly to be inferred that the intention of the Most Serene King Charles II of England was to discover and settle them, which is the same as saying that his Majesty supposed them to be unknown to any nation, and without an owner, and that if his vassals had informed him of the facts he would not in justice knowingly have executed such a patent or have granted seigniories in domains that belonged to the crown of Spain. On the contrary, it is not to be doubted that he would have ordered Captain Henry and his companions to be severely chastised as offenders, for the daring crime of making their own prince an accomplice in the usurpation, and as violators of the peace and good understanding that existed between the two crowns. In view of this, it is not strange that the King and Parliament of Great Britain should allege that they had granted to their subjects patents to explore and settle that country, inhabited, according to their belief, by savages; nor that the King of Spain should claim this region under discussion on the ground of his undeniable right to it. In a word, the order or patent of the King of Great Britain was for the purpose of discovering and adding to his crown, lands inhabited by savages; and Parliament considers the expedition in the terms of the patent, on which it founds the dispute over its possession. And since it is proved that Captain Henry established himself in regions that belonged to the Catholic King and were settled by his subjects, and that the reports upon which the patent was issued were false, then it cannot be doubted that as soon as the King and Parliament are shown that they have misunderstood the true state of affairs they will desist from the claim, because their intention is just.