diced b Jos e S. Arc a, - non

shall focus our attention on the relations between him and the Franciscans asa result of the antecedent circumstances that finally led to the Cavite mutiny.The appointment of Carlos Ma. de la Torre to succeed Jose de la Gandaraprovoked contradictory reactions in the Philippines. As the famous butcontroversial soldier would write later. "It happens that the friars hadmisgivings about me on my arrival in the Islands, all the employees andgovernment functionaries hated me, while the rich and the ilustrados werecrazy for me.""And indeed it was that way. The Franciscans received him in silence,maybe in apprehension bordering on fear, but these attitudes were quicklyassuaged. On 16 July 1869, the Provincial had his first conference with thegeneral of the September revolution. The meeting must have been, if notcordial, at least polite. Benito de Madridejos seemed gradually to put asidehis fear and mistrust of de la Torre. He, had his misgivings, but was notalarmed at actions which others considered highly suspect. I refer particularlyto the patriotic demonstration held in Manila on the governor's arrival, towhich Madridejos refers in a letter to Joaquin de Coria, dated 13 July thatsame year:Last Sunday there was in front of the palace of His Excellency, the CivilGovernor, a festive and peaceful serenade, a homage, they say, of the Filipinos,and next Sunday, they say there will be artificial fireworks and other signs ofcelebration, offered it seems by various persons at the invitation of the HonorableAyuntamiento.°6The Franciscan Provincial, judging from the above paragraph, was quitedivorced from the goings-on in Manila. As the months passed, his opinion ofthe governor clearly grew in optimism, such that on 13 March 1870, he hadno qualms writing:When this general arrived, there were misgivings that some have difficulty[accepting him sic], but afterwards they saw those who bear [could have?] anintention to create trouble say His Excellency thinks it good here to sustain at allcost the moral rectitude and principle of authority. And so everything is fmefollowing these principles..'Was everything so satisfactory as to justify Madridejos' judgment?Considering that at the moment what was of great concern to him wassurvival (note the difficulties through which in the peninsula the relationsbetween the Church and the State were passing), we agree. De la Torreintended to rule, at least in some aspects, with a heavy but caressing hand. In154