IX.
A LITTLE GAME.
“I am very glad to meet you as a citizen, but of course it is against the policy of my country to receive you as an envoy from the Pope.”
“Very well, Judge Daft, we shall not quarrel over a little thing like that.”
It was the Jesuit talking to the new American governor. He had no intention of abandoning his purpose, but he meant to approach it by indirection. He knew something of diplomacy himself, and so devoted a few minutes to casual conversation. He was by nature and practice an expert in the recounting of stories, having found that an art which won where no other art was honored, and the two passed a pleasant half hour together. Finally, as Rodriguez Violeta, the Jesuit father, arose to take his departure, he said:
“If I speak purely as an individual, I presume you will not object to my asking that you treat us fairly relative to churches and church lands.”
“By no means. I have no objection to telling you that I desire to treat you fairly in these and all other matters.”
“Perhaps you would not object, then, to issuing an order that, until the matter can be settled in the courts, the possession of churches is to be secured to the party in possession, whether that party be the Roman Catholic church or the Filipino Catholic church. This seems to me to be fair, and I believe is in accordance with American jurisprudence.”
“I shall be glad to issue an order of that nature to the soldiers in the Philippines. Anything that is mutually just will be granted you; and, while I can not receive you as envoy of the Pope, I shall take pleasure in hearing your recommendations as an individual of experience who is capable of understanding your people and presenting your side of the controversy in a fair and liberal way.”