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
The question of Chinese jurisdiction is further illustrated by
a dispute which arose in the colony between the audiencia and the
governor, and which was carried to the king by the latter functionary
on June 30, 1793. Oidor Moreno had ordered the arrest of the Chinese
cabecilla of the Parián on a criminal charge. [516] The detention of
the Chinaman was conceded to be justifiable, but Governor Marquina
alleged that Moreno had entirely disregarded the cédula of October
11, 1784, which had ordered that in case of the arrest of any royal
official, notification should be served to the governor in sufficient
time for him to take the proper precautions for the safeguarding of
any of His Majesty's property which might be in the care or under the
protection of the official in question. He said that this particular
arrest was typical of the petty interference of the oidores and
illustrative of the slight pretexts upon which they frequently upset
the whole system of government and caused untold annoyances. On account
of the many difficulties in the collection of the tribute which had
presented themselves as a consequence of the arrest of this particular
Chinese official, and because the latter was especially efficient,
the governor had asked the audiencia to permit the cabecilla to be
excused on condition that he should bind himself to return to the
custody of the audiencia after he had collected the taxes. This the
tribunal had refused. The government, as a consequence, had been put to
much inconvenience in finding a substitute, and the sum collected had
been considerably less than was usually obtained, owing to the lack
of experience of the new collector. After the cabecilla had been in
prison over four months, he was brought to trial, and nothing being
proved against him, he was freed. The audiencia, however, had won
its point, and had manifested its right to the last word in judicial
affairs relating to the Chinese.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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