of collecting the whole or most of the tributes from the pagan
Indians. Salazar says:] You state that the encomenderos will not
desire the encomiendas, since they will obtain from them so little
advantage, but will abandon their holdings; that the Indians will
become unmanageable, and it will be necessary to pacify them anew,
in order to have them instructed; and (which would be still worse)
when the encomenderos can not be supported it will be necessary to
abandon the country, and the faith will be ruined. This is certainly
a very great difficulty, and would be the greatest which could befall
us. But God, who has established here the faith, will not permit it
to be so easily destroyed. Accordingly I maintain, first, that what is
assigned to the encomenderos is not too small to support adequately any
one of them whatsoever--not with the opulence and abundance that they
desire, but as the extreme poverty and wretchedness of the Indians
allows, and as the little that they have accomplished and are doing
requires. For, if the encomienda be of good size, the encomendero
can support himself very comfortably with the third part of the
tribute, if it is expended in the same encomienda, where goods are
held at lower prices; and if the encomienda be small, he may, by way
of equity--although by the letter of the law he should take no more
than does he who owns a large one--be allowed to collect the half of
the tribute, since it would seem that he could not support himself
with less. If they must have more, the encomenderos are not of so
poor standing as not to have other relations and dealings by which
they can increase their property and help to meet their expenses,
in order that all the burden may not be laid upon the Indians; since
even what they collect from the latter according to law they are not
entitled to, until they pay the Indians what is due them.

[Salazar goes on to say that there is no danger that the encomiendas