sending them hither. (2)
The encomenderos shall endeavor, personally or through the medium of
persons skilled and competent, in whom may be placed entire confidence
that they will deal with the Indians as God requires and the king
commands, to defend the Indians and protect them against the injuries
inflicted upon them. They shall strive to influence them, by good
works and example, to accept the law of God, most carefully preparing
them so that, when they have ministers of the Christian doctrine,
they can be instructed. They shall not act as do some encomenderos
(and most of them are of this sort) who visit their encomiendas
not for the good of the Indians, but for their own profit; and who,
through their presence, work more injury to the Indians by the many
grievances which they occasion, and the bad example that they set,
than the latter are advantaged in being thus pacified.

Nineteenth conclusion: It has been a very great error on the part
of the encomenderos in these islands who do not maintain religious
instruction to think that because they contribute a fourth part of the
tributes they may collect and keep for themselves the remainder. This
is based upon their misinterpretation of a decree of the king which
states the portion which is to be appropriated from the tributes for
the erection of churches and the support of the ministers (although
this decree has already been annulled by others). This decree did
not apply to the encomiendas which we here mention; for if the king
himself cannot levy tributes, he could ill permit others to do so,
excepting the encomiendas which we discussed in the ninth conclusion.

Twentieth conclusion: What has been already said in the preceding
conclusions concerning the encomenderos likewise applies to the
encomiendas which belong to the royal crown; for the king is under even
greater obligation than are the encomenderos to provide his Indians
with religious teaching; and to the same extent as they, he is bound
to make restitution of all that has been unjustly collected. It
follows from this that the officials of the royal exchequer, who
are charged with the collection, of the tributes for the king, are
obliged in conscience to observe and fulfil all that is stated in the
preceding conclusions, and to make restitution of all the tributes,
or such part of them as has been or shall be collected contrary to
the tenor of the said conclusions. This obligation is all the greater
for the