The system of the Jesuits in _Maranham_ and _Pará_ differed considerably from that of their brethren in _Paraguay_. In the latter country they are the proprietors of the missions, and were enabled to make their own laws within their territory. In the _Chiquito_ and _Moxo_ missions, though they had not adopted the principle of community of goods, they were equally unrestrained. But in _Maranham_ they were obliged to base their institutions on the principle of rendering their Indians serviceable to the Portuguese settlers. Registers were kept at _S. Luiz_ and at _Pará_ containing the names of all Indians in their villages, from the age of thirteen to fifty, who were capable of service. These registers had to be attested upon oath by the missionaries every second year; and according to them the governor allotted the Indians for terms of six months, issuing written orders to the missionary to deliver them. It was optional for the Indians to serve during the remaining six months, and many preferred to do so. In consequence of the divided allegiance which the Indians in these missions owed to the Jesuits and to the civil authority, respectively, they did not regard the former with the same absolute devotion which the Jesuits received from the Indians in _Paraguay_. Whereas the _Guaranís_ were ever ready to devote their lives in defence of their teachers, the Indians of _Brazil_ would forsake their masters upon the first alarm or on the slightest displeasure. As the kings of Portugal did not allow an annual salary to the Jesuits, such as they received from Spain, the Fathers in _Maranham_, since the colleges were too poor to support them, were permitted to employ five-and-twenty Indians for the same time and at the same rate of wages as any other Portuguese. They profited by their labour in collecting cacao and other indigenous produce, which was exported in a large canoe, one of which belonged to each of the twenty-eight _Aldeas_. By the laws of Pedro II. of Portugal, no Portuguese were permitted to dwell in the _Aldeas_, in order to avert the evil influence of the bad example which they were sure to set. But the Portuguese received free permission to visit the settlements for the purpose of hiring Indians, and they were hospitably and gratuitously entertained by the missionaries. These Fathers did much to introduce civilization amongst their charges; a task in which they persevered in the face of much calumny. It was found more practicable for themselves to learn the _Tupi_ language than to instruct the natives in Portuguese. As _Tupi_ was likewise used by traders, it so completely gained the ascendancy throughout _Pará_ that it was used exclusively in the pulpits.