Page:Mexico (1829) Volumes 1 and 2.djvu/104

72 MEXICO. •the reign of Charles III. the decrees not included in the Re- copilacion, were more numerous than those which it did con- tain : many of these, again, were annulled by others of a later date ; so that, at last, not even the lawyers knew what decrees were in force, which had fallen into disuse, and which had been suspended, either in their application to par- ticular Provinces, or to the Colonies in general. The conse- quences of this confusion were such frequent discrepancies in the Royal orders, as to render it extremely difficult, even in the clearest cases, to prevent the defendant from sheltering himself under the sanction of some decree unfavourable to the injured party ; a circumstance which encouraged, not a little, that corrupt system of administering justice, which has so long disgraced the Mother country, and which it is almost impossible to correct, where there is no check from pubUcity, and where, in the multiplicity, and inconsistency, of the laws themselves, the judge is sure to find a plea for the most glaring injustice. The special privileges, or Fueros, enjoyed by the different professional and Corporate bodies, greatly increased this con- fusion. There were Fueros of the clergy, which embraced the dignitaries of the church, canons, inquisitors, and their dependents, and all members of colleges ; Fueros of all per- sons employed in public offices; Fueros del Consulado, or merchants Fueros ; special Fueros of the militia, the navy, the engineers, and artillery corps ; and Fueros of the army in general. Each of these Fueros exempted those who chose to plead it, from the jurisdiction of the ordinary authorities, and made them amenable, both in civil and criminal causes, to the tribunal of the chief of that corporation, or body, to which they belonged. In this clash of interests and jurisdictions, the native Ame- ricans were usually the sufferers, as it increased the difficulty of obtaining redress in any dispute with an European, who usually enjoyed a double, or triple fuero as a merchant, a