When the devout and fearless protector of the Indians presented his memorable appeal to the Crown of Spain in behalf of the conquered races of the New World, he gave expression to the lofty purpose which animated the true missionaries of the Cross in their labors among the Indians of Spanish-America. With the courage born of pious zeal, he dared to say to the most powerful monarch in Europe words which must have jarred on the delicate sensibilities of a sovereign accustomed only to flattery; but which, nevertheless, could not be ignored. It is said that Charles V. was “stricken in conscience” as the venerable apostle of righteousness, who had devoted more than a quarter of a century to missionary labor in America, thus proceeded in his arraignment: “The highest Pontiff conceded the conquest of the Indies to the Catholic sovereigns under the solemn promise that with their accustomed zeal they would promote the conversion of those idolatrous people for the greatest glory of the faith and for the salvation of immortal souls. Such an important commission, confided to the Crown itself, cannot be delegated to private individuals. For this reason Queen Isabella was indignant when Columbus gave his followers a number of the natives to serve them, and she obliged those who had brought Indians to Spain to send them back to their own land. The Sovereign Pontiff granted permission to conquer the Indies for the benefit of the inhabitants, and in no case to increase the power and wealth of the monarchs of Castile. Moreover, by the enslaving of the Indians, all that has been gained is the ruin of a population that covered more than two thousand five hundred leagues of land. The object of the administration is not to preserve the territory, the walls, and the houses, but the people. With such an end in view, Queen Isabella declared in her will that all harm to the natives should be avoided, and all damages should be repaired; but the death of that august princess was the signal for the destruction of the Indies!” The spirit of consecration to a sacred task breathes in every syllable of the lengthy document, which concludes with the significant sentence: “The law of God prohibits the doing of evil that good may come of it.” It is said that the worthy priest exaggerated the amount of evil, which he depicted in frightful hues; yet the very excess of his vehemence is to be admired in a cause so just and noble.