Note 95 — Chapter X · THE AUDIENCIA AND THE CHURCH: THE ROYAL PATRONAGE

Not only was the opposition of the Misericordia a source of dispute between that society and the audiencia, but the matter of financial inspection caused disputes between the audiencia and other officials and departments of the government. The reforms of 1787 made trouble between the superintendent and the audiencia. Since this was a financial matter, the former claimed the right of auditing these accounts, which the audiencia refused to concede for the reason that it had always had supervision over these funds (when the right was exercised by any secular authority). The question was definitely settled by the cédula of January 22, 1803, which ordered that “the money of temporalities, pious funds, and charitable societies should be put at the disposal of the acuerdo, and that if any matters relative to those branches were then pending before the superintendent, they should be remitted at once to the audiencia.”95 This was accordingly done by Governor (and Superintendent) Aguilar,96 and after that time the jurisdiction of the audiencia was no longer questioned.