Many men of sound judgment have wondered what object he could have in this assembly; and they can think of no other unless it was to intimidate me and Page 147close my mouth, so that I should not write against him to your Majesty any of the infinite amount which might be written. Likewise he had the same object in calling together the captains and leading men of this colony, to address them with such insolence as that which I have told your Majesty in another letter; for the expression which he used was: “You people [vosotros] do not know that I know what you have written to his Majesty against me; and that his Majesty sent me a command to have your heads cut off.” From this your Majesty will gather how the government must be conducted here, since the governor is going about seeking, by cunning and deceit, to frighten people that they may not write about his mode of life. I told enough of this in the other letter, and others are writing the same thing; but at present I shall only mention a few things. In the first place your Majesty should not inquire into the particular vices of Don Francisco Tello, but should picture to yourself a universal idea of all vices, brought to the utmost degree and placed in a lawyer; this would be Tello, who is your Majesty's governor in the Philippinas. He is not one of those men who accompany a vice by a virtue, and among many vices follow one virtue; but he has not even an indication of a virtue. And that he should not lack the sin of putting his hand upon the altars, he has now begun to commit simonies, and to live excommunicated, selling for money the presentations which he makes to the benefices conformably to your Majesty's right of patronage. This is so true that I have this week corrected one which he committed in the convent of San Francisco del Monte itself. Abandoned by the power of God, he paid for the evil which he had done against Page 148me with so great a vice. He received four hundred pesos, for the presentation to a prebend, which he presented to me that very day. He has become accustomed to do this, and says that he is going to write to España that he is going to this said convent, which is a heavenly garden, belonging to descalced fathers of much holiness. Although he has a house near there he is not content with it, but comes in and meddles with the convent, and with those who go to see it, for there is nothing which his hand does not profane. On Monday afternoon before St. Francis' day, this year, he left Manilla, saying that he was going to Cabite to despatch the ships. At night he left the road with a servant, having placed the horses within some chapels which are being built at the convent of Santo Domingo; and entered to sleep that night in the house of a married woman, the wife of an honorable man of this city, leaving guards at the door, for thus imprudent is he, although God permits that he is such a coward as not to enter into such evil acts without taking guards, and even sometimes arquebuses, to serve as witnesses of his sins—which are made public, to the scandal of all the people. Sire, I do not believe that I can live with this man; if your Majesty thinks that it is best for your royal service to keep him in this government, your Majesty must take me from this church. I wish nothing else, and even this place I do not merit; nor did I seek it, nor did it ever pass through my head that it was possible that at any time I should have to hold it. But I wish your Majesty to command me to return, to die in my cell in peace; for if I remain here I cannot conceal so many and so public offenses against God and against the service of your Majesty, without Page 149reprehending them with the same publicity as that with which they are committed. I trust through the mercy of God that your Majesty will see all this with Christian and Catholic eyes, and will provide a remedy fitting for the service of God and of your Majesty, whom may our Lord protect, for the long years which we need. Manilla, June 26, 98. Sire, I kiss the feet of your Majesty, your servant and chaplain,
Fray Ignacio, Archbishop of Manilla. Page 150
[1] Apparently referring to Fray Marcelo de Rivadeneira, one of the Franciscans who went to Japan with Pedro Baptista. Rivadeneira wrote a book, Historia de las islas del Archipiélago, etc. (Barcelona, M.DC.I), which describes the countries of Eastern Asia, and relates the history of Franciscan missions therein.
[2] In the Archivo general de Indias, Sevilla, is a document which contains the following statement: “I, Captain Joan de Bustamante, accountant and official judge of the royal exchequer of the Filipinas islands, certify that, according to the books, accounts, and papers of the office and records of the said royal exchequer, it is not, since the past year of fifteen hundred and eighty-one, when the cathedral church of this city was founded by Don Fray Domingo de Salazar, first bishop of these islands, up to the present year of fifteen hundred and ninety-nine, evident nor apparent that there have been given from the royal exchequer to the said church any bells, images, ornaments, chalices, candelabra, missals, Page 134nor choir-books for the service thereof; nor has there been paid over for that purpose any coins of gold, as appears by the said books and papers to which I refer. In certification whereof, and that this may be apparent, I have, on the petition of the dean and chapter, sede vacante, given these presents in Manila on the fifth of July of the year one thousand five hundred and ninety-nine.”
[3] Vosotros: the familiar form of the second person plural of the personal pronoun; its use in this case was a mark of contempt for his audience.
[4] The convent of San Francisco del Monte was situated at somewhat more than a league from Manila; and an estate was granted to the Franciscan order by Santiago de Vera, for the support of the convent. See Santa Inés's Crónica, i, pp. 531–534, for full account of its foundation.
Letters from the Bishop of Nueva Segovia to Felipe II
Sire: