e the levying of tithes upon the crown estates the same as upon all
other property.

One of the most important achievements of Bishop Ubite was the transfer
of the cathedral from Baracoa to Santiago. For this change he gave two
reasons. One was, that Baracoa was an unhealthful spot; in which he was
surely in error. The other was, that Santiago was a larger and more
important place, indeed, the chief city of the island; in which he was
quite correct. The transfer was authorized by the civil government in
October, 1522, and plots of land were granted to the Bishop for the
sites of the new cathedral and of the houses of the Bishop and other
clergy. These latter were the same plots which are still occupied by
ecclesiastical buildings, in the heart of the city of Santiago de Cuba.

This change of the site of the cathedral was doubtless to the advantage
of the church. It was probably profitable, also, to the good Bishop
personally. Following it he became the proprietor of extensive lands, of
great herds of cattle, and of a number of Negro and Indian slaves. He
interested himself to good effect in seeing to it that the civil
government provided from its third of the tithes abundant funds for
church building, and thus secured the erection of two churches at
Trinidad, one at Sancti Spiritus, and one at Havana, a place even at
that early date rising rapidly in importance.

Bishop Ubite reigned over the diocese until April, 1525, and then, in
circumstances which are obscure and for reasons not clearly apparent,
took the extraordinary step of resigning his see. The office remained
vacant until early in 1527, when Miguel Ramirez was appointed to it.
This third Bishop was, like each of his predecessors, a Dominican. He
was officially styled not only Bishop but also Protector of the Indians,
with the purpose of making him a sort of check upon the Repartidor. He
did not arrive at Santiago until the fall of 1528, when he promptly made
up for the delay by plunging into both industrial and political
activities. Like Bishop Ubite, he was an extensive land owner,
cattle-raiser and slaveholder.

Bishop Ramirez appears to have been a great meddler into politics,
particularly as a hot partisan of Gonzalo de Guzman. He came into
conflict more than once with the royal treasurer, Hurtado, and was
denounced by that austere censor as a scandalous disturber of the peace.
This characterization was provoked by the Bishop's attitude and conduct
tow