Note 7 — Official Visitation by Valdivia

It seems that with this the tragedies were ended, all [the culprits] absolved, and the earth blessed; but his illustrious Lordship and the friars, recalling to mind the former preposterous attempt to change all the [members of the] cabildo and arrange it according to their own humor and taste, and seeing themselves masters of the field, without any one remaining who could resist them, undertook to put that scheme into execution, bringing against all the prebends such suits as they pleased. Commencing with the dean, after a long imprisonment they passed sentence on him that he should be deprived of his dignity and should go to España; and, being meanwhile suspended from office, he should remain in Manila. Then they put in his place, and made dean, the provisor Juan Gonzalez—a person of the qualifications that we all know. Soon they attacked in the rear the good old archdeacon, Doctor Francisco Deza, and brought against him a very infamous complaint, entirely unworthy of his exemplary life and gray hairs, in order to deprive him of his prebend. God chose, rather, to take him to himself; but on the day when he died they seized all his goods, and placed in the prebend the cura of Quiapo, Caraballo—a Visayan by birth, and a notorious7 mestizo. By way of courtesy, they passed then to the schoolmaster, Don Francisco Gutierrez; and, not finding any worse fault than the report that he had spoken ill of his prelate, it was enough for their purpose. After a long imprisonment, his sentence was pronounced—the loss of his prebend, and perpetual seclusion in a religious order, which he might choose; accordingly, he entered the convent of San Agustin. Thus they had a position into which to thrust a student from Santo Tomas, named Altamirano—of whom, when I say that he is a nephew of Cervantes, there is nothing more to be added. Another prebend, a racionero, named Don Jose de Nava, they got into their clutches a little while ago—because it is known that he wrote to his Majesty the excellent qualifications of those whom his illustrious Lordship was placing in the cabildo, which are admirable and undoubted—and seized all his goods. They are keeping him in fetters, in a place where he does not even know whether it is day or night, without [allowing him to] communicate with a soul. That they might more effectually form the entire cabildo from their own faction, and to suit themselves, his illustrious Lordship posted edicts regarding the two canonries, the doctoral and the magistral, saying that his Majesty commands that these prebends shall be given by competition in this cathedral, as in the others. Those who competed for them were the Japanese Naito, the little Visayan Caraballo, the mulatto Rocha, and Altamirano; and although Doctor Don Jose de Atienza entered the competition, and gave his competitive discourse in public, and preached on short notice to the admiration of his hearers, no one in the city doubts that he will not succeed in obtaining anything, as he is not of their faction and was graduated by the Society. He felt so certain of this that he said so in his sermon. For they will strive to form the entire cabildo of their own men and from their following, so that, even if the archbishop dies, the Dominican fathers will not cease to rule, which is the object at which they aim. Thus far the canonries have not been conferred; it seems that they are waiting until the ship shall sail, so that they may send word [to España that the matter remains] in doubt; but no one has any doubt that two will surely enter upon these prebends, and that Atienza has no chance at all. That clique are proceeding, in regard to everything, in a reckless and very insolent manner, and without any caution, for there is no one who can resist them; and therefore they have rendered themselves formidable in this country, and the arbitrators of all matters. It is hoped that the storm will not be so severe now, with the entrance of the royal Audiencia upon the government—on account of the very unexpected and sudden death of the governor, Don Gabriel de Curuzelaegui, the abettor of all these doings. This occurred in the month of April last, and was caused by a retention of urine, which ended his life in three days. At that time, governor, archbishop, investigating judge, and Dominicans were preparing a farrago of documents to mislead the Council and to further their own reckless proceedings; they even notified the ex-governor, Don Juan de Vargas, that he must go into exile to Pangasinan, to which place he had banished the archbishop. He made an urgent plea for his absolution, in view of his Majesty’s decree which ordered the archbishop to absolve him, but the latter would not listen to it. On the day when they carried him into exile, he entered the house of the archbishop, and, ascending the stairs on his knees until he reached the prelate’s feet, Don Juan begged him, with tears in his eyes, to absolve him; but the archbishop, with a heart like a tiger’s, refused to hear him, and answered him only with harsh words. He told Don Juan that he must submit to the penance imposed, which required him to wear the sackcloth robe, the halter round his neck, the yellow breeches, etc., going through the churches, as he had been commanded to do; and that, if he did not consent to this, he must go to Lingayen without absolution. Thence he repaired to the royal Audiencia, who issued a royal decree to the archbishop that he must absolve Don Juan; but immediately the governor and archbishop joined hands to avert this pressure, and drew up an iniquitous accusation against the auditors, containing many falsehoods and charges. Among other things, they brought forward evidence that the auditors had illicit relations with Doña Isabel, the wife of Don Juan de Vargas, and this by several witnesses. It may be imagined what sort of a country this is, and how much credit is due to the accusations that are made here—and to the witnesses in Manila, who swear to anything that suits a governor. This done, the archbishop replied to the royal decree by challenging the auditors, for the causes which he proved against them. This answer was made a very short time before the governor’s death; it was sent to him sealed, and afterward was found with the above accusation—which as some declared, was for the purpose of ruining this Audiencia as he had destroyed the other.