Matienzo affirms the justice of the Spanish conquest, and some of the grounds of his opinion are, that the Spaniards had received a concession from the pope; that they found America not occupied by any civilized power; that the Indians did not wish to receive the Catholic faith; and that by this act the Indians were relieved from the tyranny of the Incas. This point having been settled to the apparent satisfaction of the author, he passed to the consideration of the various classes of the Indians, classes indicated by the relation they are made to hold to the Spaniards, and by the tribute they are required to pay. In justification of the position of the encomenderos, who became the notorious oppressors of the Indians, it is asserted that when Indians were assigned to encomenderos the principal purpose was that “they might, with greater facility, be taught our holy Catholic faith” (Cap. XIV). After a detailed statement of the status of the Indians under the Laws of the Indies Matienzo devotes the second half of his volume to an extensive examination of the organization and operations of the government established by the Spaniards in Peru, thus giving to the whole treatise the character of a legal and historical exposition, of importance not merely for its analysis of the laws and customs prevailing in the Spanish colonies of South America in the sixteenth century, but also for its presentation of the views entertained by a judge of the audiencia, and, presumably, of other high secular officials. [Sidenote: Audiencias] The audiencia was not only a supreme court, but also a high administrative body. In the vacancy of the viceregal office the audiencia conducted the government in the interim. To increase the efficiency of the administration, audiencias were established in certain provincial capitals. In the fully developed colonial organization, there were, in South America, audiencias in Panama, Bogotá, Quito, Lima, Charcas, Caracas, Buenos Aires, and Santiago de Chile. Concerning the creation of the audiencia, of which he was a member, Matienzo wrote: [Sidenote: _Gobierno del Perú_ quoted]