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land-owners and tax collectors, to the magistrates and to the other Spaniards in these islands, such that it does not appear but that all of them down to a man conspire to hinder the good works that we could do among these Indians if we were not hindered. Furthermore, they avert their eyes from what they are obliged to do as men of faith, the examples being too numerous. Others, in pursuit of their own interests and unbridled greed, prevent us from doing anything because more damage can be done with these weak people with one bad example that is given to them than all the good that we can achieve by preaching to them. And many of the land-owners and magistrates, who have more responsibility than anyone else to favour us, by exploiting their estates and people cause these poor people such offence and vexation that we are given no opportunity to be able to tell them of the good that God has sent them through the offices of Your Majesty.
All the disputes and quarrels arise out of this because since they can see that we stand up to them against their interests and that we bring to light their bad examples, they turn against us and persecute us and slander us, seeking any possible means to pursue their ends, and there is nothing we can do to prevent them.
With the arrival of the Court we believed that all these evils would be remedied and indeed a large part of them have been because the magistrates are less audacious and the land owners are less dissolute, and although not everything has been remedied, the president and judges have acted in a correct manner, and as a result we believed that the situation had been much improved.
But from what we had thought would bring the remedy to all our troubles now has come our ruin, and we speak in this way because what has occurred is truly of enormous proportions because since the magistrates and land owners have no obstacles but us to prevent them from getting their way, they have informed the Court that we are interfering in the Royal Jurisdiction and in this way they have found a manner of discrediting us so that we are not in a position to stand up to them and thus they have informed the president and judges that we had stocks and prisons, that we seized and punished the Indians and, because of an order provided by Your Majesty on this matter, they pronounced [an infraction against?] a Royal decree that is attached to this letter for Your Majesty to read.
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land-owners and tax collectors, to the magistrates and to the other Span- iards in these islands, such that it does not appear but that all of them down to a man conspire to hinder the good works that we could do among these Indians if we were not hindered. Furthermore, they avert their eyes from what they are obliged to do as men of faith, the ex- amples being too numerous. Others, in pursuit of their own interests and unbridled greed, prevent us from doing anything because more damage can be done with these weak people with one bad example that is given to them than all the good that we can achieve by preaching to them. And many of the land-owners and magistrates, who have more responsibility than anyone else to favour us, by exploiting their estates and people cause these poor people such offence and vexation that we are given no opportunity to be able to tell them of the good that God has sent them through the offices of Your Majesty.
All the disputes and quarrels arise out of this because since they can see that we stand up to them against their interests and that we bring to light their bad examples, they turn against us and persecute us and slander us, seeking any possible means to pursue their ends, and there is nothing we can do to prevent them.
With the arrival of the Court we believed that all these evils would be remedied and indeed a large part of them have been because the magistrates are less audacious and the land owners are less dissolute, and although not everything has been remedied, the president and judges have acted in a correct manner, and as a result we believed that the situation had been much improved.
But from what we had thought would bring the remedy to all our troubles now has come our ruin, and we speak in this way because what has occurred is truly of enormous proportions because since the magistrates and land owners have no obstacles but us to prevent them from getting their way, they have informed the Court that we are inter- fering in the Royal Jurisdiction and in this way they have found a man- ner of discrediting us so that we are not in a position to stand up to them and thus they have informed the president and judges that we had stocks and prisons, that we seized and punished the Indians and, be- cause of an order provided by Your Majesty on this matter, they pro- nounced [an infraction against?] a Royal decree that is attached to this letter for Your Majesty to read.
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