We constantly, with the aid of God, make every provision to preserve from injury the subjects whom He, in His clemency, has placed under Our care. Therefore We enact laws that will enable them to have absolute justice, and hasten to re-establish whatever may have fallen into desuetude. Moreover, We have found certain administrations entrusted with suppressing what is not honorable, and punishing offences of inferior importance, and these duties are discharged by the Praetors of the People in this Most Fortunate Capital, whose great experience in affairs has acquired for them the approval of all the inhabitants of this Our Royal City. The benefits resulting from their administration have induced Us to consider it as worthy of the law and judicial office to investigate any other matters which are in need of correction. We have found that the provinces are being deprived of their inhabitants by degrees; and that, on the other hand, this great city is becoming much more populous on account of the arrival of vast crowds of different kinds of men, and above all of farmers, who abandon their towns and crops to come here.

  These matters have induced Us to enact the present law, and to create an office which is, to a certain extent, an innovation, for We do not hesitate to make an allowance from the Public Treasury for the benefit of the person who will occupy it; to assign to him a sufficient number of officials; and to render him responsible for his negligence. We give this official the name of Quaestor, the one by which he was originally designated (We mean in former times), when they called those who perform such duties Ereunades. We desire those appointed to this office to be animated by the fear of God, of Us, and of the law, to seek out all persons who resort to this great city, no matter in what province they reside, or whether they be men, women, clerks, monks, nuns, advocates of foreign cities, or to whatever other civil status they may belong; and that the said magistrates shall ascertain who they are, and from what place, and for what reason they come here. We also decree that if any of these persons are farmers, the Quaestor shall send them before the magistrates having jurisdiction over them, and the latter must threaten them, and promptly deliver them from the litigation on account of which they have visited this city, and send them back to their homes immediately after their cases have been properly disposed of.

  If cultivators of the soil, who are under the control of masters and are useful to them, should come to this Royal City, the Quaestor shall cause their masters to speedily decide the cases on account of which they have come here, and send them back as soon as they have obtained justice. Where, however, the said cultivators of the soil are here on account of some controversy with their own master and conduct their case against him, and there is a multitude of them, the Quaestor shall immediately send the greater number back to their province, and only allow two or three to remain, who, in conformity with the rule relating to litigants, shall conduct the proceedings; and he shall urge the magistrate having charge of the case to dispose of it as quickly as possible, in order that the time of their stay may not be prolonged, for their presence here is superfluous, and the cessation of their agricultural duties is injurious to their masters.

  But if it is not a multitude of farmers, but other persons, or even individual litigants, who have brought suit against one another, who are sojourning in this city, the Quaestor shall not remain idle, but shall use every effort to prevail upon judges to hasten to release these persons from their contentions, and when freed from their lawsuits, send them back to live in their own towns and provinces. If, however, when the magistrate has appointed judges to hear a case or the masters of the said farmers have been appointed judges by Us, in order that the said litigants may have their cases decided, and the judges or masters defer doing this, and do not speedily release them from the litigation in which they are involved, then the Quaestor himself, who has been appointed by Us, shall call the litigants, or those who demand something from their masters before him, and examine whether their claims are meritorious or not, and quickly dispose of the matters on account of which they have repaired to this great city, and send them back to their country, and to the places from whence they came; nor shall any question of privilege or contest of jurisdiction be available under such circumstances.

  But where any persons who are not involved in litigation have come to this city to obtain a livelihood, and improve their condition, or if, for the reason they have not sufficient property to enable them to accomplish what they desire, they should commit crime, the Quaestor shall examine their physical condition, and ascertain whether they are in good health and able to work; and if they are slaves, he shall learn to whom they belong, and shall, even if they are unwilling, cause them to be restored to their masters; but if they are free, he must return them to the cities or provinces in which they were born.

  In addition to this, when anyone brings a complaint of forgery, or what is called false writing, the Quaestor shall, under all circumstances, make an investigation; shall cause those who are accused of the crime to be arrested; and shall punish them in accordance with the evidence; for We authorize him to hear and determine such cases. But where anyone injured in this manner has, in conformity with the terms of the present law, applied to the Quaestor and not obtained justice, and he is, in consequence, compelled to accuse him to Us, or to the government, the Quaestor is hereby notified that he will personally be responsible for the property claimed by the injured party whom he neglected to treat with equity, and that he will, in addition, incur Our righteous indignation, because he had the presumption to disobey Our orders.

  Therefore, as soon as Your Highness is informed of what it has pleased Us to enact, you will hasten to carry it into effect, and will approve of Our foresight, because We have introduced a new office, and have constantly in view the welfare of Our subjects.