Despite the fact that Solana obviously bore a strong personal grudge against the governor, the king and the Council of the Indies accepted the curate’s report. Acting to check the “general tyranny” described by Solana, the king issued a cedula on February 23, 1761, providing for a town council in Saint Augustine. This, it was hoped, would check the tendency toward arbitrary, one-man rule in Florida and divide the governor’s administrative responsibility. Ultimately, however, this move failed. First, the interim governor Alonso de Cardenas declared there were no qualified persons available to sit on the cabildo. Then, in 1763 Florida became a British province before the royal cedula establishing the town council could be put into effect. (Tepaske GSF)