itures; and it is my pleasure, further, that from and after the 1st of August next, the four per cent. levied by the royal treasury upon the proceeds of the municipal taxes, be discontinued.

[90] * 20. The accountant shall be able, skilful, zealous, and otherwise qualified for the discharge of his office; and care shall be had that the officers be intelligent and experienced in the management and settlement of accounts, and that their qualifications be known at the accountant general's office, from which they shall be detailed to assist the accountant in a manner calculated to expedite the transaction of business.

21. The council shall, through the treasury, communicate to me such propositions as it may deem expedient, concerning all matters connected with the execution of the foregoing provisions, and the salaries to be allowed; bearing in mind that they are to receive no emoluments for this service, which is to be performed ex officio.

22. The office of accountant, above referred to, shall be established in the palace called of the queen mother, in one of the offices of said council, and all accounts touching the municipal domains, pending and settled, shall immediately be referred to it, and the accountant shall forthwith proceed to their final settlement; their results shall be communicated to the council, whose advice shall be taken on the definitive settlement, and the available balances, if any, shall be applied to the purposes for which they are intended.

23. To this office shall be referred all communications made by the intendants, concerning the municipal domains and taxes of the kingdom, their value and charges, in order that, the same being communicated to the council, it may make the dotation prescribed by the third chapter of these instructions.

24. In like manner, reference shall be made as above, of all the accounts which shall be presented to the council for examination by the accountant, but the same shall not be finally passed until after having been communicated to the council, and its advice taken thereon.

25. All the certificates given by the accountants of army and province of the debits and credits of the accounts stated by them in the different towns, shall likewise be filed in said office, in order that it may acquaint the council with the condition of all and each of the municipal domains of the kingdom.

26. The accountant shall transmit, for despatch, to the first chamber of the council, all that shall relate to the municipal domains of the kingdom; and shall, agreeably to the decisions given therein, communicate the provisions adopted in that behalf, to the intendants, for their due observance, and shall give such orders as may be expedient for the same.

27. If, notwithstanding these instructions, it shall happen that measures of expediency require that any of the articles therein contained be amended or extended, with a view to a more complete fulfilment of my desire to see the municipal domains managed and administered with fairness and integrity, and the towns enjoying the

relief contemplated by them, the council shall, through my treasury, advise me thereof, and await my royal decision.

28. In order that I may be made acquainted with the results of these provisions, it is my pleasure that the council inform me, through the same channel of the treasury, once in each year, of the condition of the municipal domains and taxes of the kingdom, their value, charges, and the extinguishments of incumbrances, the taxes which have been discontinued in consequence of the expiration of the grants, which there may have been no reason for renewing.

* 29. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, having [ *91 ] understood that some of the municipal taxes have been specifically appropriated for the pay of the ordinary service, utensils and other contributions, and to refund to the royal treasury various sums paid in different parts, for quarters and other necessities of the towns, as likewise for the payment of the contribution of one-tenth it is my pleasure that all kinds of taxes be administered by the intendants, under the control of the superintendent general of the royal treasury; and that the council do not meddle therewith until it shall have been informed by said superintendent that said sums have been refunded to the royal treasury.

Lib. VII., Tit. 16, Law 14.-(Vol. 3, p. 395.)

Regulations allowing such towns as possess neither municipal domains nor taxes to make the requisite propositions.

Whereas one of the principal objects of the attention of the council is the administration of the municipal domains and taxes of the towns, and to see that these be provided with a sufficient amount thereof to meet their charges agreeably to the provisions of the royal decree and instructions of the 30th July, 1760, (see the preceding law,) the intendants, in all those towns which, at the time of making out the statement of their municipal domains, shall make it appear that the proceeds thereof are inadequate to meet their legal expenditures and charges, shall notify the justices of the city, town, or village, where such may be the case, to propose such taxes as may be deemed most expedient and less burdensome to the town, to be applied to the ends above referred to, without specific destination, but that of meeting its general engagements, taking into consideration the funds available for any object whatever; this done, the intendants shall make report thereof, and shall make out a separate statement to accompany the above proposition, which shall express individually, and in detail, the proceeds, charges and condition of the commons; and if such proposition be for the privilege of clearing and cultivating the land, the wants of the town shall be expressed, and it shall be shown that there are no other means of supplying them. The rate of taxes chargeable to each fanega of land to be cleared, and the annual proceeds of each, whether distributed among the inhabitants, leased, or adjudged to the highest bidder, whether the authorization so granted to clear the land shall be prejudicial to the

herdsmen of the town, and to the persons enjoying the right of commons, for want of pasture, these persons being consulted thereon, as also the attorney and recorder general, and all other persons who shall be interested, and the travelling herdsman frequenting the commons, pastures, and watering places; and if said proposition be for the privilege of enjoying the right of pasture, the intendants shall in like manner proceed to summon all persons interested, to ascertain whether such right may be prejudicial to the flocks belonging to the mesta, from the causes before referred to; they shall state the extent of ground to be enclosed, together with the limits thereof, in order that the same may not be exceeded in case of differences concerning them; the amount of proceeds which, on a fair computation, may be anticipated for each year; whether any town owns pasture grounds within the tract proposed to be enclosed, and how many there are. If such proposition be for permission to make plantations of grape vine, the intendants shall state whether they abound in the country, what is the extent of the tract of land, and whether it [92] is calculated for grain, pasture, * or timber and lastly, if it be for the cutting of timber, brushwood, or weeds, the condition of the timber shall previously be ascertained by some practical and intelligent person, who shall state in his report whether there has before been such a cutting of timber, brushwood or weeds, and how many years since, by what authority or permission, what profits it has yielded, and those which are anticipated on fair presumption from the cutting now asked; and, also, whether a refusal to grant the permission asked can prove injurious to the increase of the timber and to the preservation of the pasture; they shall further state in how many years the cutting of said timber, brushwood, or weeds, may be beneficial, adding to all this information their own opinion with clearness and distinctness, in order that the council may, upon a view of the whole subject, determine what shall be most expedient. Lib. VII., Tit. 16, Law 17.-(Vol. 3, p. 398.)

Particular jurisdiction of the council in matters of municipal domains and taxes, whether of mere government or of litigation.

of

The intendant of Palencia having communicated to me the provisions enacted by the criminal chamber of Valladolid, to arrest the proceedings in the case of a prosecution commenced by the superior alcalde of the city of Aguilar de Campoo, against the purveyor meat of said place, in certain maters connected with the municipal domains, it is declared, that the cognizance of such proceedings does not belong to the chancery of Valladolid, nor to its criminal chamber, because all the chanceries and audiences are disqualified from taking such cognizance, as well in matters of government as of litigation, respecting affairs of municipal domains and taxes, whose inspection is reserved, in the first instance, to the intendants, under the control of the council, even after the royal order of 13th November, 1766, (Law 26, Title 2,) which separates the offices of

corregidors from those of intendants; and that, in this case, the intendant could not, therefore, take cognizance by way of appeal, which was the means by which the said purveyor was brought before him, because it has been adjudged, and constantly practised, that original jurisdiction having been granted in those matters to the corregidors and superior and ordinary alcaldes, appeals can only be brought before the council to the exclusion of all other tribunals, agreeably to the royal decree of the 12th of May, 1762, (Law 15.) This decision shall be communicated to the chancery, with notice not to presume, for the future, to take cognizance in such matters either by way of original resort, or appeals; and to the intendant, not to admit therein any appeals from the ordinary justices, their cognizance being particularly reserved to the council.

Lib. VII., Tit. 21.

BOUNDARIES OF THE TOWNS; VISITS; RESTITUTION OF PROPERTY OCCUPIED BY STRANGERS.

Law 1.-(Vol. 3, p. 477.)

Defence of dispossessing the towns of their lands and tenements without a hearing and judicial decision.

We ordain that the councils, cities, towns, and villages, who may possess, either by purchase or prescription, any lands, forts, or tenements, shall not be dispossessed thereof without being [ *93 previously notified and heard, and the right of the parties decided, whether by right or privilege; and if they shall have been so dispossessed, the same shall be restored to them without the delays of trial and judgment.

Law 2.—(Ibid.)

Restitution of the lands and hereditaments belonging to the councils; and prohibition of working or selling them, and of ploughing the reservations [exidos.]

We ordain that all the reservations, timber lands, lands, and hereditaments belonging to the councils of our cities, towns, and villages, within our kingdoms and seigneuries, which have been taken and occupied by any persons, on their own authority, or by virtue of any letters of ours, be forthwith restituted and restored to the said councils to which they belong; but we forbid such councils to work the same, or to sell or alien them, unless it be for the common advantage of said cities, towns, or villages, to which they belong; and if any person shall have ploughed or settled any part of the said hereditaments, the improvements shall forthwith be destroyed; and we command the same with respect to the reservations owned and possessed by the said towns, and that they be not ploughed for the cultivation of grain: and if any person has our authorization for doing so, they shall send the same to us, in order

that, upon a view of it, we may adopt such measures as we may think expedient.

Lib. VII., Tit. 21, Law 3.-(Vol. 3, p. 478.)

Obligation of the towns and of the regidors to prosecute the suits instituted for the recovery of their hereditaments and revenues.

Whereas some gentlemen, and persons in power, are in the practice of seizing the revenues, lands, and jurisdictions of the cities and towns, and do other damage to the prejudice of the public good; and whereas the regidors and other lawyers within the same, show favour to those persons, in the corporations of said towns, by placing obstacles to the course of justice against them; we, therefore, command, that said regidors, and said lawyers who may be regidors, show no favour to such gentlemen and persons in power, nor to any other persons, either publicly or secretly, in the suits which may be instituted against them, nor prevent their being prosecuted; and that all be animated by one desire of guarding, protecting, and aiding the course of justice in favour of the domains, revenues, lands, jurisdictions, and privileges, to which the towns are entitled over the same, under penalty of thereby losing their offices, and of being excluded from the corporation [ayuntamientos]; and with a view to the punishment of such as shall offend against this provision, and to afford an example to others, we command the judiciary officers of the places where such things may happen, to proceed to carry such penalty into execution; and the same penalty shall be incurred by the corregidors, alcaldes, bailiffs, and justices, [merinos] and by all other persons whatsoever, holding a seat in the council, who shall show any favour, to the prejudice of such city, town, or village, to any person, prelate, order, or monastery, in violation of the foregoing.

[ *94 ]* Lib. VII., Tit. 21, Law 4.—(Vol. 3, p. 478.)

Restitution by the officers of the council of what shall have been taken of their lands and revenues.

All superior alcaldes, or regidors, members, jurors, or clerks of the council, or all other officers whatsoever, in any city or town of our kingdoms and seigneuries, who may have taken or occupied any revenues of the domains, or any rights or lands, meadows, pastures, timber lands, commons, waters, salt works, and jurisdictions whatsoever, or any other things belonging to the same, whether commons or waste lands, or any municipal domains belonging to said cities, towns, and villages of our king doms and seigneuries, shall restore them free and unencumbered to the corporation or council of said city, town, or village, through the clerk of said council: and thenceforth they shall not again