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Show H I S T 0 R Y 0 F M E X I C 0. BOOK vlf. Some tributary people were obliged ·to fend to the royal palaces and .. woods a certain numb~r of birds and quadrupeds, namely, the ] eoplc of X£/otepec, Micbma!a)an, and other places i~ the countt·y of the O ~omies, which lafi were dbliged to fend the kmg. every year fi rty ltvc dlglc . Conce rning t'he Matlatzincas we kno~ that wl.1cn the~ were brought under fu j t.:Ction to the crown of ~extco by kmg ~XflJ.acatl, oefidcs the tribute which they arc repreientcd to have patd, 111 the twenty-fcventh p<linting of the collection of Mendoza, the further hurthcJL was impof< don them of cultivating a field about fe.ver.l hun dtTd perches long and half ns broad, for the purpofe of furn1~1mg the royal army with provifions. To conclude, a part of every thrng ~fe fu1, which was found in the kingdom, either amongfl: the produchons of nature or art, was paid in tribute to the king of Mexico. The[c large contributions, the great prefents 'which the governors of provinces, and the feudatory lords made: to the king, together with the fpoils of war, formed the great riches of his court which excitcJ [o much admiration in the Spanin1 conquerors, and occafioned fo much mifcry to his unfortunate Cubjetl:s. The tributes which were at fi rfl: moderate and eafy, 'became at }aft exceffive and enormous; for the pride and pomp of the kings kept pace with their conquefis. It is true, that a gre<lt part, and perhaps the greatefl:: part of thefe rev ·nu es was expended for the benefit of the fame fubjeCl:s in ·the fupport of a great number of minifl:crs and magifirates for the adminifhation of j ufHce, in the reward of thofe who had done fcrvices to the fbtc, in the relief of the indigent, panicularly widows and orphans, and men grown ft.:eblc with age, which were the three clafles of people mofl: companionated by the Mexicans, and alfo by opening the roy:1l granaries in times o( great fcarc.ity to the nation ; but how many of thofe unhappy people who were unabl .... to pay the tributes demanded from them mufl: have funk under the weight of their mifcry, while the royal beneficence did not reach them ? T~ oppre0tve, ta~es were added the grcatefl: rigour in colleB:ing them. Whoever d!d 'l11ot pay the tribute prefcribed was fold for a !lave, in order to purchafc ith his lib.erty what he could not gain by his indufb·y. For the admioifiration of jufiice, the Mexicans had vario\ls tribunals and judges. At court, and in the more confiderr~ble places 'of. the ' kmg· H I S T 0 R Y 0 F M E X I C 0. kirJgdom, there was a fupremc magilhate named Cihuacoatl, whofc au .. thority was fo great that from the fentcnces pronounced by h im., ei ther in civil or criminal callfcs, no appeal could be made to auy other tribunal, not even to mnj elly. He had the appointment of the inferior judges, and the receivers of the royal revenncs within his difiriCl:, rendered in their accounts to him. Any one who either made ufe of his cnfigns, or ufurped his authority, was puniihed with death. The tribun:ll of the 'I'facatrcatl, though inferior to the firfi, was ex~ tremely refpeCtable, and compofcd of three judges, namely of the '!'lt~ catecatl, who was the chief~ and from whom the tribunal took its name, and of two others who were called ff<.!fauhnochtli and '!'lanotftlc. They took cogl'lizance of civil and criminal caufes in the firfi and fecond in{b .nce, although fcntcnce was pronounced in the name only of the Tlacatecatl. They met daily in a hall of the houfe of the public, which was calJed '!'!tztzontecqjan, that is, the place where judgment is given, to which belonged porters and other oflicers of jullice. There they liil:ened with the utmofl: attention to litigations, diligently examined into c:mfes, and pron.ounced fen.tence according to the laws. If a caufe was purely civil, there was no appeal from that court i but if the caufe was of a criminal nature, an appeal lay to the Cihuatcoatl. . The fentence was publi{hed by the 'I'epojot!, or public cryer, and was executed by the ~aunochtli, who, as we have already mentioned, was one of the three judges. The public cryer, as w .... Jl as the execu ti vc minifier of juftice, was held in high efl:eem amongfl: the Mexicans, becaufe they were collfidcred to be the reprefentatives of the king. In every difi"'riCl: of the city refided a 'I'euClli, who was deputy of the tribunal .of Tl.u.:at.ccatl , and was elected annually by the commons of that d.ifiricr. He took cognizance, in the firfi infiance, of the caufcs within his difl:riCl:, and daily waitcJ upon the Cihuacoatl, m the Tlacatecatl, to report to him every thing which occurred, and to receive his orde rs. Befides thefc TeuCl:li, there were in every difl:ritl: certain commiit1r.ies, eleCted .in the fame manner by the commons of the di!h id , and named Cmti/Cllapi:.:que ; but th ey, from what appears to us, were not judges, but only guardians, charged to obt{;rve the conduct of a .certlin number of families committed to their care; and to ·acquaint the mngiftrates with every thing that pafi~d. Next to the Teutl:li were Vo1 .. I. Z z the 353 BOOK VJI. '--v--' |