Page:Mexico, Aztec, Spanish and Republican, Vol 1.djvu/165

Rh was expected, created extraordinary discontent. The cupidity of the sovereign and of his representative were appealed to. It was alleged that not only would the Spanish emigrants suffer for the want of laborers, but that the royal treasury would soon be emptied of the taxes and income which, thus far, had regularly flowed into it. But Don Luis was firm in his resolution, and declared that "the liberty of the Indians was of more importance than all the mines in the world, and that the revenues they yielded to the Spanish crown were not of such a character that all divine and human laws should be sacrificed, in order to obtain them."

In 1553, the attention of the viceroy was specially directed to the subject of education, for the population had so greatly increased in the few years of stable government, that unless the best means of instructing the growing generation were speedily adopted, it was probable that New Spain would lose many of the descendants of those families which it was the policy of the crown to establish permanently in America. The University of Mexico was therefore consecrated and opened in this year; and, in 1555, Paul IV., bestowed upon it the same privileges and rights as were enjoyed by that of Salamanca in Spain.

But this was a sad year for the city of Mexico, in other respects. The first inundation since the conquest, occurred in 1553, and for three days the capital was under water and the communication kept up in boats and canoes. Every effort was made by the viceroy to prevent the recurrence of the evil, by the erection of a dyke to dam up the waters of the lake; and it is related by contemporary historians, that he even wrought with his own hands at the gigantic work, during the first day, in order to show a good example to the citizens who were called on to contribute their personal labor for their future protection from such a disaster.

There were few outbreaks among the Indians during this viceroyalty, yet there were troublesome persons among the original tribes of the Chichimecas,—some bands of whom were not yet entirely subjected to the Spanish government,—who contrived to keep up a guerilla warfare, which interrupted the free circulation of the Spaniards through the plains and mountain passes of the Bajio. These were, in all probability, mere predatory attacks; but as it was impossible for the viceroy to spare sufficient numbers of faithful soldiers for the purpose of scouring the hiding places and fastnesses of these robber bands, he resolved to found a number of villages composed of natives and foreigners, and to place in them,