The Audiencia in the Spanish Colonies: As illustrated by the Audiencia of Manila (1583-1800)Cunningham, Charles Henry
History
The Audiencia in the Spanish Colonies: As illustrated by the Audiencia of Manila (1583-1800)
Cunningham, Charles Henry
Philippines -- History -- 1521-1812; Spain -- Colonies -- Administration
We have already noted that the governor exercised special judicial
powers, independent of the audiencia. Among these the military
jurisdiction stands pre-eminent, and it will be discussed separately in
the following chapter. The governor was also empowered to try Indians
in first instance, with appeal to the audiencia. [427] The actual
trial of these cases, however, was delegated to the alcaldes mayores
and corregidores with appeal to the audiencia. It was impossible
for the governor, occupied as he was with the multitudinous affairs
of his office, to concern himself personally with the thousands of
petty cases among the Indians, or between Indians and Spaniards. He
had jurisdiction over suits involving the condemnation of property
through which public roads were to pass. [428] The special jurisdiction
of the governor, assisted by the audiencia, over cases affecting the
royal ecclesiastical patronage will be discussed later.
The laws of the Indies would seem to indicate that both the
governor and the audiencia exercised independently the power to
exile undesirable residents from the colony. It was stipulated that
if sentence of exile were passed by the governor and the offenders
were sent to Spain, the necessary papers, issued by the governor,
should accompany them. [429] If the decree of banishment were imposed
by the audiencia in its judicial capacity, the governor was forbidden
to commute the sentence or otherwise interfere in the matter. [430] The
audiencia frequently sentenced criminals or other undesirables to spend
terms of varying lengths in the provinces or in the Marianas. This,
as we have seen, was commonly one of the trials connected with the
residencia. We have a noteworthy illustration of the action of the
audiencia in acuerdo with the governor in the banishment of Archbishop
Felipe Pardo, who was exiled by the acuerdo of the audiencia and
Governor Juan de Vargas Hurtado, in 1684. Vargas was succeeded the
same year by Governor Curuzaelegui, who recalled the prelate from
exile and forced the audiencia to endorse the act of recall.
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