twelve intendencies, exclusively of the Californias, and that, hereafter, the territory or limits of each intendency, to bear the name of its capital city, shall be considered as one province alone. In this capital the intendant shall reside, and what at present are termed provinces shall be called partidas, [districts,] and bear the names of the former. One of these intendencies shall be the general intendency of army and province and shall be established in the capital of Mexico. The eleven others shall be of province alone; and of which one shall be established at the city of Puebla de los Angeles, another at the town and station of New Vera Cruz; one at the city of Merida de Yucatan; at the city Antequera de Oaxaca; at the city of Valladolid de Mechoacan; at the city of Santa Fe de Guanaxuato; at the city of San Louis Potosi; at the city of Guadalaxara; at the city of Zacatecas; and one at the city of Durango; [*55] the other shall be that already established at the city of Arispe, and extends to the two provinces of Sonora and Sinola. Each of the above intendencies shall comprehend the jurisdictions, territories, and districts allotted to them, respectively, at the end of these regulations, which shall be delivered to the new intendants whom I may appoint, with their corresponding commissions, (to be issued for the present by the office of state and of the general despatch of the Indies.) I reserve to myself to appoint, forever, and during my pleasure, to these offices, persons distinguished for their zeal, integrity, and intelligence, and deportment, who will relieve me of my cares, by my committing to them the immediate government and protection of my people.

ART. 2. The viceroy of New Spain shall continue, with the full extent of the superior authority, and various powers conferred on him, by my royal commission and instruction, and by the laws of the Indies, as the governor and captain general over that district. To these high offices is added that of president of the audiencia and chancery of the metropolis of Mexico. But the superintendence and regulation of my royal treasury, in all its branches and revenue, is committed to the care, direction, and management of the intendency general of the army and treasury, to be established in the said capital; and the other intendencies of province, which I order by these regulations to be created, shall be subordinate to it.

ART. 6. Of the Junta Superior.-This junta shall meet once or twice every week, on the days and at the hours which the superintendent shall appoint, according to his own important occupations, and those of the other vocals, [members] but, if any urgent occasion happen, he shall have power to convene extraordinary juntas. But all these shall be governed by the present regulations, and the orders which I shall furnish in future, for rendering uniform as far as possible, in the provinces of the said empire, the government of and administration of justice in matters relating to my royal treasury and to war.

This superior junta shall not only have exclusive jurisdiction of these two branches or objects, but of the public property, and

revenue, and community, goods of the towns; for the management and judicial superintendence of which, I confer on this junta what jurisdiction and powers may be necessary to the absolute exclusion of all my tribunals, and it shall be subordinate to my royal person alone, through the office of the universal despatch of the Indies. The cases which arise under the ordinary royal jurisdiction, and those of police and government, in appeal from the intendants, their sub-delegates, and other common judges, shall remain subject to the audiencia of the district in which they may occur, as they are by

the laws of the Indies.

ART. 7. The political governments of Puebla de los Angeles, of Nueva Nizcaya, Sonora, and Sinaloa, the offices of corregidor, for Mexico and Antequera de Oaxaca, that of Vera Cruz to be created, and the offices of superior alcalde or corregidor for Valladolid, Guanaxuato, San Louis Potosi, and Zacatecas, shall be respectively united with the intendencies which I establish in said capitals and their provinces, and the emoluments at present enjoyed by them who hold the said offices shall cease, and the president regent of the audiencia of Guadalazara shall for the present, govern that intendency. And I command that the intendants have in charge the four branches or subjects of justice, police, treasury, and war, giving them, for this purpose, as I do, all the necessary jurisdiction and powers. These intendencies shall be [56] subordinate and dependent, in regard to the two first branches; those of Arispe and Durango, on commandant general of their provinces, the other ten on the viceroy, and all of them shall be subordinate to the territorial audiencias, according to the distinction of commands, the nature of the cases, and objects of their cognizance, and conformably with the collected laws of the Indies, as will be explained in the body of this ordinance; for it is my royal intention, that the jurisdictions established therein shall not all concur in one person, by confounding or changing, or by implication. These regulations are principally intended to prevent the frequent difficulties and questions of jurisdiction that would arise between governors, corregidors, or superior alcaldes, if these ancient offices should remain distinct, in the capitals and provinces where the new ones are now established.

ART. 81. The intendands shall also be the exclusive judges of the causes and questions that may arise in the district of their provinces, about the sale, composition, and grant of royal lands, and of seigniory, it being required of their possessors and of those who pretend to new grants of them, to produce their rights and institute their claims before the same intendants, so that these matters being legally prepared in conjunction with a promoter of my royal treasury, whom they may appoint, may be decided upon, the opinion of their ordinary assessor being heard, and they may admit appeals to the superior junta de hacienda; or, if the parties interested do not appeal, they shall communicate to it the original proceedings for its information when they shall judge these proceedings ready for the

issuing of the warrant. Being seen by the junta, they shall be returned, and the warrant issued, unless some difficulty occur; and then, before executing it, the measures found to be neglected by the junta shall be observed. The proper confirmations shall, in consequence, be furnished by the same superior junta, in due time, which shall proceed in the case, as also the intendants, their sub-delegates, and others, in conformity with the royal regulation of the 15th of October, 1754, as far as it may not be opposed to the requirements of the latter, without losing sight of the wise dispositions of the laws cited therein, and of the 9th, title 12, lib. 4.

No. 6.
[TRANSLATION.]

EXTRACT FROM THE ROYAL ORDINANCE FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT AND INSTRUCTION OF THE INTENDANTS OF ARMY AND PROVINCE IN THE KINGDOM OF NEW SPAIN.

Section 61, page 70.

It shall be an object worthy of the special attention of the intendants, not only to encourage and extend, through the lands situated within their respective districts, which may be calculated for such culture, the valuable produce of grana fina, or cochineal, which in former times, was much cultivated in many provinces of this empire, but is now confined to that of Oaxaca; by efficiently assisting such Indians as shall apply themselves to that most useful branch [*57] of agriculture, in order to enable them freely to dispose of * it within the said kingdom, (New Spain,) or, if they choose, to send it to Spain on their own account, as they are allowed to do by Law 21, Title 18, Lib. 4; but also to take care that the said natives, and other classes of the people, should devote themselves, in preference, to the sowing, raising and preparing of hemp and flax, conformably to Law 20 of the same title and book. And if, in order to attain so important objects, the intendants should find it necessary to make a distribution of the king's lands or of private domains, I grant them power to do so, giving notice thereof, together with their motives, to the supreme board of the treasury but this is to be understoood, as respects the property of private individuals, as applying only to such as, either from negligence or inability of the owners, shall remain unimproved, and the aforesaid board shall make compensation for the same out of the public treasury; and as respects the royal lands, without prejudice to such commons, as, by the provisions of the Law No. 8, ought to belong to each town or corporation; and the lands of the second class shall be distributed by the said intendants in lots proportioned to the number of Indians married, who shall not own any, either in

their names, or in the names of their wives, with defence to alien the same, in order that their heirs, of both sexes, may succeed to the said lands. For, my royal pleasure is, that all said natives may own a competent amount of real property, and that the lands which shall be distributed for the aforesaid objects, whether purchased with public funds, or commons, or king's domains, may belong to those individuals to whom they shall have been allotted, whether they be Indians or belong to other classes, together with the necessary right of property; retaining always the right reserved to my royal crown and to the public domains, respectively and our intendants shall see that they are, by all, improved for their own benefit, by making them understand the advantages which are to accrue to their interests from this beneficent provision of mine. And, where any shall not apply themselves to improve in a proper manner the lands which shall have been allotted to them, the same shall be taken from them (which I command to be done without mercy) and granted to others who shall fulfil the conditions.

Section 81, page 93.

The intendants shall also be the particular judges in transactions and 'suits originating within the district of their provinces, over sales, contracts, and distributions of lands in possession of, or held from, the king: the persons in possession, or those applying for new grants of the same, shall establish their titles and lay their petitions before the aforesaid intendants, who, after a legal investigation, conducted by an attorney of our royal treasury, whom they shall appoint for that purpose, shall decide the same according to law, by the advice of his ordinary assistants, [asesores,] and shall grant appeals to the supreme board of treasury. And, in case the parties interested shall fail to appeal, he shall transmit the case, together with the original records, whenever he shall deem them sufficient to determine the title, to the said board, who, after examining the same, shall, if no cause to the contrary be shown, return the said records, for the purpose of deciding the title, or, in order that such formalities as shall have been found wanting may be fulfilled; by which means new confirmation may, without let or impediment, be adduced, upon which the said supreme board shall decide in due *time-they, as well as the intendants, their deputies, and [ *58 ] others, proceeding according to the provisions of the royal instruction of the 15th October, 1754, so far as the same be not repugnant to the present law, and without losing sight of the beneficent dispositions contained in the laws therein cited, and in law No. 9, Title 12, Book 4.

Section 305, page 407.

In the same manner that the magistrates in the Indies are liable to be called to account [residencia] on leaving their employs, it is

my will and pleasure that the intendants of said kingdom be likewise so liable, with respect to officers of justice, police, and government, which I commit to them as corregidores; and this is to be understood as applying in like manner to their substitutes, deputies, and other subalterns. The inquiries to that effect shall be instituted by my council of the Indies, who shall proceed according to the provisions of laws No. 69, Title 15, Book 2, and No. 8, Title 12, Book 5; and the records, duly completed, with the sentences, shall be transmitted to said tribunal, who, after due consideration, will do justice in the case.

No. 7.

EXTRACTS FROM THE INSTITUTES OF THE CIVIL LAW OF SPAIN, BY DOCTORS D. IGNATIUS JORDON DE ASSO Y DEL RIO, AND D. MIGUEL DE MANUEL Y RODRIGUEZ.

Historical Introduction.

This legal and historical information, which we have brought down to this period, upon the four states or conditions of our jurisprudence, we believe will suffice to form some idea of what Spanish legislation is; conceiving our kings, by means of such solid groundworks, have been, at all times, very solicitous and careful of the right administration of justice, without there being observable the least neglect or inattention to this object, so interesting to a monarchy, happy from those early years, which, having sprung up amongst wars, confusion, and turbulence, hath nourished itself and grown with them until it hath attained to rendering itself robust and vigorous in the pacific days of our always unconquerable catholic monarch Charles the Third (whom God prosper.) Happy days, in which we hope, through Divine favour, and the affectionate love of so beneficent a sovereign towards his people, to see Spanish jurisprudence acquiring all the fulness of its lustre, by which, in a short time, the dark cloud of ignorance and confusion must be dispersed, that, with so much self-injury, conceals it from our sight and knowledge. Let us see, therefore, upon what certain principles justice is found established among us, and the lawful consequences which ought to be deduced from them, according to our laws, in order that, being prepared with these means, we may proceed to the study of the elements of our law.

[ *59] * The only object of law is justice, which is "Rooted virtue, Traigada virtud,] which always lasts in the wills of just men, and gives and distributes to every one equally his due or right." L. 1, Tit. 1, P. 3. All law is divided into written and unwritten. Of written law we only know one kind, which is law: "that is, the reading [leyenda] in which there exists [yace] written instruction and chastisement; which binds and restrains the life of man, that