In 1547 the comisario general states that there were only twelve Franciscans in Guatemala, and requests that young members of the order, capable of acquiring the native language, be sent out.[XX‑32] He also impresses upon the emperor the necessity of assigning separate fields of labor to the two orders, and it is to be noted that the Franciscans were inimical to the Mercenarios, who are described as being detrimental rather than beneficial to the cause of the church.[XX‑33] [Sidenote: MEASURES CONCERNING NATIVES.] The disagreement between the two highest regular orders was not based entirely upon a struggle for supremacy. Each had its distinct views with regard to the method of implanting Christianity in America. The Dominicans, led by their unyielding chief Las Casas, would not recognize wholesale baptism as practised by the Franciscans, and they would not admit that the interests of the conquerors were compatible with the welfare of the conquered races. The Franciscans, with Motolinia as their leader, imagined that a system of ecclesiastical and civil policy could be adopted which would conduce to the interests of both the dominant and conquered races. This order did not object to the sword being called into operation; the Dominicans denied it as a means of advancing the gospel. The Dominicans were uncompromisingly opposed to slavery; the rival order not so, and I am inclined to think that the Franciscans honestly believed that under the pressure of the encomenderos and the impossibility of rapid manumission, more benefit could be obtained for the natives by a tolerant system of servitude, supervised by the religious orders, than by a sudden change. It is unnecessary to relate the bitter denunciations that each leader uttered against the other. While it is to be regretted that Motolinia in his fierce attack on Las Casas appears to have been guided by a spirit not altogether free from jealousy,[XX‑34] it cannot be disputed that the indiscreet zeal of Las Casas gave dissatisfaction to eminent men even in his own order.[XX‑35]