The Colon arrived at Manila on November third and
Rizal was imprisoned in Fort Santiago, while a special tribunal was
constituted to try him on the charges of carrying on anti-patriotic
and anti-religious propaganda, rebellion, sedition, and the formation
of illegal associations. Some other charges may have been overlooked
in the hurry and excitement.
It would be almost a travesty to call a trial the proceedings which
began early in December and dragged along until the twenty-sixth. Rizal
was defended by a young Spanish officer selected by him from among
a number designated by the tribunal, who chivalrously performed so
unpopular a duty as well as he could. But the whole affair was a
mockery of justice, for the Spanish government in the Philippines had
finally and hopelessly reached the condition graphically pictured by
Mr. Kipling:
Panic that shells the drifting spar--
Loud waste with none to check--
Mad fear that rakes a scornful star
Or sweeps a consort's deck!
The clamor against Blanco had resulted in his summary removal by royal
decree and the appointment of a real "pacificator," Camilo Polavieja.
Pages:
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88