Fleece. He also became Knight of the Order of Santiago and the Order of Charles III. As the agent of a corrupt prime minister, Grúa was chiefly concerned with obtaining money for him, and for himself. Using the war between Spain and Revolutionary France as a pretext, he confiscated all of the property of the French residents of New Spain and Louisiana—not a small amount. He sold the property, keeping a portion for himself. In fact, he kept a portion for himself of all that passed through his hands. He sold offices and military ranks. He is known in Mexico as corrupt and inept, and one of the worst governors in the history of New Spain. This was in high contrast to his predecessor, Juan Vicente de Güemes, 2nd Count of Revillagigedo, considered one of the best. Grúa was opposed to Güemes Padilla in other ways as well—he began his government by favoring the enemies of the previous government. On December 12, 1794, Fray Servando Teresa de Mier gave a famous, disrespectful sermon at the church of Guadalupe. He was deported to Spain, where he began a series of remarkable adventures. On April 27, 1795, the first course in mineralogy in New Spain began, under Andrés Manuel del Río. In July 1795 Godoy made peace with France, but the French residents in New Spain remained under suspicion by the government. The Crown also ordered increased vigilance in regard to United States citizens, not because of any known expansionist plots, but because they were viewed as revolutionaries, along with the French. During this time the Inquisition became less concerned about heretics and Protestants, and more concerned to suppress the revolutionary political and other ideas of the French revolutionaries. On August 9, 1795, an auto-de-fe was held. One of the condemned was Esteban Morel, a French man of science, professor of medicine and collaborator in the Gaceta de México. He was formally accused of heresy, deism and materialism. The same tribunal of the Inquisition brought proceedings against Juan Lauset and other Frenchmen, accusing them of having expressed feelings against the Spanish. The government of Grúa entered into negotiations with the young republic in the United States to establish the boundaries between the two countries. A Peruvian priest living in Mexico, Melchor de Talamantes (1765-1809) was named to head the commission on the New Spain side. Corruption When Spain, now at peace with