diced b Jos e S. Arc a, - non

Rizal was convinced of this. He had known this from others, for example,his older brother Paciano, who had known the priest intimately and could notaccept the latter was such a felon as to deceive a few soldiers. This is theinjustice. It was bad enough that Burgos should be executed for not belongingto any masonic lodge; but it was certainly unjust to identify him with thatmaterialistic conspirator who was either dispatching arms to his ruffians foran uprising in Jolo, or instigating the troops in Cavite, as long as his own endswere served. This was the essential injustice Rizal had been suffering sincechildhood, darkening all the stages of his life, moving his pen, and finallybringing him through the same if not a similar road to an equally if notidentically unjust end. That is why, in listening to Bishop Volonteri regrettingthe deaths of the three priests to whom the Filipino novelist had just dedicatedhis latest book, Rizal was deeply impressed.Volonteri had known the tragic fate of the three Filipino priests from theinformation sent him by Fr. Timoleoni Raimondi, as well as from the storiesof the exiles living in Hongkong, especially the secular priests who hadescaped from 'the Marianas.WEALTH OF THE FRIARSFor Rizal, the passenger aboard the "Melbourne," the blame for themaladministration of the Philippine eden, as well as the execution ofGOMBURZA fell mainly on the friars. But for Volonteri, the fault layprincipally in the politics of "new coinage" of the Spanish liberalgovernment. The two, however, were in agreement on one point, the wealthof the friars.Both agreed that the friars in the Philippines were exceedingly rich andbad administrators. To them, their maladministration was rooted in therefusal to use their goods mainly for spiritual, not temporal ends. Perhapsneither of the two had understood the finality of the friars' resources investedin business, loans, or bonds. Possibly they might have guessed, but they werenot convinced.In Hongkong both of them had sure knowledge of the friars' resources.On 27 July 1888 Rizal wrote to Mariano Ponce:40We went to Hongkong which I enjoyed. There I came to know many importantSpaniards, among them Varanda who, they say, was General Terraces secretary.I conferred with him for many days, especially during a trip we took together,Varanda, Basa, and myself, to Macao to visit that Portuguese colony and