at once make into his
predecessor's administration.

Gonzalo de Angulo had been appointed at the beginning of September,
1548, but did not at once come to the West Indies. He reached Hispaniola
in the summer of 1549, shortly after Aguayo had made his report, and he
remained there for some time, considering the report and conferring with
the members of the supreme court. Finally, at the beginning of November,
he proceeded to Santiago and assumed the governorship. He entered upon
the investigation, using Aguayo's three hundred charges as the basis of
it, despite the protest of Chaves that Aguayo had been a prejudiced
investigator, moved by political and even pecuniary considerations and
intent not upon discovering the truth but merely upon defaming him
(Chaves) to the fullest possible extent.

The result of the new governor's inquest was that at the beginning of
July, 1550, Chaves was arrested and sent as a prisoner to Spain, for
trial there upon a multitude of accusations. These were partly grave and
partly--mostly--frivolous. In the former category was the charge that
Chaves had refused or at least failed to enforce royal decrees for the
enfranchisement of the natives. That was a very serious matter,
apparently, and there was no question that it was true. Indeed, Chaves
admitted it. But, he said, some of these decrees had been suspended,
there had been pleas for the suspension of others, officials had failed
to proclaim some, and the Hispaniola court had interfered with others;
so that the whole business was in a hopeless tangle and he really could
not determine what he ought to do. This argument impressed the Spanish
authorities, and they consequently dismissed that and other like charges
against him.

But when it came to other charges, they could not be got rid of so
easily. Thus, he had refused to pay an apothecary for a dose of
medicine. He had called Hurtado's nephew a Jew! He had called certain
citizens "conspirators" because they were forming some sort of a secret
organization. He had arrested a priest for acting disrespectfully toward
him. These were indeed serious matters; particularly when the irate
Hurtado produced voluminous affidavits, from parents, physicians,
clergy, and whom not, to prove that his nephew like himself was a good
Christian. So for these things Chaves was thrown into prison, and even,
it is said, bound with heavy fetters, until he should pay the fines
which were imposed upon him.

It m