diced b Jos e S. Arc a, - non

Vicente Barrantes, then, did not initiate the attacks on the secular clergy,much less Joaquin de Coria, but a republican liberal and, perhaps, a mason,namely, Rafael Garcia Lopez.On 17 January he joined the controversy started by Barrantes with afierce satire against him and the Dominicans. The newspaper insertedbetween Garcia Lopez's articles news and other writers' articles on thePhilippines. For example, on 11 February of this same year, there was an"Exposition to the Constituent Cortes Protesting Against the Creation of aSpecial Board of Reforms for the Philippines," with forty signatures, amongthem that of Manuel Regidor, broker of a Madrid commercial enterprise;Saenz de Vizmanos, former Commissar of the fortifications of Manila;Antonio Ma. Regidor, Rafael Garcia Lopez, former alcalde mayor of variousPhilippine provinces; and Manuel Rivas, a Dominican.Attacks continued both against Barrantes and the regular clergy in thefollowing months. On 11 August, the newspaper published a letter signed bya certain Luis Lacandola, probably a pseudonym, which, besides manifestinghis disappointment that the new Constitution of Spain had not beenimplemented in the Philippines, attacked Barrantes, Estrada, and Escosurafor their support of the regular clergy, and ending with a threat and awarning—although he took care to 'add a disclaimer—that the Filipinos, satedwith sufferings, could seek the help of "nations who look askance at Spainand would aid our emancipation," even providing the necessary "equipment ,for an army of 50,000 men whom we could immediately put under arms."(Note ,we are in August 1869!)Joaquin de Coda's open sally into the newspaper tournament is hailed byRafael Garcia Lopez with real enthusiasm replete with Voltairian irony. Heprobably personally knew the Franciscan whom he described as a "robustCommissar" of the Franciscans, "a man easy going and friendly.". .. we are happy that Your Reverence has joined the dance, that it will not be thefirst kundiman which you will join. And for the sake of the truth, we were hopingthat a son of Saint Francis would be the one to break the cotillon; for, to repeat, it .is the least hypocritical and most open of that papist army.In answer Coria wrote two articles titled "Now It Appears," published byLa Reforma on 26 August and 2 September, although, curiously inthe hour oftruth, he centered his denuntiations more on the Dominicans and theAugustinians than on the Franciscans.By these dates, such as we can gather from the information published bythis newspaper, the Philippine government was going through serious163