In the other parts of Kiusiu, in Tsikuzen and Figo, and in the remote islands of Xequi or Kossiki, the same spirit was shown toward the Christians; and upon October 25, 1614, three hundred persons--in a word, all the Jesuits, except eighteen fathers and nine brothers, with a few cathechists (who lay hid in the country for the help of the faithful)--were shipped off out of the country by a Portuguese vessel. This mode of dealing with persons in the position assumed by these foreigners and their adherents seems to have been at once lenient, yet determined, and mercenary without being severe. The party had assumed a political aspect threatening to the state. The very ladies of his household had been supported by these foreigners in opposition to the Kubosama himself. And as it was intended to be a final political step, and not a religious persecution, any foreigner found thereafter spreading such intolerant doctrines would be treated as a political partisan. Justo was put on board a Chinese vessel with some Spanish priests and some Japonian clerks, and set sail for Manila, where he died shortly after his arrival. The step of removing from the capital and its neighborhood all the foreign fathers was, in its results, of the utmost importance to the cause of religion. During the rule of Nobu nanga and Taikosama, Father Rodriguez, the interpreter, a man evidently well acquainted with the language and with the court, was invited or allowed to remain in the capital. From the accounts sent thence it is evident that by tact and judgment Father Rodriguez had maintained his place, that he was in communication with the highest officers at court, and exercised an unseen but potent power in behalf of his brethren. With such a person at court, opposition cannot so easily gain head. Evil reports are warded off, occasional words in favor can be thrown in; but with the withdrawal of such a power from the court the foreign cause becomes powerless. Every one is ready to abuse, and to chime in to please his superior. There is no possibility of warding off the blows aimed. It is impossible to know whether the highest power knows anything of the edicts put out in his name. The Buddhists, a powerful body, would be ready to press down upon and thrust out opponents who had borne themselves so proudly in the day of their prosperity. Their own tactics recoiled upon the fathers; and when they were turned out of court, without friends or advocates, their cause became hopeless, and with their downfall the position of all other foreigners in the country was involved.