The last change in the system was the appropriation of the Levitical tithe by the priests, which apparently was effected by John Hyrcanus, though a tradition, glaringly inconsistent with Nehemiah, ascribes it to Ezra, alleging that he deprived the Levites because so few of them were willing to return to Palestine (Mishnah, "Ma'aser Sh."
But notwithstanding this slaves; he said to Jefferson that it was " among mildness of the code, its provisions were habitually and glaringly violated in the colonies of Spain, and in Cuba particularly the conditions of slavery were very bad.
