and in the garb of a penitent, with a halter round his neck;
and for another month he must, in the same manner, attend the church
of Santo Domingo; another, the hospital of San Gabriel; and another,
the church of Binondoc. Then, the said penance being accomplished, he
would be absolved by Domingo Diaz, a mestizo of infamous character. The
said Don Juan de Vargas appealed, but the appeal was not allowed him,
and he remains in the same condition up to the present time.

Paragraphs of a letter written from Manila, June 15, 1685, by Auditor
Don Pedro Sebastian de Bolivar y Mena to his agent at Madrid, Don
Diego Ortiz de Valdes.

In this ship came as governor of these islands Don Gabriel de
Curuzalegui y Arriola, a knight of excellent abilities, very
disinterested, and intent on the service of his Majesty--whose royal
revenues from the department of customs, which were so impaired,
have been enormously increased, of which he will, I doubt not,
send statements to the Council. The trouble is, that this place is
so corrupt that, even though a very good man comes here, with the
best intentions, people make him fail in his duty. Even if I had not
had a letter from you for the purpose, he would show indignation
against me. For, having spoken to the governor at various times,
and asked if you had hinted anything about me, either personally
or through Don Tomas, he has replied that such was not the case;
but this did not happen to Don Diego de Viga, for he carried the
recommendations of Don Tomas, and therefore has a place in [the
governor's] affection--although he shows all kindness to me also, and
I endeavor to serve him as far as I can reasonably. As soon as this
knight arrived, he made strenuous efforts to secure the restoration
of the archbishop to his see--for which he made a proposition, or
offered his opinion, to the royal court, finding occasion for this in
one which the secular cabildo had offered on the same subject. And,
although, in the private conferences which he held with each one of us
upon this matter, it was represented to him that such a solution [of
the difficulty] was impossible--since account of it had been rendered
to his Majesty, and the acts therein referred to him; and also since
the circumstances and facts which had given cause for the archbishop's
banishment still existed; and that no restitution had been or would
be made to the royal jurisdiction for the injury that he had done
it, nor had he offe