In the city of Manila, on the said day, November twenty-one, one thousand six hundred and thirty-five, the said auditor of war caused Manuel de Campos, a soldier of the company of the master-of-camp, to appear before him for the said investigation. I, the present notary, received from him the oath in due form of law, before God our Lord, and with the sign of the cross; and under that obligation he promised to tell the truth. Being questioned as to the tenor of the process, this witness declared that what he knows and what occurred is as follows: He knows that the order contained in the head of the process was given at the gate of Santo Domingo. On the above date, after nightfall, as he was at his post, and with orders from Alférez Don Francisco de Rivera, the corporal at the said gate, there were at that time, outside the said gate three Dominican religious and one secular, and inside one Dominican lay brother. At that juncture came a small champan with three religious of St. Francis aboard, who joined those others who were outside; and all together began to enter by the said gate—the two Franciscans, and one muffled in his mantle. The said commandant came up and looked sharply at the one who was muffled up in the said mantle, saying to him, “I pray you, Father, to uncover.” The latter answered, “He who meddles in this is a base villain;” and, lowering his head, the said commandant recognized the said Pedro de Monrroy. Seizing him, he called out, “Ho, the guard!” This witness hastened to him, and laid hold of the friar whom the said corporal had seized. At that same instant, the father guardian of Dilao gave him a blow; while many other friars, who were behind the gate which leads to the convent, charged down upon the said corporal and this witness, and dealt them many blows—dragging them even to the doors of the church, and saying many insulting words to them, telling them that they were excommunicated rogues, who were committing a very great outrage against the Church. Things were in that condition when the said corporal ordered that witness to go to report to the sargento-mayor; and he did so. The above is the truth, on the oath that he has taken. He affirmed all the above, and declared that he is thirty years old, and competent to be a witness. He signed it, together with the said auditor-general:
Licentiate Manuel Suarez de Olivera, master-of-camp.
Juan Soriano, notary-public.
In the said city of Manila, November twenty-one, one thousand six hundred and thirty-five, the said auditor-general caused a [certain] man arrested for this complaint to appear before him, in order that he might take his deposition. I, the present notary, received the oath from him in due form of law, before God our Lord and with the sign of the cross and under that obligation he promised to tell the truth. Being questioned, he stated and declared the following. Being asked his name, his age, and his calling and why he is arrested, he stated and declared that his name is Don Francisco de Rivera y Oseguera; that he is a soldier of the company of Don Lorenzo de Olaso; that he is twenty-nine years old; and that the reason for his arrest was that, having entered this day to guard the Parián, this deponent went as corporal to guard the gate of Santo Domingo, with orders not to allow Don Pedro de Monrroy to enter by the said gate. While he was at the said gate, and three Dominican religious were outside of it, and inside it one, at that juncture arrived a small champan, with three religious of St. Francis. They and the others started to enter the said gate, all with their faces covered. In the midst of them was a Franciscan friar muffled in his mantle. On that account this deponent was mistrustful, and going to him said: “I pray you, Father, to uncover.” Thereupon the father shrank further within his mantle, but the deponent, going nearer, recognized that it was Don Pedro de Monrroy, who was disguised as a Franciscan friar; and this deponent, grappling with him, called out for the guard. Thereupon, one of the said religious attacked the said Don Francisco, and shoved him about, and struck him. And after the said [Franciscans] came many other Dominican religious, who came out of their convent (which is near the guardhouse); and they began to drag this deponent and the other soldiers to the door of the church. That made the soldiers let go of the said Don Pedro de Monroy; for, even had there been many more soldiers, the religious would have taken him away, as there were many of them, and they came headlong to the encounter. He had a report of all the above made to the sargento-mayor. This, and naught else, is the cause of his arrest; and this is his answer. This deponent being asked whether he saw the disembarkation of the said Don Pedro de Monrroy from the champan, and whether he knew that he was coming disguised as a Franciscan friar before he entered the gate, he declared that he did not know it, as night had already fallen; for if he had known it before his arrival at the said gate, he would have prevented his entrance or have shut the gate, and have tried with all his might to obey the order given him. And he would have done that, had not the said friars hastened to him. He stated that he recognized the said Don Pedro de Monrroy only as he was about to enter the said gate in the guardhouse, after which succeeded the aforesaid incidents. This is his response.
Being asked whether he knows the gravity of the offense which he commits who breaks any military order, this deponent declared that he knew it; but that he kept the said order to the utmost, and no more, because the emergency that he has related occurred. This is his response.
Being asked whether he knows and recognizes that the said religious were aided by any secular persons in getting the said Don Pedro de Monroy inside the gate, he declared that he had not seen or recognized any secular persons except the said soldiers, his companions, who aided him, and the said religious. This is his response.
Other questions were asked and brought forward touching the matter; but to all he answered that which he has declared as above, under obligation of the oath that he has sworn. He affixed his signature, together with the auditor-general.
Licentiate Manuel Suarez de Olivera
Don Francisco de Rivera y Oseguera
Before me:
Juan Soriano, notary-public.
[The following is contained in the documents enclosed, in another letter of like date with the above letter (also by Corcuera to the king, and which will be given, post), and gives details omitted by the present document.]
Act. In the city of Manila, November twenty-two, one thousand six hundred and thirty-five, Licentiate Manuel Suarez de Olivera, auditor-general of the war department of this royal camp, declared that it is advisable, for the greater justification of this complaint, to make investigation among the persons who were about the guardhouse at the gate of Santo Domingo of this city, in order to ascertain and find out more fully what happened last night at the said gate, by examining more of the witnesses who were present or who knew something of the aforesaid; and that the present notary should record the results as a testimony in this cause, so that it might be apparent for all time. Thus did he enact and order, and he signed the same.