The inspection general, and all the economy of the affairs of the King in the province, belong to the Intendant. The different branches of the public revenue are all administered by officers appointed by the King, as in the rest of the kingdom, and there are no Farmers-General as in France. Their product is about twentysix millions of reals, or six millions five hundred thousand livres, the expense of collection being deducted. The expenses of the administration, including the maintenance of three regiments of infantry scattered about in different places, do not exceed two millions five hundred thousand livres. The surplus goes into the dry docks, arsenals, and fund of fortifications, to the support of which this sum is far from being sufficient. Such is in general the government, military, political, and civil of this province, and nearly pf all the others, except Biscay, Guipuscoa, and Alaba.
There is not in this province any particular jurisdiction of commerce, but there is a tribunal, under the name of the Judge Considerator of Commerce, which takes cognizance of all their causes, civil and criminal, except the case of contraband. At this day, the Judge Considerator of Strangers is the governor of the province himself, and the appeals from his judgment are carried directly to the Council of War, which is said to be a precious privilege, by the form and brevity of procedure compared with the expensive and insupportable delays of the ordinary jurisdiction.
I cannot but think that if some measures could be taken to convince the Court, that it is their interest to take off the vast duties with which commerce is overloaded in this port, fifteen per cent being to be paid upon all commodities exported and upon all imported, and if the rigid prohibitions of tobacco could be relaxed or repealed, several of the productions of America would find a good market here, and a commerce be opened that would put a new face upon this province, and be profitable to America too. The conveniency of such a number of excellent ports would be a vast advantage, which Bilboa cannot have, as her harbor is neither safe nor convenient, besides its being so much further down the stormy, turbulent Gulf of Biscay; yet Biscay, which is commonly used to comprehend Biscay proper, the principal city of which is Bilboa, although Orduna is the capital; Guipuscoa, the capital of which is St Sebastian, and Alaba, the capital of which is Vittoria, three free provinces, whose laws the Kings of Spain have hitherto been sworn to observe inviolate, have attracted almost the whole of the American trade, because the King has no custom house or officers here, and there are no duties to be paid.