Note 50 — Chapter VI · THE AUDIENCIA AND THE GOVERNOR: GENERAL RELATIONS
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Governors, captains-general, and viceroys were assisted by an asesor, or legal adviser, who gave his opinion in all matters of law that came up for solution. The necessity for this official developed through the fact that as most governors were soldiers, they were incapable of rendering judgment on legal and administrative questions. As counselor to the governor, this official bore the same relation to the executive as the fiscal did to the audiencia. The asesor was held responsible in the residencia for all decisions rendered by the governor in matters of justice, and in governmental affairs the governor and asesor were jointly responsible. Frequently the asesor was able to block completely the work of the audiencia and his opinion nullified the judgments of magistrates who were as learned in the law and as well qualified, if not better, than he. Martínez de Zúñiga (Estadismo, I, 224) discusses the influence of the asesor in the following terms: “Expedientes are sent to one of the two royal fiscales to ascertain their legality; afterwards they are sent to the asesor whom the governors must consult; the latter place (of asesor) is a very good one, ... besides 2000 pesos as salary it has its private revenues in addition to 500 pesos yearly from each of the royal monopolies (discussed in Chapter V of this volume). There are many persons in Manila who are exempted from ordinary justice through their military connections or on account of being employed in the royal monopolies, and as they depend on him, he exercises great power; ... there are few who desire him for an enemy, for when they least think of it they are in need of his favorable opinion in some expediente which they have brought before the government.” The laws of the Indies forbade that an oidor should act as the governor’s asesor if any other appointee with the requisite qualifications were available (Recopilación, 3–3–35, and note). See cédula (and accompanying expedientes) of September 26, 1756, A. I., 106–4–16.