The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 23 of 55: 1629-30; Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the Catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century.
History
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 23 of 55: 1629-30; Explorations by early navigators, descriptions of the islands and their peoples, their history and records of the Catholic missions, as related in contemporaneous books and manuscripts, showing the political, economic, commercial and religious conditions of those islands from their earliest relations with European nations to the close of the nineteenth century.
Demarcation line of Alexander VI; Missions -- Philippines; Philippines -- Discovery and exploration; Philippines -- History -- Sources
3. The first point is in respect to the royal Audiencia petitioning
that it be ordered that they visit the prisons of the village of
Tondo and of the Parian of the Sangleys. This does not appear just;
for although those prisons are near Manila, and inside the district of
the five leguas to which the [jurisdiction of the] Audiencia extends
(which is the argument on which they take their stand), still those
places have their alcaldes-mayor, and are separate jurisdictions, and
it belongs to those officials to make their visitation of prisons as
the Audiencia do in theirs. It is true that the alcaldes-in-ordinary
and those of the court (who are the auditors themselves) arrest in
Tondo and in the Parian by virtue of the five leguas; but they do not
put the prisoners in the prisons of those courts, but in that of the
court, or the prison of this city. The example which they have cited
to me--namely, that the prisons of the suburbs of Mexico are visited
on Saturdays by the auditors--is not well taken in this case; for those
prisons are in charge of the corregidor, and separate, because the city
is large and needs those different prisons. But the prison of Tacubaja,
which is one-half legua or slightly more from the city, is not visited
by the Audiencia, because it has its own alcalde-mayor. And it is
certain that because Sangleys are confined in these prisons of Tondo
and the Parian, the royal Audiencia is claiming the right to visit
them, for all their anxiety is to acquire very full authority over
that people. I have written your Majesty enough on this point. It
would be advisable for your service to have this royal Audiencia
prohibited from trying any cause concerning the Sangleys.
_Causes for accepting the resignation of the reporter of the Audiencia
from his office_.
4. The second point is in regard to their saying that I accepted the
resignation of Licentiate Umana, reporter of this royal Audiencia,
from his office. It is a fact that the reasons which he gave me for
it obliged me to do so--not so much on account of his lack of health
and eyesight, although he has that, as for the ill-treatment inflicted
upon him by the auditors, without its being possible for me to give him
any relief in it, as I am not always at the meetings. The auditors are
insufferable; and, although this man had served in this capacity for
many years, they finally had him so harassed that they daily sought
numberless excuses by which to avoid coming to the Audiencia. And
inasmuch as it is difficult to struggle all one's life in one thing
which concerns the ordinary despatch of business, I thought it less
inconvenient to accept this resignation. In the meanwhile, until your
Majesty shall provide a remedy, they have been allowed to select
whomever there is in the city. But no one satisfies them; because,
as there is no one who can endure them, there is no lawyer of high
standing who will accept the office.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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