hing a treatise or declaration in respect to them. With
this he closes the letter in which he gives his opinion of what I
should have done--concluding by advising that, before allowing the
encomenderos to collect the tributes, I should investigate or make
inquiries about their good or bad treatment of the Indians and how
they treat, caress, and regale them. As soon as I should ascertain
the truth, I should either give or deny the permission according to
the results of the investigation. Then he makes a clever deduction,
namely, that in the same manner he and the other confessors shall
not absolve the encomenderos without first having made a detailed
investigation and inquiry in respect to their treatment and good
disposition toward their tributarios, so that they could grant or
deny absolution accordingly. Thus he constitutes himself judge,
in the exterior court, of encomenderos and their property.

12. While these letters were passing between us, and during several
days after--which were wasted in persuading the bishop to make no
innovations until after consultation with your Majesty; and, although
our opinions do not coincide, we should however agree in giving account
to your Majesty of what was happening--the encomenderos came to me
sorely troubled, saying that in the pulpits, sermons, and confessional,
they were being greatly harassed and many obstacles were being imposed
on the collections in their encomiendas; and that they were being
ruined, and were being prohibited now from collecting more than the
third or the half of their tributes. They were also constrained to make
restitutions of past payments. Thus they are so afflicted and ruined
that, if this continues, they will have to be allowed to leave their
encomiendas and to go to serve your Majesty nearer the royal person,
where they may gain a livelihood--since after having served so many
years with bloodshed and services which deserve merit and obtain it,
these scruples are imposed. They ask me in the accompanying petition
[7] if your Majesty would not issue some order declaring what must
be paid.

13. Having investigated their grievance and affliction, and seeing
that the bishop was reading his conclusions in the pulpit and was
quite determined to have his way, and was even giving orders that
absolution should not be granted to the encomenderos acting contrary
to what he thought proper; inasmuch as the bishop declared in his
conclusions and treatise that th