Note 7 — LETTER BY A SPANISH OFFICER

The former bishop of the province of Zebu in these islands, Don Fray Sebastian de Foronda, had done me the favor of lending to me six thousand pesos for the payment of a debt. That gentleman having died, the licentiates began to make arrangements for the collection of his expolios,7 in this usurping the governor’s jurisdiction; for it appears that this business belongs to the control of the superintendency of the royal treasury, which exercises [that control]. They issued an edict directing that I, making acknowledgment of the promissory note which they found, which I had made in favor of the said bishop, must immediately make the payment of this amount. I replied to this that the note was made by me, but that, as I had not the funds, it was not possible for me to pay the note then, but I would do so as soon as I could. At this, they issued another mandate in which their ill-will in regard to this affair (which, in general, has existed a long time) began to make itself fully visible—which contained these expressions: “We command you, every official with appointment as deputy of the alguazil-mayor of this court, that when you see this present you proceed immediately and without any delay to require General Don Manuel de Santistevan to deliver up the sum of six thousand pesos, which he is owing to the goods of the expolio of the very reverend master in Christ Don Fray Sebastian de Foronda, deceased, late bishop of Calidonia, and apostolic ruler of Zebu; and if he shall not pay the said sum, you shall proceed to levy on his person and goods up to the quantity necessary to make up the said six thousand pesos, the tenth,8 and the costs of collection, in the usual form. For this command is given by an edict issued by us, on the past fifteenth of September in this year.” Such are the expressions in the decree. When the friend who on other occasions, as I have informed your Grace, has directed me in all my lawsuits (whom, before replying, I consulted on this affair) comprehended the artful manner in which this mandate was worded—for while my office was stated therein as “general” (which, although I was one, I was not accustomed to style myself, as others do here), the document said nothing of my office of master-of-camp; and, as it was more important to misrepresent the former judicial point than to set aside the latter, it was a consequence that whenever such [word illegible in MS.] should come to be seen here, it would follow that the auditors could arrest me with this title, and without recourse to the governor, who is the one authorized to do so, when cause arises—this friend thought it best to attack them with a counter-mine. This was to reply to them (as was done) that the said decree or mandate could not concern me, because not only on account of my noble rank I could not be imprisoned for debts, but I was also excepted therefrom by being master-of-camp, so that in no case could this seizure of my person be made without the consent of the governor. It seems that they had, before his eyes, issued another decree, saying that this measure should be duly carried into execution—with the statement that it must be ascertained whether in the office of the court notary of that same Audiencia my title was registered, or there was evidence that I was such master-of-camp; and that in the latter case the governor should be notified before they proceeded to carry out the decree, in order that he might give the orders which would prevent perplexity among the soldiers whom I keep as my guard. The governor was sorry for these attacks on me, and partly on this account, and because he desired that such a precedent should not operate generally, and partly in order to avoid on that occasion the disturbance that might arise from his defending his own jurisdiction in the aforesaid matter of the expolios, which these subordinate officials were usurping from him, and seeing that I had not the means for paying this amount, he showed me the special favor of furnishing to me five thousand four hundred pesos—part in the salary which to that time was due me, and the rest in cash, which he ordered his steward to give me. With this, and six hundred pesos more which I obtained in other ways, the whole of that debt was paid into the royal treasury; from which it resulted that, as the auditors had not been able to secure the execution of this last decree, in so far as concerned my person, on account of this deposit or payment, which forestalled their attempt to compel me to have experience in the court of justice, when they heard of it those fine snobs [buenas alajas] of licentiates were left more than amazed; and the grievous vexation which they experienced through the fact that their malicious cunning and procedure had been frustrated was increased no little by their learning that the greater part of the amount furnished had been given by the governor, who will send to the king or to the Council of the Indias, on this occasion, or when the galleon shall sail for Nueva España, an admirable document—which has been prepared by the friend who, as I have already stated, has directed me in my legal business—in which, relating this action, he proves by forcible arguments that those auditors acted illegally therein, and makes it very clear that they could not and ought not to meddle in that business.