When the king had spoken to the provincial of the Dominicans condemning the sermons of Father Antonio, the provincial wrote to the head of the order in _Hispaniola_, upon which Pedro de Cordova came over to Spain and presented himself at court. When he had read the laws of Burgos and had expressed his dissatisfaction with them, King Ferdinand said to him, “Take upon yourself, then, Father, the charge of remedying them; you will do me a great service therein; and I will order that what you decide upon shall be adopted.” With inexplicable diffidence the vicar replied, “I beseech your highness, do not command me.” And he thus lost the golden opportunity of effecting the reforms to bring about which he had come all the way from _Hispaniola_. On receiving this culpable and deplorable reply, King Ferdinand summoned another _junta_ to see if the laws could be ameliorated. Pedro de Cordova assisted, but did not succeed in doing much, although what little was done was in accordance with his views. The additions to the laws were mainly with a view to the cultivation of decorum and of family ties amongst the Indians. Las Casas was a settler in the island of _Cuba_, and had assigned to him a number of Indians in _repartimiento_. He himself states that he was as much engaged as others in sending his Indians to the mines and in making a profit out of their labour; but at the same time he treated them with kindness and provided for their sustenance. He confesses, however, that he paid no more regard than did other Spaniards to their religious instruction. Reflection on the preaching of the Dominicans against the sin of possessing Indians led his candid mind to the conclusion that the system of _repartimientos_ was iniquitous, and that he too must preach against it. The first practical point to be determined as a result of the light which now guided him was what he ought to do with his Indians. He evidently ought no longer to retain them; nor did he grudge the loss that he should thereby sustain; but he felt that no one would be so indulgent to them as the master they were about to lose, and that they would be worked to death. Still it would be vain for him to preach against _repartimientos_ whilst he retained Indians of his own. Las Casas commenced his preaching against Indian slavery in _Cuba_; but he soon resolved to proceed to Spain, in order to attack the evil at its fountain-head. It was certainly time that some independent representation should be made to the Spanish government as to the condition of the Indians of _Cuba_, which was so miserable that they were forced to seek refuge in flight; and when even this refuge was denied them--for they were pursued by blood-hounds--they had recourse to suicide. On his arrival in _Hispaniola_, Las Casas found that Pedro de Cordova, the chief of the Dominicans, had set out on a voyage for the purpose of founding monasteries on the Pearl Coast.