Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/755

Appendix IX. 717 made available and held by law, we give, concede, and bestow to the said Grand-Master, convent, and Order, all rights and all property, real and personal, of every description whatever, which appertain to us, and which can and ought to belong to us in those islands, which we grant to them by feudal tenure, under the said conditions as have been recited, and in other matters aecording to the circumstances of the case; which rights and privileges, in order that they may be perpetual and capable of being exercised and maintained, and that all and every right may be enjoyed and freely exercised by law, and whatever else we ourselves may perform in any manner, either now or hereafter, placing the said Grand-Master, convent, and Order in every respect in our place; we constitute them true loris, due and authorized agents and administrators in their own matters; no rights and no privileges, which we have conceded to them as above, beyond what we have already received, shall be retained or received by us or by our council. Committing, from this time forth, to the charge of the said Grand- Master, convent, and Order of St. John of Jerusalem, with the same authority as we have heretofore exercised, all and every one, male and female, who may now be dwelling, or hereafter about to dwell, in the said islands, cities, lands, places, and castles, or in their territories, under whatsoever laws or conditions they may have resided there, that they should receive and consider the said Grand-Master as their true and feudal lord, and the rightful posessor of the aforesaid territories, and shall perform and obey his behests, as good and faithful vassals should always obey their lord. They shall also make and offer fidelity and homage to the said Grand- Master and convent, with all the oaths usual in similar cases; we also ourselves, from the moment that they take those oaths and tender that homage, absolve and free them from all oaths and homage which they may have already made and taken to us, or to any of our predecessors, or to any other persons in our name, and by which they have been heretofore bound. Moreover, to the illustrious Philip, prince of the Asturias, etc., our well- beloved first-born son, and descendant, who, after our prosperous and lengthened reign, we nominate and appoint, under the support of our paternal benediction, to be, by the grace of God, our immediate heir and legitimate successor, in all our kingdoms and dominions; to all the most illustrious lords our beloved councillors, and to our faithful viceroy and captain-general in our kingdom of the Two Sicilies, to the chief justice, or whosoever may be acting in his place, to the judges and magistrates of our courts, to the magistrates of the “portulano” and the “secreto,” to the treasurer and conservator of our royal patrimonies, to the patrons of our exchequer, to the captains of our fortresses, to our prefects and guards, portulans, and portulanotes, secreta, and to all and every one else of the officials, and of subjects in our said kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and especially of the said islands, and of the city and castle of Tripoli, as well now as hereafter, by the same authority we order and direct, under pain of our indignation and anger, and under a penalty of ten thousand crowns, to be otherwise levied upon their property, and paid into our treasury, that they hold,