Page:Vol 3 History of Mexico by H H Bancroft.djvu/443

Rh To swell the fund of the montepío militar the following deductions were made from each officer's pay from the time when he first entered the service: half a month's pay retained once; eight maravedís de plata fuerte out of every peso fuerte; the increase of pay for the first month in the case of officers promoted to higher rank and the amount of the whole month's salary in the case of officers and officials newly employed. With the view of creating a fondo de inválidos, from which invalided officers and soldiers were to draw pensions, it was ordered by the crown January 14, 1775, that a deduction of eight maravedís de plata should be made from the pay and extra allowances of officers and men in actual service.

The jurisdiccion eclesiástica castrense, or the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the army and navy of Spain and her Indies, was under the vicario general de los reales ejércitos y armadas, an office annexed to that of the patriarca de las Indias y capellan mayor of the